Pierce Park

If you're heading into Adams Morgan from Calvert Street Bridge, there are perfectly fine bike lanes on Calvert Street. But the walkways through Walter Pierce Park* make for a decent protected cycletrack as well. Call it the scenic route.

(*Or as my daughter calls it, 'Shady Park', since the tree canopy in the playground area makes it great on hot days.)

I should also mention, since it's hard to tell, this pair looked trés chic.

18th St and Columbia Rd

Yeah, I know, I've used this building as a backdrop before. But not at night!

A mother knows

To me, this mom-cyclist is one of those quiet, unsung heroes of utility biking in DC. Not because she has the 'right' bike or chic attire. I just like the normal/cool clothes, no special gear, shopping bag in front, funky shoulder bag, kid in tow, a little twirly thing hanging off the back… No nonsense, serene, dignified demeanor, upright posture.

She knew where the not-so-known contraflow bike lane was and used it, unfazed by the trio of Do Not Enter signs. Or by the Brazil-esque (Terry Gilliam film, not the country) ductwork.

That cut-through was a closed road, now given over almost entirely to bikes. More here. It's actually a great back way to cross Adams Morgan north-south without dealing with 18th Street hassles.

Art and a touch of nostalgia

So, Saturday being bike-day whenever possible (meaning bike around the city and do stuff, see people, as opposed to the weekday commute), with babysitter meter running I did manage to squeeze in a short outing yesterday in the pale afternoon.

From home in Petworth, first stopped by the arts fair at Domku cafe. This year it was outside on the sidewalk for the first time.

Ran into a few neighbors, including George.

Passing through Columbia Heights, a girl going by said to her friend, 'I LIKE that bike!' Down 14th Street to Transformer gallery on P Street, to drop in on old friend Jay Stuckey, in from LA for his touring exhibit 'Alptraum'.

Coming home via Adams Morgan, I stopped for some reason in front of the old Ontario Theater, where a number of amazing bands played through the 80s and early 90s (Gang of Four, The Clash, David Bowie's Tin Machine...). The 'hood was pretty rough at that time. Then the Ontario was partitioned into a few retail spaces, mainly you'd go there when you needed a cheap suitcase, or a prescription filled. Now it's shuttered, but at least the pharmacy moved out and down the street, so I wonder if the entire building could be used again for something noble.

Happy bike-day

Sometimes you have a good bike-day.

My Electra was in the shop, so this morning I CaBi'd from Petworth to Bloomingdale for a quick photo shoot. Stopped off at Big Bear Cafe for a coffee (man, the place was packed on a Saturday morning). Then CaBi'd from there to The Bike Rack at 14th and Q (100 percent on the R Street bike lane) to pick up my bike. Ran into one of my neighbors who was thinking about a new bike. I, true to recent form, gave her the upright/slow/normal clothes spiel. I know, I'm probably getting annoying.

Moseyed over to Dupont Circle to look for citizen-cycling pics. Didn't find much going on photo-wise, but did put a few of my Moo calling cards on any parked bikes that looked like candidates for the Chainguard Revolution. In a nice little moment of karma, my friend Eric sent me this cool video that was sort of apropos to the bike-day I was having. Watched it on my phone before heading up to Adams Morgan (first real hill of the day) did a few errands, warmed my hands up in a few places.

Grabbed lunch from one of the Latino vendors who set up on weekends in the little plaza outside City Bikes. Really great Puerto Rican pork and a garlicky plantain dish I can't remember the name of. The nice guy who sold it to me sat down while I was eating it and explained all the inside tricks he uses to make it.

There I met Eryn and Patrick, around the time I was taking this picture of the plaza scene:

They asked me about my bike because she was shopping for an upright bike and had been eyeing the Electras online. She actually had heard of District Citizen Cycling! ("wow, that's you?!") Very cool, first time that's happened. Further up the street, here's Eryn and Patrick taking out the last available CaBis at the 16th and Columbia station:

Riding home, dropped in for the tail end of the bike clinic behind Qualia Coffee on Georgia Avenue, where I finally made some decent photos that helped redeem the day a bit in that regard (see previous post):

Kind of cold out there, and the wind had some bite, but plenty sunny. Nice DC early winter day. Just the kind of bike-day that puts you in touch with the city in a way that driving and walking don't. Walking's great, but biking you're flowing like water through the streets, covering ground quickly while absorbing your changing surroundings, finding a kind of rhythm, feeling DC's great neighborhoods and how they connect. City zen!

Calvert Street (aka Duke Ellington) Bridge

Happy Thanksgiving from DCC!

Tweed and be seen

Sunday turned into a work day for me yesterday, I was bummed to miss the DC Tweed Ride. But on the way home in the fading light, I did luck out and stumble on a bit of the afterparty in Adams Morgan.

Jay Westcott has a bunch of great shots from the actual ride over on the TBD site here.

photos © Bill Crandall

Poet in motion

Today's City Zen Cyclist is Holly Bass, an accomplished DC writer, poet, performer, director, and journalist. I didn't know her but she's a friend of a friend. Before I recognized her I had already chased her down 18th Street for a pic (non-creepily I hope!) just because she looked so cool and chic going by on her bike. In fact, I was once told I should shoot Holly for this blog, so it worked out perfectly by chance.

photos © Bill Crandall

17th St and Kalorama Rd

This used to be the wrong side of the tracks in Adams Morgan, to the east of the nightlife hubbub of 18th Street. The kind of area you probably shouldn't be walking around. Now you've got loads of new high(ish)-end housing, including these pricey condos (on the right) above a youth arts center, down near the roller rink that was converted to a Harris Teeter grocery store.

Classic DC case of used to be afraid-to-walk-there, now it's can't-afford-to-live-there.

photo © Bill Crandall

18th St and Columbia Rd

Slow and easy does it. She had a nice air of coexistence in her ride, if that makes sense. Going with the flow, fitting into the city.

photo © Bill Crandall

Bike of the Day - Electra Amsterdam

A few years ago, the Electra Amsterdam is what got me back on a bicycle after, I don't know, 25 years off. I knew the Dutch formula suited me - chainguard/fenders/rear skirt, upright not hunched over - and the Electra was (and still is) one of the few Dutch-style bikes that you can go out and buy in the DC area.

I bought mine at Big Wheel Bikes in Bethesda and rode it home to Petworth via the somewhat rough Bethesda-Silver Spring stretch of the Capital Crescent Trail. Hot day and first day back on a bike in a long time, so that was kind of a fun mistake... but I made it ok. You don't forget how to ride a bike, but you do sort of forget the exhilaration of it.

The Amsterdam is definitely elegance over speed, and very comfortable, but frankly sucks on major uphills (or maybe I suck on major uphills... anyway, I don't mind walking it whenever). But their so-called 'flat foot' design means the seat is shifted slightly back and lower so you're closer to the ground. Which is nice, I felt perched pretty high on the first few bikes I tried.

If you get the Classic 3i (shown, they also have an 8-speed), you'll want to add a front handbrake, it comes with coaster brake only. They also make a step-through women's version, here's an interesting review by a local citizen cyclist.

Here's mine parked in Adams Morgan when I was shooting for this blog one evening.

photo © Bill Crandall

Euclid and Champlain St

Balancing act.

photo © Bill Crandall

Girl About Town

Plenty of citizen cyclists out and about on this warm fall Sunday. But I only had eyes for one - my daughter, cruising through a late day shaft of light (and somehow knowing to toss me a little smile at the right moment).

This morning in the car, she had insisted on hearing The Jam's Boy About Town over and over. She got some of the lyrics down pat, but of course changed it to girl about town. I guess that set the tone, we were out using the city all day...

photo © Bill Crandall

More 18th Street, Adams Morgan

AKA, There and Back Again Lane. Walking it northbound, past Tryst coffeehouse. Same girl, cruising southbound a few minutes later.

photos © Bill Crandall

18th Street, Adams Morgan

So cool, he had such a stately bearing. Talk about ride-as-you-are. But wish I had gotten more of his hat.

photo © Bill Crandall