Timberrrrr!

Earlier this month, I rented a car from Enterprise to visit a friend and spend the night with my sister in PA. On the drive home on Sunday night, a nasty storm was crossing the area, but it came and went before I arrived. I was driving down the George Washington Parkway, just passing the Rt. 123/McLean area, when all of a sudden I noticed a bit of leaves on the road, and a lot of BARK. Usually, if there's a storm, you'll see twigs and small branches, but not BARK. Strange.... There was more and more of it as I got down the road, and then, the traffic came to a halt. As I slowed down, I saw a medium-size tree in the grassy median strip that had been SNAPPED in HALF! Wow. There must have been some kind of strong winds with that storm - and I was glad that I hadn't been there when it came through. I had about 20 minutes before the return-time on my rental car...and if I sat in this traffic jam, there's no telling how long I would have to wait. I think that a tree or two must have come down across the road up ahead and who knows how long before Park officials or police could come and cut it up and clear the road. I hope no one was hurt. I looked at the grassy median strip and decided to be bold and pull a U-turn over it. I was hoping that I wouldn't somehow get stuck or have difficulty getting across. I've never had to drive across the median strip before - - let alone, to merge with high-speed traffic coming the opposite way.

Thankfully, it went without a hitch, and I backtracked to the previous exit and took the Chain Bridge across to Canal Road on the Maryland side. When I got to the Key Bridge, I took that back across into VA, and believe it or not, made it Enterprise right on time!! :)

In dealing with a downed tree on a bike... all you do is lift your bike over (or even under!) the tree and keep on going. :) Big difference. Of course, you could also die if a tree or big branch hit you on your bike (same with being in a car...). In fact, just a few weeks ago, a man riding his bike on the C&O Canal was caught in a storm, and died when a fallen tree hit him. :( When you're on the C&O Canal, there's really hardly anywhere you can take shelter....there are trees all around. :( NOT a good situation.

When I'm at home or the office, and a storm is in full force or about to happen, I just stay put and wait it out (especially if there's lightning involved). If a storm happens when I'm out on my bike in the city, I duck into a store or doorway. If I'm in the suburbs, I take shelter in someone's carport. When you're on your bike, you get MANY signs that a storm is approaching, so you usually have a little bit of time to find some kind of good shelter. You just have to be aware of the changing conditions and not delay in finding shelter quickly.

Music to my ears :)

Recently, I had heard about an outdoor concert held at a park not too far from my apartment. I hadn't heard of or been to the park before, but saw on a map that it was located about 8 miles away, on the bus line that goes by my apartment. So I decided to bring my Brompton onto a bus headed in that direction. However, in a few minutes, I realized that particular bus was soon making a right turn and heading in another direction. So I got off at that stop, and then walked back over to the main bus line and caught the next bus that continued to head in the direction I wanted to go. I got off a little sooner than I should have to get to the park, but it worked out. As I crossed the busy road, I saw there was a bus stop at the entrance to the park - - so that would be perfect for when I needed to make my return trip.

I rode up to the amphitheatre entrance for the concert, and as I folded my Brompton a lady walking nearby saw how the bike transformed to a small package and was surprised. We chatted as we got a spot on the lawn, about bikes and being car-free, and she said I was "brave" to go without a car. I told her how I had been doing pretty good without a car, using my bike in conjunction with the bus, train, etc. I could have brought my full-size bike, but felt that with the Brompton, at least I could fold it up and it wouldn't be in anyone's way.

When I left the concert, a little after 9 p.m., I checked the bus schedule I had printed out for that bus line and saw that the next bus would be in about 40 minutes. I should have checked the schedule beforehand...as I could have caught an earlier bus. (They only were running about once an hour, since it was after rush-hour). As I stood at the darkened bus stop, I felt a little nervous and vulnerable. I did have my bike lights and reflective vest to ride, though I had been meaning to get a good rear blinking light. I thought about riding home, but the road was a busy one and not that much extra space to ride. I don't mind riding at night time, as long as I feel safe. The road was also fairly hilly and it would take me a bit long to ride home. The Brompton is a decent bike, but the 6 gears is a little bit limiting. I was hoping the bus would come on time. Finally, the bus came around the corner and I happily flagged it to stop for me. I was home in about 10-15 min.

I think that if I attend a concert at this park again in the future, I will see about catching the earlier bus. Also, I have since bought a very bright flashing rear bike light, and feel better about being seen by approaching cars, just in case I do decide to ride home from there.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable summer's evening. :)

Only $2!

The other day, I was looking on the Megabus website to check on getting bus tickets from D.C. to Philadelphia, to meet up with my sister, to go Cape Cod for a vacation in July. It's rare that I ever see the advertised $1.00 fare for many of the travel dates/times I want to go. So I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that I could get my bus fare for $1.00 each way (plus $.50 processing fee)!! Wow! I checked with my sister to see if those dates/times would work with her meeting me, and she couldn't believe it either! So I snatched up the tickets - can't beat that price! :)

Up, up and away....

I, like many Americans, are shocked at how high the gas prices are getting.... It's close to, if not over, $4.00 a gallon. A friend of mine asked me recently "Don't you feel like getting a (new) car now that Spring is here??" No, to tell you the truth, not at all....though what about an electric car? But I went online to check those out, and there's a number of drawbacks. The average price of the Nissan Leaf electric car is $32,780-$33,720! Wow! That's like 3 times the amount I have paid for a used (gas) car! In addition, the Leaf only has a 100-mile driving range...that's not very far before you'd have to recharge it. And, in looking online, there is only ONE public recharging station in this area, located in D.C. - and using that, you only get 80% of the car charged in 30 min. I wonder how many people would stand there for the 30 minutes to recharge? Otherwise, it takes 8 hours to charge it at home....but if you live in apartment complex? Where would you park it to plug it in?? You'd need to live in a house. Looks like the electric bill for charging an electric car is about $560 a year.

I think a bicycle and public transportation still is a better idea. Speaking of public transportation, I was taking the subway home last night, and I ran into the "no train" situation again! I was at the Gallery Place station in D.C., to transfer to a Yellow line train. I waited maybe 10-15 minutes, watching the indicator sign, looking to see when a Yellow train would be coming. In that time, NO Yellow trains were shown! Only Green trains. After waiting and thinking, and seeing a couple Green trains coming and going...then the sign indicated another 20 min., for yet ANOTHER Green train - I decided to just get on my bike and ride home. It was a nice night out and I didn't mind the ride. If it had been raining, I would have caught a cab - I had my folding Brompton bike with me, so that would be an option...though I don't like to spend the money for a cab, but WILL if need be.

It's nice to have my bike there by my side to get me where I need to go - I don't need to wait. It's ready to go when I am.

Where's the Train?

Last Sunday night, I was heading home on the subway after getting together with a friend, and had my Brompton folding bike with me. Timing is everything, and I had apparently recently missed the previous train, so I had about 12-15 min. to wait for the next Red line train. Not too much of a problem, as I spend a few minutes getting my night-time riding gear on. The train comes and I take it a couple of stops to transfer to a Yellow line train. The display stated a Green line train would be along in a few minutes, but below that it stated that a Yellow line train would be next, in about 8 min., which is the line that I ultimately needed to get back home. So, when the Green line train came, I decided to let it pass and instead, wait for the Yellow line train, so that I wouldn't have to make the extra transfer. I have done this once before....and had regretted it. Because what happened next is what happened to me before....in that the stated Yellow line train NEVER appears!! Why didn't I learn the first time??! The display counts down to one minute before the Yellow line comes....and then, *POOF!* that train never appears, and then the display just says the next train is a Green line, and that will be 18 more minutes, thank you. Grrrrrrrrr!
:( When it's late and cold out, you REALLY don't want to be standing there, waiting for a non-existent train, when you REALLY could have taken the earlier Green line train and made a transfer. This is really aggravating and I stand there and kick myself and get a grudge against Metro for "tricking" me. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I am a fairly optimistic and positive person and blogger. But you know, there ARE times when not EVERYTHING goes smoothly - that's life.

But I also try to find the Silver Lining in things.... So, I waited for the Green line to come along...about frozen by the time it arrived. :( I took it into D.C. to get off and transfer at another station. I semi-folded my Brompton into its "parked position" and took a seat on the concrete bench. Soon afterwards, a guy came up and took a look at my bike and could asked if it was a folding bike, and I replied yes. We proceeded to have a very engaging conversation about bikes - how he used to bike and had a nice Bianchi bike, but that it had gotten stolen. I encouraged him to get another bike sometime soon, and to continue his past enjoyment of cycling. He said that he would, and I hope he does..... So, if I hadn't had the delay in "absent" trains, I wouldn't have made his acquaintance. Meeting him turned my slightly sour mood into a more friendly one. :)

Speaking of "absent" transportation...earlier in the afternoon, after finishing up a Brompton Club ride that I had led in D.C., I happened to pass by the former parking lot where Megabus used to pick-up and drop off. There were a handful of people standing there at the curb, with luggage and backpacks, and all had a sort of puzzled look on their faces. I figured out right away why they were puzzled...they hadn't been informed that Megabus had MOVED its bus location to down the street about 5 blocks. :( I told them the new location and they had a panicked look because some of them were supposed to be on a bus in like 5 minutes! Ack!! I suggested hopping a cab, and some of the others who had more time before their departure bus, opted to walk. I know if it had been me, and I had a designated bus to catch (like I did the previous day, going up to Philadelphia), I would have been horrified to find that the bus location had changed. I would have missed my bus and also the bike event I was to attend! I'm not sure when these people had bought their bus tickets, but I hope they were able to make their scheduled buses.... But I'm glad I was able to help them in the right direction...

Riding the Bus

In the past month or so, I've made use of the Metro bus often to get to the subway on the weekend. Granted, I can easily bike to the subway in 10-15 min., as it's only a couple miles away. But if the weather or road conditions aren't that good, it's nice to have the option of taking the bus. I've never been much of a bus person - like a lot of Americans probably! When you have a car, you never think of taking the bus (I know I didn't!). My very limited bus experience was probably 30 or so years ago, when I used a local circular bus in Reston, that only ran maybe once an hour.

Anyway, my apartment is located just a half block off of busy Columbia Pike, and a bus stop is right there. It couldn't be more convenient. :) There are a number of bus lines that pick up at that location, and bring you to either the Pentagon Metro or Pentagon City Metro station. The buses run every 10-15 min. I can use my SmartTrip electronic card, so I don't need to be concerned with having exact change. The bus ride is short - perhaps 10 min. at the most. I wish, though, that the return bus ride were as quick...but it's probably due to my catching it later at night (after 11 p.m. or so). When it's cold and windy out, you don't feel like standing there freezing, waiting for the bus. So, what I've done is walk across the street to a hotel where there are cabs lined up, and hop in the warm cab for a quick ride home and not too expensive (perhaps $8.00 total). So, it's nice to have options.

The bus came in handy when we had the January snow of 5" and I needed to get to work. My apartment building's free shuttle that goes to the subway, wasn't operating. I don't know if it was because the driver couldn't get to the shuttle, or if he was sick. But I just walked over to the Metro bus stop and didn't have to wait long for a bus. I was a little concerned when there were maybe 20 people in line waiting for the bus, and whether we all would fit on the bus - - but, fortunately, we did! :)

Last night, I went to meet a friend for dinner. She lives in Silver Spring, but since I had my road bike (vs. my Brompton), I couldn't take my bike on the subway til after 7. So I decided to try putting my bike on a bus bike rack and take the bus to my destination. The last time I tried this was a couple years ago when we had an unexpected ice storm after work. It didn't go good because due to the ice, I had a hard time pulling the rack down, and then the arm that fits over your front tire was frozen and I couldn't get it to budge. :/

So I looked online and saw there were a couple of bus lines that went to Silver Spring, and they ran every 10 min. or so. I was a little concerned about a couple things. I wondered if the bus stop would be packed with commuters and if so, after I would load my bike (IF I could manage to load my bike), would there be room for me? Would a bus come along and already have 2 bikes on the rack, and would I have to wait for the next one?

So, I rode my bike to where the area was to catch either line. I first tried to find the bus stop for the Express bus. I checked a few bus shelters, looking at the bus stop signs that show the routes. I asked a couple of people at the bus stops and also a bus driver, but I couldn't find the location. So I went to the other bus line stop. Two buses pulled up with that route number - though only one of the buses showed it went to the Silver Spring Metro. I confirmed it with driver, and then proceeded to put my bike on the rack. The rack came down easily, and I loaded my bike. I pulled the spring-loaded arm and it gave relatively easily and I put it up over my front tire and got on the bus. Whew! :) I was pleasantly surprised to see that evidently the bus fare box wasn't working, so everyone was getting a free ride!! :) Bonus points! :) I got a seat opposite the driver and I could see my bike clearly. As we rode along, I was texting my experience to some friends. I heard a noise and thought for a second that maybe my bike had fallen off and we had run over it!! I looked up and was relieved to see my bike still on the rack. :) I watched it carefully for a little while, making sure that it was riding along and hanging on, as we went over bumps and potholes. It seemed secure and fine. When we got near the end of the ride, I told the bus driver that this was my first time taking my bike on a bus. I asked if this was the "normal" amount of people that ride the bus (there were only maybe 15 or so people on the bus!). She said yes, at this time of the evening. I was kind of surprised, I thought there would be more. She said later in the evening there were more. So I was glad to hear that it's not a super busy bus line.

So my overall experience went very well and I won't hesitate to put my bike on a bus again for a destination, if need be! :)

Cars, snow, sleet

I got a Zipcar yesterday, since I had the day off for the Martin Luther King's holiday. I loaded up on lots of groceries and also visited with family and friends. On the way to return the car in the evening, it started to snow a little bit and then it turned to sleet. It's interesting to note the difference in the way I feel when driving a car in the snow, vs. biking in the snow. In a car, I start to tense up. Watching the road ahead, seeing the snow swirl around on the road. That's not too bad, but when I hear the sleet hitting the windshield and start to see some "texture" on the road, I start having flashbacks of spinning out of control, doing 360s, and who knows where and how you will stop. In the vehicle, I don't feel like I have much control except to slow down. I worry about other cars having problems and spinning out near or into me. Cars behind me come up too close, even though I'm in the slower lane. I especially get nervous when passing over on road bridges, where things can get really icy. Let me tell you that I was VERY relieved to finally get the Zipcar back to its parking spot and get out of the car.

Biking this morning on the ice this morning was a little tense, but nowhere like last night in the car. The bike path was covered in ice, but I have the option of either walking my bike, or riding on the ice-covered grassy areas. It was kinda neat to ride on the grassy areas, as the bike crunches over the ice. You have good traction. It's a little slower riding and more effort exerted, but it's a good work-out. I had to walk part of the 14th Street Bridge, and wished I had worn my Yak Trax on my shoes...I hadn't thought of that. Anyway, when biking or walking the bike, it's at a slow pace and everything feels pretty much "in control". I saw a few other bike commuters along the way, but they were managing as well.

I'm glad we don't get many of these ice storms, but if I have to pick, I'd rather be on my bike. :)