[WillStewart]

Just161 has a point – so many people travel by other means, and have a number of choices, that the DC area has a fairly good ranking in the big picture;

http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/cities/washington

For the City Commuting category;

Washington, D.C. continues to lead the nation in this category, with the second-highest use of public transit at more than 37 percent. It also boasts the second highest walk-to-work rating (more than nine percent), and above-average bike-to-work ratings. More than seven percent of Washingtonians also carpool.

[IMG]http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=bhg&chs=600×345&chco=0066ff&chbh=10,0,10&chxt=y,x&chxl=0:|Waste+Management|Water+Supply|Natural+Disaster+Risk|Housing+Affordability|Green+Economy|Green+Building|Local+Food+/+Ag|Knowledge+/+Communications|Energy+/+Climate+Change|City+Innovation|Planning+and+Land+Use|Tap+Water+Quality|Air+Quality|Metro+Congestion|Metro+Transit+Ridership|City+Commuting|1:|50th|40th|30th|20th|10th|1st&chxp=1,2,22,42,62,82,100&chxs=0,000000,13|1,000000,14,0,lt,BBBBBB&chxtc=1,-360&chds=0,50&chd=t:50,44,6,21,11,27,39,28,17,46,49,31,11,24,30,21[/IMG]

[WillStewart]

May not want to refer to Arlington for Fairfax, Loudoun, et al respondees. Many in one particular party at the Statehouse refer to “the People’s Republic of Arlington”…

[WillStewart]

Justin,

This is a breath of fresh air that will greatly encourage more people to bike to (and use) Metro. Kudos, and we look forward to this being replicated across the rest of the metro stops.

To be fair, I believe bicycle parking should have some fees associated with them, though since bikes take up so little space and the region is struggling with road expansion costs and meeting air quality standards that increased bike/Metro use would reduce, those fees should be modest. Hence, my choice would be;

* SmarTrip card, annual and usage fees – Like the option above, except that the registration fee is reduced (perhaps $10), and a small fee (say, 15 cents) is deducted from your SmarTrip account when you tap your card at the door

Having engineered surveillance systems, I can understand how the combination of recorded CCTV and registered facility entry can go a long way towards tracking down any thieves that try to game the system. And video analytics can help detect the ‘tailgating’ or ‘piggybacking’ you were referring to earlier. http://www.newtonsecurityinc.com/faq.html

Perhaps one sign on the door that might prove effective would be “Don’t allow strangers to enter with you, so that we can maintain tight security. Failure to follow this policy can result in your access being revoked.”

Due to the impending global oil production peak, please plan and design for incremental expansion. As one example, here’s one railway bike parking lot in Gronigen, Netherlands that has 6500 parking spaces, which was expanded over time;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIxslImhdHM

[IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-Gmv1JFKtE/S-lM0MgkJYI/AAAAAAAAGYw/LEbDwzfsJMM/s1600/100_3472.JPG[/IMG]

[WillStewart]

Thanks, Triker, I’ll have to pay BAV a visit. I believe I may have run into you shortly before Christmas on the W&OD at Clarkes Gap when you were triking with your wife. If so, I’m the one who waved you two down shortly after you passed under the tunnel at Rt 9 and old Rt 7, asking about your folding trike experiences.

[WillStewart]

Kinda makes your cough insignificant to me and I’m sorry that I don’t care more.

My hacking cough is significant to me, however, and your dismissive tone is again condescending. If you feel you are superior to me, that’s your privilege, though bragging about yourself will not accomplish anything constructive. You obviously are happy with your commute – I want to put together a commute that I will also be happy with. Too many have jumped in to bike commuting without forethought and dropped it when it didn’t seem to work out. Having bike commuted in the past, I realize that planning is an important step towards a successful commute, especially when a large number of constraints present themselves. If spending 2 hours each way works for you, I have no problem with that, your priorities are your own. It won’t work for me (given that I have a bus commute leg in addition) if I want to spend sufficient time with my family and take care of other matters.

In case you haven’t read the thread on Folders on Metro, a Metro representative responded with the current policy, which you simply say I should ignore, though there is no risk to you. If I were to base a $1500 – $2500 cycle investment on your advice, I might find myself high and dry if the policy were enforced.

Again, if you don’t have something constructive to say, please politely consider foregoing a response.

[WillStewart]

Pfft. You act like 55 is old. .. You need to borrow a bike and do it rather than analyzing it to death. Not trying to bust on ya but sheesh, this has been going on for a month

Your cardiovascular health is your own business, I must pay careful attention to mine. My wife is concerned because a friend’s neighbor died from shoveling his sidewalk, even though he was in very good condition. I also have 2 preteen children that I must consider when assessing the risks associated with my approach to carfree commuting. On top of that, I’m trying to get over a hacking cough still hanging on from the holidays, and I certainly will not expose myself to extended exertions in cold weather until I’m rid of it.

Having grown up in Vienna, and knowing the bike trail vertical changes from there to Rosslyn very well (had bike commuted that route in the 80s), I can say that my forthcoming commute is a bit more vertically challenging, including more than one traversal of Catoctin Ridge, and likely as not the climb out of Rosslyn in the morning. Other factors that your commute apparently does not take into consideration is;
– partially herniated disk, L5/S1
– carpal tunnel, left hand
– small bike locker space limitations
– bus cargo space limitations
– bus bike rack limitations
– West Falls Church elevator space limitations

It’s becoming apparent that I will likely employ different routes in the morning vs. the evening, based on safety, time, and cost.

If you feel that I’m spending more time analyzing this than you would, that’s your concern. Others have been very helpful, and I greatly appreciate their wisdom and experience.

I don’t appreciate the condescending tone (and incorrect information) you’ve been responding with lately. If you don’t have something constructive to say, then politely consider economy of speech.

[WillStewart]

I have now found another commuter bus that picks up 15 (bike) miles away(north Ashburn), will cost only $2 (vice $8 for the current bus), and takes only 30 minutes to get to the Metro (vice 50 for the Leesburg to Rosslyn run).

So 15 + 5 = 20 miles in each direction at 55 years of age (and with a family to get home to) means that I’d only do this if I considered electric boost. With electric boost, I also wouldn’t have to go through a period where I would need to carefully work up to a level of fitness (depending on how much battery I choose to start off with, though there still would be some conditioning required). I also wouldn’t have to take into consideration fitting the cycle into the tight constraints of the bike locker, though I would have to be able to fit on a front bus rack.

That reduces the recumbent possibilities to a SWB bike. If I want to be able to take it on Metro (for whatever reason, say I’m getting a bad cramp), a folding SWB would fit the bill, like the Cobra above.

Now I have to find out if it can be electrified, because of the Shimano Deore 9sp with 3sp internal hub SRAM dual drive (though I could just decide to make it a 9 speed), and because of the rear wheel being supported by an aluminum allow monostay. I’ve read reviews by people who’ve already put 1700 km on them, so I feel they are likely solid enough.

If I did chose a trike, that would mean I couldn’t take the ‘new’ bus route that requires loading the cycle onto a bike rack, though I’d have a very stable ride.

I think I’m going to put the two choices on two pieces of paper on a wall, put on a blindfold, and throw a dart….

[WillStewart]

Has anyone tried putting a folding trike on one of these racks? Or even a non-folding trike? I’m assume a well-placed bungee would suffice, though I have no idea what the bus driver would do.

[WillStewart]

http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/guidelines.cfm

“Folding bicycles and non-collapsible bicycles of all types that are folded or disassembled and enclosed in carrying bags, cases or boxes are deemed “luggage” items and are permitted inside railcars at all times. The carrying bags or cases must be made of a sturdy material such as canvas, nylon or leather-type materials.”

Does anyone have any specific information on whether or not this rule has been changed?

[WillStewart]

And of course, The Flying Scotsman, a true story about the Scottish cyclist Graeme Bree, and his achievements and struggles in the racing community.

[WillStewart]

Thanks, all the above gives me quite a bit to ruminate on, especially additional route possibilities, Rosslyn driver behavior, and itinerant sidewalk sanctuaries. This is like a three-dimensional puzzle that’s about to be solved.

[WillStewart]

Freedom of speech is a valuable right, though we have to recognize that each forum sets its own rules for behavior; if one doesn’t like the rules at one forum, they are free to start one of their own.

I support the administrator’s call for restraint from cursing and believe we can state our positions without being offensive. Nasty tones are not conducive to constructive conversation, the latter requiring modest thought and energy to maintain.

Thanks to Joe for investing his time and energy into this valuable collaborative communications environment.

[WillStewart]

Update: Talked to the stationmaster on duty at WFC Metro last night, striking up a short conversation with a friendly tone mentioning my planned bike commute from the bus stop to the station exit with a recumbent cycle (though I didn’t use the word ‘trike’). He said as long as I dismounted and used the elevator, that should be fine. He even said that if the elevator was out, I could use the escalator when there was a break in the flow of pedestrians using it.

I’m settling in on the idea of a Greenspeed folding trike, which can fit in the bus cargo area (2’7″ high), fit in a 6 foot Loudoun bike locker (when I can’t do the entire 4 legs for whatever reason), and can fold if I need to transport it via metro. The stability is what made the difference, seeing as I’m 55 and expect to be bike commuting for at least another 5 years.

[WillStewart]

Actually I do have an belly that needs streamlining, along with a mustache and engineering degree. Aerodynamics used to be one of my favorite subjects and I recently published an article on the subject in The Oil Drum.

[WillStewart]

Thanks, rootchopper and dirt, your experiences have helped me immensely in choosing which approach I’m going to take. I will indeed pursue the recumbent path (to gain a bit more aerodynamic advantage).

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