# 2014 DC Bike To Work Day Report



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

The short report is that it was wet!

Very wet!!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

First you gotta understand that Bike To Work Day in DC is a BIG deal.

They plan for 15,000 riders to attend one (or more) of 70 stations.

Oh but the rain this year........

On a normal day we might expect 600+ riders to pass this trail monitor by 7am.








On a normal Bike To Work day I can only imagine the size of the horde that would pass by.

It sure was wet.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Anyway we are well prepared for wet weather and having nothing better for the day to do we crossed the river into Rosslyn to check out the station there. It turned out that they were well prepared for the rain too but there seemed to be way more volunteers than riders.









While Miss M got our t-shirts and some goodies I checked out the bikes.

















Then we headed back to DC.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Our real destination for the morning was the Bike To Work Day station at Georgetown Waterfront Park. In past years some of the better restaurants would lay on the goodies for the cyclists coming down the Capitol Crescent Trail. You just don't want to miss that (even if you have to ride through Georgetown to get there)!
















Much like the Rosslyn station there weren't all that many cyclists at the Georgetown stop (which was really too bad).









But the restaurants were there and they were very happy to see any cyclist brave/crazy enough to ride in those conditions.

We scored big time! I mean, WOW!!! some of that stuff was good!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Normally from Georgetown we would head downtown to the big rally by city hall but I had noticed that The National Geographic Society was hosting a station this year. We decided it wasn't far out of our way to city hall so we would check it out.
















Boy were we glad we did. I guess what with the weather and all the Society decided to move their station inside (and it was delux!). In addition to being warm and dry for a few minutes Miss M won a raffel that turned out to be a whole lot of NGS merchandise. Not junk either but stuff that we are looking forward to using!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

The NGS having made our day we headed over to city hall to check things out.
















On a normal Bike To Work Day the plaza is filled to overflowing with bikes and riders.

Bummers. There was almost no one there and nearly nothing in the few tents set up.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Ah well, time to head home and dry out.























Well, head home with a detour or 2 due to flooding.















Still we do love Bike to Work Day!


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## Gregory Taylor (Mar 29, 2002)

Proof once again that MB1 and Miss M are a force of nature. And that the wetter forces of nature seem to leave them unphased and dressed appropriately. 

I bailed on Bike To Work. It seemed like we could have stared "Kayak To Work" down our neck of the woods.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Gregory Taylor said:


> Proof once again that MB1 and Miss M are a force of nature. And that the wetter forces of nature seem to leave them unphased and dressed appropriately. ....


It is a shame that the photos don't come close to showing how hard it was raining.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

MB1 said:


> It is a shame that the photos don't come close to showing how hard it was raining.


I'm amazed the CCT was open and it appears that it is closed at some point today because of flooding in the usual spots. Isn't the second to last photo part of the CCT near where it typically gets flooded during these torrential rains? You might have been in Florida, but it was closed from the stairs south of Fletcher's all the way to the trailhead for over a week at the beginning of May because of rain storms that caused flooding, which was apparently primarily sewage. I had to use the towpath from the stairs to the trailhead that week while they were working on cleanup.

You can see pictures of the sewage flooding by the emergency call box at the beginning of May here: Trail Conditions

That food sounds good. I have never noticed the station at Waterfront Park but I usually work from home on bike to work day.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

nate said:


> I'm amazed the CCT was open and it appears that it is closed at some point today because of flooding in the usual spots. Isn't the second to last photo part of the CCT near where it typically gets flooded during these torrential rains? You might have been in Florida, but it was closed from the stairs south of Fletcher's all the way to the trailhead for over a week at the beginning of May because of rain storms that caused flooding, which was apparently primarily sewage. I had to use the towpath from the stairs to the trailhead that week while they were working on cleanup.
> 
> You can see pictures of the sewage flooding by the emergency call box at the beginning of May here: Trail Conditions
> 
> That food sounds good. I have never noticed the station at Waterfront Park but I usually work from home on bike to work day.


We were probably just about the last riders to make it through the Capitol Crescent Trail before the Park Service shut it down. They had just arrived at the Georgetown gate when we rode by.


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

Thanks for reporting what it was like here while I was in Portland last week, where the weather was just fantastic. Rain? What rain?

Considering you don't work, how can you take part in BTWD? They oughta check credentials or sumpin'.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

KWL said:


> ..Considering you don't work, how can you take part in BTWD? They oughta check credentials or sumpin'.


Whoa there, shows how much you know. Turns out that not working is a whole lot of work! :mad2:


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