My trip to Washington DC with my daughter

[MikeFairbanks]

Hey, DC is a bike town. I saw an ebike zoom by one day but didn't get a pic fast enough.

These guys were everywhere, and I spent $100 over the course of two full days hiring them. It was fun. They need more of them (but the cops aren't very nice to them and will bust them big time if they have electricity or if they don't have all the permits necessary.....regulation overload).








The Wright Brothers were the original gangsters. They made bikes and planes.




I remember when these came out. I never owned one, but saw a lot of them. Did any of you own one?




I don't know what to think of these things. I could do a lot better with five grand. But it's better than some gas guzzling contraption, I suppose.




My car's great, great grandfather on display at the Smithsonian.




I wonder if those bolts would fit to my bike.

[bigmoose]

Mike looks like you had a great time, both in the museums and with your daughter! Those are the best trips, sure beats a stuffy conference room.

[kevo]

MikeFairbanks wrote: I remember when these [Bell Helmets] came out. I never owned one, but saw a lot of them. Did any of you own one?

Sure did - had two, toured Germany, Austria, the Swiss Alps, France, Belgium and Holland with my wife.
Helmets weren't that popular back then, more than a few pointed and laughed at us.

In Munich a bus pulled up alongside her squeezing her bike to the sidewalk lip.
Her handlebar tape was ripped off the left side, she stayed upright while I was screaming.

Everything turned out safe, but we were adamant about wearing helmets.
Years later when our twin boys were building tree forts we insisted on them wearing helmets as well!

I do think the slower bike speeds and no helmets in Europe promote greater use in general,
but I prefer to play it safe.

[ohzee]

looks like a nice trip - those memories sure are precious. I need to get my kids there some time.

Those bikes look neat also did not realize they had something like that.. thanks for sharing.

[MikeFairbanks]

The Pedicabs are a plus/minus. I could tell there was something funky going on.

See the guy with my daughter in the back? He was an independent, and wasn't allowed to charge for money. We were at the U.S. Capitol building. We had walked there from the air and space museum and wanted a ride back to the American History museum (I was sick and my daughter's ankles hurt her a lot). So I saw the guy and asked him how much. He said, "I'll give you a ride and if you want to pay me you can give me what you think is fair."

The other guys (the Ugandan dude in the blue shirt) negotiated with us ahead of time, and I talked him into ten bucks for a ride from the Smithsonian to the Lincoln Memorial. By the time we got there I realized how hard that guy worked so I gave him a twenty (same as I gave the other guy pictured at the top).

However, one guy BSed me about the distance involved, charged me forty bucks, and it was barely around the block (going from the Smithsonian (Natural History) to the Archives. I was bummed, but I do think it's a good idea.

Another time I tried to hire a pedicab, and he kept giving me strange gestures with his head, motioning that there was a cop nearby. Why would that be a problem? So I thought, "he must be an independent and not have a permit or whatever." So I met him a few feet to the side and the cop came up quickly in the patrol car and cut him off. Then the cop searched his pedicab. I don't know what he was looking for, but it might have been a motor (chain drive). I'm not sure, but I heard the cop say that if he saw the vehicle again he would impound it.

The cops were all over these guys (because the pedicabs do run red lights in somewhat safe situations too keep the momentum going).

I got the feeling that there was some kind of fragile agreement between the city and the pedicabs.


I think electric golf carts would be better, and pedicabs too, but the powers that be don't seem to like the whole idea of free enterprise on the city streets. Even the street vendors are strictly regulated.


But they do have these bike share programs that are kind of cool. You join for seven bucks (or more, depending on how much you'll be using the bikes).

I'd highly recommend that you bring your own bike if you spend a few days there. It would make a huge difference in your ability to see everything. Granted, walking is nice (unless you and your kid aren't feeling well), but I can't wait to ride that city on a bike.

[gestalt]

I was in DC about a week and a half ago. I had been lucky enough to have my day down from the trucking job in Tacoma Park Maryland which is about ten miles from the capitol via bike path. Great thing is, one of the my friends who used to pedicab with me here in Boston has been living in DC for a while now working for a fuel cell company and pedicabing on the weekends.

I first got there while he was working so I spent some time riding around on my own. I came across a tea party rally with Michelle bachman going on about this and that, had a good chuckle. Then got myself over to the capitol steps and did a shout out to the good'ol illuminated masons


Then I hit up the Washington monument


After checking out the Obama house I had a lackluster meal at Henry's, though it was the first time I had a burger that was cooked medium rare (the only way to have one if you ask me) so I guess they win with me in the end.

By that time my bro was out of work and we had a real bike ride and he showed me more sights and side streets filled with nice historical tidbits, its great to have a real profesional guiding you around. My bike was stuck in top gear due to a broken cable so i had a hard time with some of the hills.

After working out the body it was time to give the 'ol noodle some love so we headed over to a cafe that was hosting author Wray Herbert who was doing a short talk and long Q&A on the subject of heuristic thinking and the pros and cons. It was very fascinating hearing about how so much of our decision making process is dictated by our subconscious mind mostly to conserve energy and time.

By the time we got out of theremitmwas dark and my stomach was grumling for a more satisfying meal. I found this place called "Ben's chili bowl" and I knew just from looking at the place I was going to like it. Bellied up to the bar ad split some fries, a chili dog and a fantastic chocolate shake with my conpatriot...fan fuckintastic. Sign on the till said "the only people that eat for free are Bill Cosby and the Obama family".

Had some really good drinks and some conversation with the general manager of the pedicab company who had just been let out of jail. I guess he had been filming the park police giving a ticket unwarentedly to one of his riders. The took quite an offence and threw him to the ground. He says he doesn't really remember too much after that from the nasty knock on the head he recieved. He says that the big problem with the authority in DC is that unlike Boston where we only have to deal with three kinds of police, there they have over 50 seperate entities that most of which have no idea what the rules are when it comes to pedicabs. Even still I want to go there at some point and do a guest appearance to see what its like riding in the capitol.

Well after some boose and some smoke were coursing through my bloodstream I was goofing off on my bike holding the handlebars with one hand and the seat with my other so i could do some wicket high kicks over the top tube when -snap

There goes my carbon fork. So my friend and his boss each took one wheel and I strapped my frame to the bike share ride and made it halfway back to the hotel. A cab had to get me the rest of the way.

All in all a fantastic day off and I can't wait to go back.

[ambroseliao]

Living in DC area, it is a beautiful and bike friendly place. Bikes are everywhere and there are more and more ebikes.

Capital Bike Share is extremely popular with the tourists and locals alike. They are everywhere.

[motomech]

I was born and raised just outside of DC and worked as a motorcycle courrier back in the early '80's. Everything was free and open to the public back then. In fact, I used to walk from one end of the Capital to the other using a little known walk-way around the dome. In '82[I think], the first act of terrorism happened, a bomb went off in the East Wing of the Capital. Within a week, the barricades had gone up and security checks began. And even though most of the Capital police knew me, I was subject to them. I slowed me down so much that it really effected my earnings and moved on to another line of work.

DC still is a great place to visit, there is so much to see and do, and it's mostly free
But lodging is expensive. Any members here that are bringing the kids to learn and appriciate America feel free to contact me. I can russle up a couple of beds.

[MikeFairbanks]

Next time I go I'll go alone. I have some serious hell raising to do. I'm talking about protesting.