Charmaine and the Normal Bikes

Most people don’t know what a velomobile. And most of those who do think they are big, heavy little Fred Flinstone-mobiles that you pedal if you live in the Netherlands – which apparently means Pool Table Land in English.

To dispel these ignorant notions, an event showcasing velomobiles came to Portland Oregon in July.  Roll over America was a coast-to-coast velocade.  Basically, a whole mess of velomobiles lit out from Portland with the grand ambition of arriving in Washington DC in about a month’s time.  And they did it.

My friend Charmaine persuaded me to join her in greeting the velomobiles as they entered DC. After waiting around for an hour at the finish line at the Georgetown University Hotel, we rolled downhill to the intersection of the Key Bridge and M Street NW in Georgetown.  We waited another 20 minutes and were about to give up when, one by one,  a steady stream of velomobiles of all colors and designs came in to view.

We rode over to Wisconsin Avenue to get a closer look and were delighted to see one velomobile after another cruise up from M Street.  The riders were clearly punped up as they rode the final mile of their cross country trek. After taking several pictures, Charmaine and I mounted our trusty steeds and gave chase.  I was expecting the velomobiles to crawl up the hill to Reservoir Road.  If the riders were laboring from their efforts they showed no signs of it.

The velocade turned on to Reservoir and finished by riding straight into the Georgetown University Hotel parking garage.  Then down several levels they went until they arrived at four nondescript parking spaces.  Here they came to rest with riders hoping out of their machines.  A couple of young women stood with us and the riders taking pictures.  They had ridden down to Georgetown from Bethesda on the Capital Crescent Trail to catch a glimpse of the show. They arrived at Key Bridge just as the first velos came of the Key Bridge.

Bethesda Velo Groupies

I Felt Like I Was Part of the Velo Borg at This Light

Roll over America Finalists

We all enjoyed congratulating the velo riders and taking copious pictures of the finale.  Fantastic job to all the participants and their support crew.

What a beautiful day.  As a bike commuting day this was an eleven.  This time of year is prime commuting weather.  In retrospect it was quite similar to the weather ten years ago when a perfect day turned into madness.

I left home a little late and thought I had a 9 am meeting so I put the hammer down.  I NEVER do this but I needed to get to work fast.  I was really feeling my oats, despite a 10 mph headwind.  For about four miles I followed this guy in a red shirt.  Here he is on the right with a rider passing both of us about six miles from my office.  Just look at that sky! It was heaven out there.

Just before 2 pm, the day took a very unexpected change. I was sitting at my desk on the eighth floor of my office at L’Enfant Plaza when my desk started undulating.  Since the desk weighs a good 300 pounds one of two thing could explain this. Either somebody had set off a very quiet bomb in the building or we were having an earthquake.  This is my second big earthquake.  The first one was the Gilroy quake of 1979. I was working in San Francisco then so it was not unexpected. But a 5.8 quake in DC is unheard of. Few events make you feel more helpless than an earthquake. Unless you are in a plane, you basically have nowhere you can go to satisfy your flight instinct.  Of course, our building – and every other building around – was evacuated. I learned this by looking out the window.  No announcement was made inside.  (I do believe somebody is going to be in hot water for that.)

L’Enfant Plaza is not the ideal place to be when an earthquake hits. For starters it is built on mud flats. To add to the fun, the roadway in front of our building is actually a bridge and it is not in very good shape. After about 30 minutes we were allowed back inside to get our belongings and leave for the day.  I lucked out and rode the elevator to my office before they were shut down for the day.

The ride home was nothing short of splendid.  Puffy little clouds drifting by, a nice cooling breeze, and a tailwind all the way home.

I ride to work every day on the Mount Vernon Trail. I normally see a dozen or so people that I call my regulars. The 40 something runner with the odd hop in his stride, the smiling woman cyclists always headed in the opposite direction, the guy with a single speed bike who commutes miles and miles in his street clothes all year long. Lately I have been seeing a homeless man in the morning. I imaging he sleeps overnight in Dyke Marsh, far from the eyes of the authorities.  His clothing is little more than rags. Last week he wore cutoff trousers for shorts. They had long tears in them through which you could see the white of his behind. He’s always heading north.  Alone.

 On the way home I was fighting a strong head wind. After 6 miles or so, I rode over a long boardwalk. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted something along the edge of the marsh grass.  It was a heron with a tiny fish in its beak.  The fish was slightly larger than a poker chip.  He seemed to have trouble ingesting it. I left him to his repast and headed off for home.

Did you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you? Little Nellie does. Especially when she spots a monitoring device along the trail. I’ve never seen this gizmo emit a light. And I have never seen anyone go near it. It just sits there observing. Taking count. Probably making us safe from bike trail terrorists. Don’t you feel better now? Just wait until I show you the mystery building in East Potomac Park. Sitting there behind a tall fence. Why? Don’t ask. Never ask. It’s for your own good.

Every so often I stop on my way home from work and check out the street performers in Old Town Alexandria. Jamey Turner has been playing his glass harp now for as long as I can recall. If you haven’t heard him, check him out on YouTube. He’s an original.

Last night as I was passing by the Jefferson Memorial, three park police officers came clip clopping up the street on their steeds. Can you tell which one is Hoss? Mounted police around these parts is pretty commonplace. I think they add a nice touch to daily grind here in DC.

Pet peeve number 632: using the bike trail as a trash can. This usually happens on the Case Bridge near my office but tonight somebody decided to throw a bunch of junk onto the 14th Street Bridge bike path. Let’s see how long it takes for this mess to get cleaned up.

On a muggy morning the last thing you want is to arrive at work all sweaty. That’s why the National Park Service offers its new Potomac River rinse for cyclists using Ohio Drive in East Potomac Park. Be careful, signs warn passersby not to drink the water.

The last several years have seen an amazing number of road construction projects around these parts.  Today I cobbled together a new route from Mount Vernon to DC that barely used the Mount Vernon Trail.  This is welcome news to those of us who hate the trail on summer weekends when it becomes incredibly congested with volksmarchers, rollerbladers, runners, little kids on bikes, etc. 

The New Road to Crystal City

From home I took Fort Hunt Road (not the most bike friendly road, I’ll admit) to US 1.  Then I took the new bike path from US 1 to South Washington Street.  Instead of crossing the street and picking up the Mount Vernon Trail to DC, I turned left and picked up South Columbus Street. I rode this and South Alfred Street all the way to the north end of Old Town Alexandria where I picked up US 1 again for a half mile.  After using the a new side path to cross over the railroad tracks that Amtrak uses, I picked up a bike trail along a new road that goes straight north all the way to Crystal City.  I picked up Clark Street beyond Crystal City which took me to Boundary Channel Drive.

Then I crossed over into Lady Bird Johnson Park and picked up the Mount Vernon Trail at the Humpback Bridge. 

Big Nellie on the Bridge to LBJ Park

After visiting LBJ’s memorial, I followed some signs to get back to the Mount Vernon Trail.

LBJ Rock. Note the Resemblance to the Man Himself

They Even Put Up Signs

The trail under the bridge emerges directly across from the monuments in DC.  Pretty nifty how that all worked out.

The Jefferson Memorial Is Directly across the River

All in all a pretty cool new route into town.

I always try to stop and chat with the bike tourists I encounter around DC. Like many of these tourists Zach and Nick are riding the East Coast bike route. (You can get maps that guide you from Bar Harbor ME to Key West FL.) A few years back I happened on Nancy Wright, a teacher from Vermont who was riding the perimeter of the lower 48 US states!

From personal experience I know that encounters such as this one are very reassuring and helpful. And if you happen to be near and ice cream shop, buy them a cone. You can get a good miles to the scoop.