Bike DC

On our last day of vacation we hit the Metro early in the morning and headed back into Washington, D.C.  We rode a train while we passed a train.

Yo Lunchbox, I heard you like trains.

Our first stop was the National Geographic Museum, where they had a real archaeology exhibit that was intertwined with one of the greatest movies of all time (that’s not Star Wars.)

It was kinda neat. 

Right after that, we grabbed some bikes and hit the road again.

I love that the bike lanes are plentiful in the city, and that particular one goes right down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.  We rode by the White House again, but this time we stopped in front of the Old Executive Office Building to listen to some music.

Rad

We continued on, heading towards the Capitol Building where I stopped for a photo op to support Pedal Pushers Club.

And we spotted something much less scary than corrupt politicians.

Thanks to DeFeet, Bigfoot is alive and well in D.C.

As you can see, there is a lot of construction going on up there.  The secenery is still neat though.

After another museum stop (this time at the Smithsoanian Natural History Museum), we rolled back towards the other side of the National Mall.  We stopped at the World War II Memorial.

Then it was on to one of our favorites, the Lincoln Memorial.

And the view from there back across the National Mall is good too.

I say this every year, but D.C. is my favorite place to visit.  I’ve been going there as far back as I can remember, but as a history buff I will never get tired of it.  Now that they have an awesome bike share program now, getting around is much better.  Sure, you can walk around all day, but seeing that place by bike can’t be beat (plus you can cram in a lot more stuff.) 

It was a fun trip, but after a week away from home, we had to head back to the Metro station to get out of town.

We left right during rush hour but it wasn’t bad.  Once we got further south and back to my truck though, it was a different story.  The traffic was horrible on Interstate 95 and it took us forever to get out of NoVa. 

It’s a nice place to visit…

You know the rest.

Once again, another fun “man-cation” for me and my big kid.  I’m glad he still likes to get away with his old man.  Hopefully this won’t be the last trip we take up there together.

Thirty Minutes Or Less

After spending time with my family Monday afternoon, I decided to go into the city.  I’ve been going to Washington as far back as I can remember, and as a history buff I still can’t get enough of it.  Since I had to be home sometime Monday night to get to work yesterday morning, I knew I only had a short window to do a little sightseeing. 

I parked by the Potomac River and planned my adventure.  While I was standing there I took a photo of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

It was then that I decided that the fastest way around town would be by bike.

They have an awesome bike share program in D.C., and I’ve used those bikes quite a few times now.  I hopped on my rental bike and made sure to hit all the well-known stuff, starting with the Lincoln Memorial right across the road from where I parked.

Then I rode by the Vietnam Memorial.

It’s amazing how much you can see by bike.

In the background, you may have noticed that the Washington Monument looks a little odd.  They are in the process of repairing it, mostly due to damage sustained from an earthquake.  It’s closed off to visitors, but I was able to get close enough to get a good photo.

From there, I headed up the road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  They have the coolest bike lanes there, and I felt pretty safe (even though everyone there drives like shit.)

I rolled right up in front of the White House, and after having a short, friendly conversation with a uniformed Secret Service officer I got a pretty good photo.

I rode around the block (a very big block) to the back side and stopped to get a photo of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

And of course the south lawn of the White House.

After that, I had a bit of a ride.  I rode across the National Mall, dodging tourists that weren’t paying attention and suicidal squirrels, eventually making it to the Capitol Building.

Time was running out, so I started to head back to my truck.  I stopped real quick at the Tidal Basin to capture a photo of the Jefferson Memorial, and noticed a helicopter in the sky.

I wonder if the President was on his way out or in.  I guess that’s classified information.  I’m sure I’ve already said too much. 

I was close to where I parked, but I was seriously in danger of getting trapped in the city when everyone started going home.  Although my rental bike wasn’t designed for off-road use, I took a short cut through a field to shave a few minutes off of my trip.

That whole tour took about thirty minutes.  That’s it.  Traveling by bike is quick in any city, but in a place like Washington, D.C. you can see a little history even if you’re pressed for time.  I don’t care about politics or any of that crap, but I do love that city (and history of course.)  Any chance I get to visit I will, even if it’s only for a short time.  I’d rather have visited the area under better circumstances, but at least I enjoyed some of my stay up there.

That’s a lot of stuff crammed into two days (including driving.)  No wonder I’m still tired.

A Bike Is Always The Best Way

Little Miss Sunshine and I just returned from a trip to our Nation’s Capital, and we had a blast. As you can see in the photo above we found some of those crazy rental bikes, better known as the Capital Bikeshare program. After visiting D.C. for pretty much as long as I can remember, I’ve never actually ridden a bicycle through the city. Turns out that it is the best way to see everything. The whole Bikeshare thing was a little weird at first, but it was actually pretty easy to figure out.



It’s basically a big-ass vending machine for bicycles, and there are stations all over the city. You can pick one up at any station, and return it to any other station of your choosing when you’re finished. They charge you an hourly rate, and you can keep the bikes for up to 24 hours. After you swipe your credit card, you get a code that you punch in on the bike rack. And just like that, you start riding.



Yeah, they are kinda goofy and a little difficult to ride at first, but it was really neat. We rode the shit outta those bikes all over the city, even taking them off of curbs, through some dirt and gravel paths, and even passing by some historical things.


The Lincoln Memorial.

We stopped for a bit in front of it, but avoided the crowds on the steps.



I even captured a guy riding by on a giant unicycle (and a kid busting his ass trying to run after his family):



We decided to head over to the Jefferson Memorial, which would either be a really long walk or a pricey cab ride. Since we had the bikes, it was easy (and inexpensive.) It was also scenic:





On the way I bumped into this guy.



Our founding fathers were big dudes, I guess.


Since I was already posing, Little Miss Sunshine wanted me to show off my fancy bike:



Oh yeah, I rode it around too:



No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t look cool on that thing.


Here are a few photos of the Jefferson Memorial, in case you’re interested:





The view across the tidal basin was pretty cool:



And here’s another shot of the memorial:



After that, we rode our happy asses back across the river:



I was low on cash, so I stopped by to pick up a few bucks:



Then I did a ride-by of the White House:



I did stop to take a still photo:



And just like that we were on our way again:



And, that’ll do it for today. I’m still pretty exhausted from our adventures in D.C., so that’s why I’m short on words and heavy on the photos. It makes it easy for you anyway, since I know most of you don’t read this shit anyway. I’ll be back tomorrow with the end of our bicycling adventure through the Capital City. See ya then.