Pit Stop Reviews

[cvcalhoun]

Bethesda:



Nothing there when I arrived at 7:15 except a sign lying on the ground. I got an e-mail later saying that they had been open and had 130 riders there, but I can only assume they either opened very late or closed very early. (It was supposed to be open 6:30 am to 8:30 am, so 7:15 should have been right in the middle of it.) This was particularly frustrating, because I didn't have to be anywhere until 10:00 AM, and had gotten up early and braved the rain specifically in order to get to Bethesda, which was my registered stop.

Georgetown Waterfront:



Lots of good food here--coffee, cupcakes, granola, bananas, yogurt. Also picked up map, copy of DC bike laws booklet, water bottle, Chipotle coupon, and coupons for a one-day CaBi membership and $10 off a yearly membership. Was initially told I could not get my t-shirt there because I wasn't registered there, but someone finally relented after I explained I had been relying on a t-shirt as something dry to change into. No raffles. Revolution Cycle had a tune-up station there.

Georgetown Library:

Not an official pit stop, but they were handing out a free book, animal crackers, and fruit punch to anyone who bicycled there. The selection of books was unexpectedly good. And they were there all day, so I didn't have to make it during a specific morning or evening period.

Malmaison: (Happy Hour)

I was a bit disappointed in this one. I'd thought it might be a chance to meet other cyclists. But it was so spread out that cyclists were not talking to each other. They did have some happy hour specials. But when I ordered the half-priced cocktail special, they charged me full price and I had to go back and complain to get the extra charge removed.

Capital Heights: (afternoon)

Another Chipotle coupon, a banana, and a couple of granola bars. Not a lot of swag, although I could have gotten my map and DC bike laws pamphlet there. They had socks, but were charging $7 for them, so I passed. But they were doing raffles every 15 minutes. I won the one for the 10 yoga sessions. Of course, I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with it given that I don't do yoga and don't live or work in that area. But the frequent raffles definitely increased the fun factor, and kept people hanging around and socializing longer than they otherwise would have. And they also gave me another t-shirt.

[bikenurse]

Greenbelt, College Park, and Edgewood DC (Met Branch trail) were up and running Friday morning, rain and all. I'd say College Park had the best bike services, Greenbelt was nicest, and Edgewood had the best cookies.

[DanB]

East Falls Church (evening)

The Good: Well... It was there

The Bad: An empty table and a volunteer pointedly packing up t-shirts half an hour prior to the posted end time.

Maybe I was expecting too much. Since other bike shop sponsored pit stops offered bike maintenance, I was expecting it there, too. I know my bike chain could sure use a lube after biking to work in all that rain, and I probably stretched my brake cables a bit. I was also hoping to grab a snack for the final stretch to Vienna, but the only edible swag (still not sure you can say that) was the gummy multi-vitamins that Gold's Gym was handing out there. And no, I didn't eat them.