The Bridge and Tunnel Crowd

Okay, so back to something more bike related. This is, after all, the Unemployed Bike Commuter blog. Bridge and tunnel crowd, then? What gives? Angry Manhattan-ites sick of the Jersey City and Connecticut interlopers? Irritated DC'ers sneering at MD and VA cars making wrong turns onto one-way streets in the CBD? Nope. This time it's the Capital Crescent Trail and its bridges and tunnels.

The CCT is a great bike escape on the NW side of town when you don't feel like playing in traffic. It's actually quite scenic in spots, too. The pics above are of the Dalecarlia tunnel, which burrows beneath the street to provide safe passage for cyclists after the railroad left town in 1985; and the trestle bridge over Canal Rd, where Arizona Ave creeps up into DC. And, of course, The DC Flyer, complete with neon panniers.

Aside from being a beautiful ride, the CCT seems to discourage weekend Lance-a-lots; our superhero-clad racers who think the area bike trails are training grids. I think the CCT is short enough that these would-be tightsights steer more toward the Mount Vernon Trail. I find my rides on the CCT very relaxing, especially on weekdays. Further, the CCT provides good calf resistance when you ride north, the gentle grade insistently plucking at your gastrocnemius if you keep the gears at least in the middle ranges.

[Bike geek alert!!] The DC Flyer has twenty-four gears and uses most of them (3-speed internal hub coupled with an 11-32 rear sprocket spread and 46T front chainring), being my workhorse, grocery getter, speedster, do-it-all bike. However the middle gear of my SRAM three-speed internal hub sees the most use, so I am generally cruising the CCT somewhere between twelfth and fifteenth gears. (NOTE: the preceding sentence is a contractual obligation to satisfy the serious bike geeks who read this blog).

Not only does the CCT offer scenic cruising and a bit of a workout, you can turn it into a nice loop in combination with the Rock Creek Park Trail. If you start by going south to Georgetown, you can ride the Rock Creek Trail back to upper northwest. Conversely, if you head north on the CCT, you will link up with the interim Georgetown Branch Trail and can double-back along Beach Drive and eventually back to the Rock Creek Trail. And speaking of bike trails and the city...

DC certainly isn't constructed to be bike friendly like, say, Portland, Oregon. At least not in terms of previous civic planning. But we're working on it. Mayor Fenty has a plan and seems to be slowly executing it. DC installed its 1,000th bike rack in 2008. Plans also call for 40 miles of bike lanes in the city. I will leave discussion as to the usefulness of bike lanes to those on the bike forums all across the web. But the point taken is a good one--bicyclists are evidently being heard by the city, and their needs considered.

Now back to the bridge and tunnel crowd--sort of. Read on!

Further to the above progress, there is a bike center under construction at Union Station. As has been posted by others on the web, it will hold 150+ bikes, in a protected parking area, plus additional unsecure (standard) bike racks outside. There will be a changing room and lockers to rent, but no showers. The bike center itself should be badass. It will be largely a glass structure, shaped kind of like a football. The developer wanted a "non building" specifically so as not to compete with Union Station itself. Comments on the web show that current outdoor bike racks at Union Station are somewhat theft-prone. For those parking here and commuting, I reckon the bike center will be a welcome relief. And the price tag? $100 a year. Cheaper than a new frame! For more information from the DC guv itself: http://tinyurl.com/lzvquj

Happy riding amigos!