DC-ing is Believing

It's been almost 5 years since I moved to the suburbs of DC (collectively known as the DMV), and almost 4 years since I moved away. I won't get into the reasons why, but for the most part, I don't miss it, and it's no surprise as such that I haven't ventured back there since. Until yesterday, that is...

Wash Cycle has operations in DC, and up until recently I really had no reason to venture to our southern location. However, since I'm now tasked with furthering our business growth, it would probably behoove me to see what goes on day-to-day down there, right?

I took an AMTRAK train early yesterday morning (also a first for this nomad, believe it or not). I found myself outside DC's Union Station around 9 yesterday morning, knowing I was a couple miles from anywhere "concrete" involving work. You can ask me about my opinions of the WMATA some other time (hint: they suck so bad that I linked to their Wikipedia entry, not their website), but basically Capital Bikeshare proved to be the best option to get from point A to point B:

I guess anything is better than capital punishment...

You've seen bike share on this blog before, several times. They all look pretty much the same, but there are subtle differences. These guys happen to be operated by the same company that operates CoGo in Columbus, which I visited just last month. It was easy to spot because the bikes look the same:

And for only $8 a day, I won't complain about the 3-speed transmission

It was a surprisingly quick ride from the station to U Street, a corridor which I know well (more on that later). Long story short, I had booked an earlier train to save on fees and aggravation, knowing I would have time to do other work in the meantime. In one stark reminder of why I sometimes don't miss living in the DC area, I found myself paying 11.95 for a coffee and a buffalo tempeh sandwich:

At least the WiFi was free

All things considered, it was worth not going hungry for a few more hours...I also found out that there's a 9 1/2 Street:

Because DC wasn't already confusing enough...

I went to our garage to pick up one of OUR bikes, which unfortunately had a flat. After fixing that with the new DC commercial cyclist, I headed back up to Mt. Pleasant to meet up with our DC GM. I observed a little bit and we talked operations before we set out on a trek to explore commercial laundry opportunities. This included the H Street corridor, site of the much maligned DC StreetCar. I'm used to seeing these tracks in Philly:

The red is the bike lane. DC HATES YOU, CYCLISTS...(not really)

This "thing" still seemed foreign to a lot of people I saw whilst riding past, but like I said, it's commonplace to us Philly dwellers:

Except for the fact that it's ugly AF

It's basically an ugly modern trolley. I support the idea if they make the promised improvements. Until then? It's an ugly beast that's basically doing what a bus does with a little bit better access for disabled individuals. Anyway, we rode on.

One of the reasons we (as a company) picked DC for an expansion city was its bike-ability, which is evident all over the greater downtown area. For example, this two-way bike lane on 15th St:

Not pictured: pedestrians who don't know it's not a sidewalk. Baby steps...

This particular stretch included dedicated traffic signals for cyclists (which all happened to be green when I rode through, so no sense stopping, right?). In fact, two-way bike lanes were frequent in my brief travels in the district:

We logged about 8 miles before meeting up with our new cyclist to discuss more ins and outs of marketing and such before adjourning. I feel really good after seeing things in person, putting names to faces, etc. I guess that makes one of us because our DC GM mentioned to me how out of shape I made him feel haaa (I'll never hesitate to pat myself on the back). I still coerced him to finish off the day with a few beverages and some food at one of my former favorite watering holes, The Saloon:

It's got such an aura and a reputation and no website, which only furthers the charm. Basically it's your average downstairs bar with a few unique rules: no standing, no TV, no cell phones, and during peak hours, no music. It's basically the anti-modern bar, and this act of forcing people out of their comfort zone has led to many memorable experiences (even though I think I'd only been here 3 times before) as a result. They're also a non-profit (that's right!) that donates their proceeds to building schools in third world countries and other charities. Great stuff.

After nearly a few too many, I made my way back to Union Station after quite the productive day, most of it spend on a bike. It was...strange to be back in that city and specifically that neighborhood. I used to live and hang out in the DC area 5 years ago and I grew to hate it. Yesterday, I rather enjoyed myself. Perhaps it's because I was very much a visitor experiencing the romantic feelings of a "new" place. Perhaps if I had started embracing bike culture a bit earlier in my life (like when I lived down there), I may not have hated DC so much. One will never know...

True Blue

As I left the house yesterday morning, I could feel my front tire was low on air even before I got on The Bike With No Name. Since I've logged over 3,500 miles with him, I should know these things by feel. It's kinda good to know, even if it means bad news.

Rather than going back into the house and risking being late to work, I trudged through the morning commute knowing that if the leak was that slow, I would make it to the office where a pump awaited. It was kinda fun actually, other than the fear of running over another piece of debris that would certainly spell the doom of any delusions of a normal schedule yesterday.

Long story short, I made it, worked an almost full day, refilled, and rode home in the afternoon. My plans that evening included attending yet another clean-up set up by United by Blue. I originally planned to go straight there from work, but instead chose to go home to take care of my bike. I still left myself plenty of time to fix a flat.

Except, when I flipped the bike over to fix said flat, I noticed my rear rim was also rubbing the brake, meaning my rear tire was yet again out of true. It was windy yesterday, so I just assumed that's why my ride home was so tough... It was doubly perplexing because I had just trued this wheel no more than a week ago. Riding on this for more than a spin around the block just wouldn't cut it:

IDK looks like he's telling as much truth as any other inanimate object...

So, I half-assedly fixed that (more on that later) before replacing the tube in the front tire, which has a pinhole leak that easily could have been patched if I had more time. All told, I did this in less than 30 minutes, which is pretty friggin' awesome considering I'm not really a bike mechanic. I'm getting better at this every day.

I made it safely to the clean-up, which was held at Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown:

ALL THE BIKES

You may remember from my previous two experiences at clean-ups that I was surprised how few bikes appeared on-site those days. As you can see above, that wasn't the case yesterday. We also had about 200 people show up, by far the most I've seen thus far at a clean-up I've attended. You'd almost think that the weather was nice, or something...

As for the clean-up itself, there seemed to be a distinctive focus on plastics this time around, which do actually make up the bulk of the trash we pick up. Cue the facts, courtesy of the Philadelphia Water Department and UBB:

All told, we collected more than 1,000 pounds of trash (final totals still pending) and it was a pretty fun experience as always. I made a few new work and personal connections, not to mention how much trash we picked up! Picking up garbage can actually make you feel good.

My bike, on the other hand, was still giving me issues today, so I gave it another look. Turns out, one of my brake pads had been moved out of place and/or knocked loose, most likely by some careless individual locking to the same rack and moving them without knowing it. No matter how true I would have made the wheel, it would have rubbed on the tire just a touch until I fixed the brake pad, something I surely would have noticed if I had more time yesterday. Live and learn, right? That's part of what makes this so fun...

Plateau-tude

Around this time in years past, The Mann Center returned to my delivery roster. They've been one of my favorite seasonal clients every year, mostly because it gave me an excuse to log an extra 8ish miles a day. I'm not going to be the person delivering to them this year, but they happened to schedule a pre-season meeting that required a ride and a person to be there (me). They couldn't have picked a better day for it:

Far out

The Mann is about 4 miles from Center City, which you can see in the far background above. It's on the southwestern edge of the Belmont Plateau, and the final hill getting up to it is kinda brutal if you're not used to riding, but even behind bars, the view is more than worth it.

It's a bit of a strange area too. The area in the plateau itself is sprawling green and wide open, pretty damn beautiful. The area surrounding to the south and west, not so much. The Parkside neighborhood is known for it's Victorian architecture, but unfortunately sights like these are also commonplace:

Bikes on a bike blog. Go figure.

It's your typical post-industrial fallout neighborhood, but still, there's something endearing about the place. Maybe it's the architecture, or maybe I just like the look and feel of old buildings. I often wonder what this place looked like in its heyday...

Normally when I find myself in a place I don't often visit, I'll just ride around. Alas, I had other places to be later that afternoon so I couldn't do a whole lot of exploring. However, on the way back southward, Hawthorne Hall in Powelton Village caught my eye just because of the sheer scale of the building and it's beauty, even in disrepair. Definitely need to ride back out there when I have more time. I also wanted to see what the Earthship lot looks like at present day, but again, not a whole lot of time yesterday. Not sure when that day will occur, but I will get back to explore a little more. Who knows? I may get called into active duty once or twice this Summer...

FAQ: Frequently Annoying Questions

I subbed for Wash Cycle's Center City commercial cyclist yesterday and today. I'm no stranger to commercial cycling delivery, but the Center City route is dramatically different in many ways. My former North Philly route can sometimes have appointments up to 5 miles away from each other. Contrast that with Center City, where sometimes there are 3 or 4 clustered within just a block or two of each other. This means a lot of zig-zagging...I mean, look at this route:

Cakewalk

Center City also means more people, which means more pedestrian and customer interaction. Today was no exception.

I've received a lot of inquiries in my time as a delivery cyclist. My responses usually vary depending on how much small talk I feel I have time to engage in, and of course, whether or not I feel like engaging in it at all. I heard many of these between yesterday and today, and as such, I decided to post common questions with some snarky responses.

I just want to clarify that I never said the vast majority of these things, no matter how badly I wanted to. The legitimate responses are noted. That's the true art of customer service. That said, maybe I should put a link to this on a business card and start handing them out. OK. Maybe not.

Here goes something:

Q: That's gotta be hard work, right?
A: Unless you think pulling 300 pounds of anything is easy, then yes.

Q: (As I speed past a jaywalker) Yo, is that fun?
A: Yes. You know what's even more fun? Avoiding jaywalkers and abruptly stopping my full rig to talk to them.

Q: You must be in great shape.
A: That's not a question, but yea. I'm pretty much a body builder.

Q: How do I get a job? (This is a legitimate question I'm more than happy to answer)
A: Go to our website, www.washcyclelaundry.com.

Q: Do I need to know how to ride to do your job?
A: Well, if you want to be a delivery cyclist, yes. Duh.

Q: Where do I get one of those trailers?
A: Let me Google that for you (trust me - click the link).

Q: Is that a washing machine on your trailer?
A: Have you ever seen a washing machine that looked like a laundry bin? Do you know how much a washing machine weighs WITHOUT laundry in it? No? OK.

Q: Whatcha got in there, trash?
A: Yea. Hop in! (Actually, some pedestrians think the laundry bins are their own personal trash cans, so occasionally the answer is actually yes. Ask me about the lady attempting to chase me down with her trash.)

Q: Hey man, you got an extra cigarette?
A: No, I don't smoke, and even if I did, I don't know that an extra cigarette is actually a thing.

Q: Would you like a bottle of water? (Legitimate)
A: Absolutely.

Q: Hey buddy, why don't ya just use a truck?
A: Because. Why don't ya just mind your own business?

Q: (Usually a UPS or FedEx guy) Hey buddy, can you move this? You're blocking me.
A: If I had a dime for every time y'all blocked the bike lanes and loading docks I frequent, I'd be a millionaire. Sit on it and rotate.

Q: Yo can I get on the back?
A: No. How old are you? (Adults ask this question more than kids, believe it or not.)

Q: Get the f*** off the road, asshole!
A: Again, not a question, but no.

Of course, this isn't to say that we don't get our fair share of praise. I love the moments when I ride through somewhat desolate neighborhoods and you hear someone say "Yo I like that! I want one of those!" or something to the similar effect. There's also this guy I see near City Hall (this goes back years) who always says "Yo Spin Cycle! What's up, man?" and I always smile and nod or say "What's up?" in response, even if he does mess up our brand name.

And the best responses are not questions, but satisfied customer remarks, which are quite frequent. I'm ultimately happiest when no one says anything at all, because that means things are going smoothly, but even more so when they say something nice.

I'm scheduled not to be on a bike tomorrow for the first time in what feels like months. Kinda gonna miss it, not gonna lie...

30 for 30

30 Days of Biking Final Mileage Total: 644.8

May 1st has become sort of a "back to reality" day for me the last couple years, as the enthusiasm of 30 Days of Biking has started to wane (let's face it - as positive as I try to be, there is a bit of a deflating feeling after a big challenge is over) and writing about my day-to-day life as a cyclist starts to seem a little less exciting. It's also Monday. I promise you it gets better from here...

I didn't really have the time or space to dedicate to a full 30DoB recap yesterday, and in order to fend off the blues a little bit, tonight seems like the perfect time. This is also kind of my favorite part. How dare I deprive myself? So here goes...

Final Mileage Total: 644.8

To put that in perspective, Pittsburgh is about 310 miles from Philly. Essentially my mileage last month was a round trip across the southern tier of PA, plus 20 miles.

Total Time Logged on a Bike: 67 hours, 41 minutes

I spent approximately 8.5 days on a bike last month, or about 17 hours a week. That actually seems kinda low to me.

Feet Gained in Elevation: 5,040

This is why I love Strava, because I didn't have this data last year. I missed the mile high mark by just 240 feet. New goal? Maybe...

Favorite Moments:

1. Bikesharing with my girlfriend and starting small in Columbus, Ohio on Day One
2. Stopping by SIX microbreweries via bike in Delaware and Maryland on Days 8 and 9 (also, the 3rd and 4th different states in which I rode a bike last month)
3. Riding my bike to and from the airport to go visit my girlfriend on Days 22 and 23
4. Crossing 600 miles in a month for the first time ever, and celebrating a birthday on Day 30
5. And  of course, Meeting my nephew for the first time on Day 28 (I technically didn't ride a bike to meet him even though I had the bike in my car)

Of course, the memories are what this is really all about (and charity, in case you didn't know), and I found myself logging in to the 30DoB Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds almost as often as my own to see what others were doing. If you have time, click over and check them out. All this being said, I can't wait for next year!

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Even though #30DaysofBiking is over, the riding never really ends. Of course, I rode my bike to work today, and my co-worker Enrique needed me to cover his Center City commercial route today and tomorrow. Who needs a day off anyway? The exact thing you want to do after logging 60 miles on a Sunday is to pedal 300 pounds of laundry around Center City Philly:

Alright, maybe not, but at least the weather was cooperative today and I didn't hit any real snags. It would have been much more enjoyable if I didn't have some lingering ague, but hey, this is what I do. Plus, the National Bike Challenge started today, so there's something to look forward to.

By the way, I'm not going to try to compete with those guys mileage-wise, but you can count on me to ride pretty much every day unless I'm literally tied up. Thanks again for riding along with me on 30 Days of Biking, and let's keep the ride going. Summer is just around the corner...