Well, back in the saddle and riding a lot. Probably too much as I'm not taking enough photos for the blog. I'm not nearly reaching critical mass in terms of pictures but I will admit to bypassing a lot of bikes to take photos of. The main reasons are:

1. It's yet another Linus
2. It's a bike I've already taken a photo of
3. I'm too lazy to stop

Also the weather has been just too great in DC... sunny, moderate temperatures, no humidity. So I'm taking full advantage of it before we turn into a swampy, humid mess for summer. Anyways, here's a few shots from the past few days.

A British racing green Schwinn, parked at an Earth Day event last Tuesday in Eckington. I approve of the repurposing use of the shopping bag as a seat cover, as it was rainy that day. Majority of bikes I see outside with leather or leatherette/pleather saddles don't bother to cover up. I totally baby my Brooks saddle but I lost my Brooks seat cover so I always carry a spare plastic bag now. Also like the use of a cable with the u-lock to secure both the front tire and rest of bike.

A Raleigh bicycle in NoMa. Very color coordinated with the white tires, grips, saddle and even brake lines. I really like the large front basket. I've wondered if my ride would handle better with the weight up front as opposed to the back.

A Linus Dutchie parked next to my bicycle at the Franciscan Monastery in Brookland. I took this photo, despite it being yet another Linus Dutchie, for a couple of reasons. One thing I do like about the Dutchie and Linus in particular over my PUBLIC is they include a retro reflector on the rear fender. I still don't understand why PUBLIC doesn't include that option at all. I really like the little canvas saddlebag on the handlebars, it's a nice touch. Also found it comical that we were at a monastery and bothered to lock our bicycles up. And yes, I added a bottle opener to the back of my crate.

Really a one-of-a-kind bicycle. This roadster is hand built by one of the owners of BicycleSPACE, Eric Krugler. He has designed several different models and will be putting them into production soon and have them for retail sale soon after. They are all pure sexxxy. And fast as hell too. I talked with him a bit during the group ride to the Kingman Island bluegrass festival last Saturday. His goal is to have the majority of the bicycles' components manufactured here in the States like the frame, fork and internal parts. He uses a lot of the best accessories out there like Brooks saddles and Velo Orange parts. I rilly rilly want one.

I should have taken a lot of photos during that group ride as I saw a lot of bad ass bicycles. Also met a lot of people, including one of my neighbors in my apartment building who came up to me and said she's seen me a lot coming in and out with my ride. She had a really bad ass mixte-frame bicycle herself. Also saw a cool Shinola that I did want to get a photo with. Alas, was way too busy to snap photos. I know, I'm a bad blogger. The best I can do is a shot of the bicycle parking lot at the festival. It was heartening to see so many cyclists riding out to the event.

And last, just to prove I have been out and about all the time during the weekends and not indoors playing armchair cyclist and living on World of Warcraft, I present to you my epic farmer's tan that I'm grooming.

Look at those guns!

As I'm sidelined for a bit since my ride is out of commission (probably back up tonight), I'm often asked "Where do you ride?"

Living in our nation's capital, the question should be "Where DON'T I ride?" Aside from being a very bike-friendly town (comparatively to other US cities), it's also one of the more scenic and gorgeously planned towns. There's a saying here, "If you aren't still awed by the sights of DC, it's time to move." And riding around town gives you a different perspective of the city.

So I pretty much ride everywhere. I bike as a means of transportation within town, but I also ride for pleasure. Riding a city bicycle is perfect for this kind of perspective, being upright and able to enjoy the sights. I've been riding since last July, here are some my more favorite shots around town.

I live quite close to Capitol Hill and ride by it almost every day. This was after our last snow storm this past winter. I forget what they called that storm, but my favorite was Snowkyo Drift.

The pier along the Capitol Yards riverfront on the Anacostia River. I live in Navy Yard so this is my backyard. Nice and peaceful in the evenings, I'm looking forward to many a summer nights hanging out here.

Madison Place in front of the White House. The 15th St bike track will take you along this route where it splits because of the White House. Lots of tourists here, and sometimes protesters which is why this line of motorcycle police are here.

That same 15th St track, at the Massachusetts Ave. intersection. It's great to have this lengthy two-way bike track, but the timing of the lights absolutely suck. These days I'll take 11th or 7th Sts if I have to go north/south.

I go on a lot of night rides, especially when the weather is really nice. One of my main circuits is around the monuments and memorials along the National Mall and tidal basin. This was taken at the Jefferson Memorial.

The merry-go-round on the Mall by the Hirshhorn Museum. It's closed after 8 pm, this was taken well after that.

RFK Stadium along the Anacostia for a DC United tailgate party before a match. The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail will take me from Navy Yard to here and Kingman Island. That is Sloane on the ground there. I like to hang out with the District Ultras supporter group.

The Pennsylvania Ave bike track. I love that this runs through the middle of the most powerful stretch of the nation. I don't love when a bunch of a-holes decide to make a u-turn through the bike track. It also drives me crazy when a whole slew of tourists riding Segways ride through this track.

District residents live to complain about the cherry blossoms every year and all the tourists they bring, but as cheesy as it sounds, it's still majestic every year. Riding through them at night when there are no tourists is even better. This was taken at the FDR Memorial... we're not suppose to ride our bicycles through the memorials, but there are no park rangers after 9 pm.

We are not at Disney World... I dunno what these girls are dressed up for specifically, but this was during the Cherry Blossom parade. Some kind of spring time cotillion?

All sorts of goodness this weekend! But a bit of a head's up for this week. My rear tire suffered a flat this Sunday so I might not have as many posts until I get it fixed. Unfortunately it's not a simple flat but rather the tire integrity failed so PUBLIC is sending me a new tire and tube. Once I get that in the mail and installed, back up and running. Might be a good excuse to finally pony up for a Capital Bikeshare membership. I did ride my very first one on Friday, thanks to Ms. City Planner's key. While I was glad to be riding, it was a tank. A Soviet tank to be exact... a big beastly T-34 as it was heavy, and slow and ungainly. But it got me from Point A to B.

Here's a Schwinn Collegiate 5-Speed from the 1970s parked in Columbia Heights. Back then, they cost about $80... today, they probably still cost about $80. Aside from some spots of rust on the frame, the bicycle is in great shape and mostly still has all original equipment on it. I remember this model well as Mr. District Dutch is old as dirt and grew up in the 1970s. Every friend's older sister who I had the hots growing up then for rode this bicycle.

Here's a contemporary Jamis Commuter 1 bike. I included this one because I have a friend who's about to buy a Jamis... not sure if it's this model but it's a hybrid that's similar. I like that companies like Jamis who mostly sell road bikes are catering to city riders as well with models like this. But it's kind of baffling why they wouldn't include something as simple as a partial chain guard to it when it has everything else a city commuter might need. Or maybe it's the cool guy hipster thing to do to ride around town with your right pants cuff rolled up. I do like the UK mod love with the Nutcase helmet design.

A Kent Americana single-speed bicycle, parked and for sale in Mt. Pleasant. Aside from a rusty chain, looked to be in really good shape. 

Didn't catch the model of this Giant bicycle but what was interesting to me is the different colored bike tires. When my tire blew, I tried buying a cream-colored tire to get it fixed right away. No one in town had one readily available. Luckily the tire was still under warranty so I'm getting a free one but I did think about getting a regular black tire as a temp replacement. In the end, my stylistic sensibilities wouldn't let me do it.

This apartment complex in Mt. Pleasant was a treasure trove of hipster city bicycles... the next several were all parked outside the same building. This is another Critical Bike, a PUBLIC knock-off. Like the other three Critical Bikes I've posted before, this too is missing its front light unit. I'm really intrigued by that. Are they quick-disconnect to take off? Do they get stolen a lot? Do they tend to fall off? I want to know!

I really love these Peugeot mixte-frame bicycles.The mixte design is French and Peugeot is French so it's a very French bicycle. One of the very few bicycles I've seen around town with a bottle dynamo powering its light. Even more interesting is the owner has the bottle on the rear wheel yet it's powering the front light.

A vintage Raleigh Roadster bicycle with internal hub gears. A couple of interesting points... the owner has a water bottle cage installed on the front of the stem, going old school. The second interesting point is that the shifter cable is actually disconnected from the gear switch... you can see the end of the cable wrapped up by the bottle cage... single-speed hipness!

I love love LOVE the color of this Giant Via step-through bicycle. Apparently the owner does too, enough to use an Abus folding lock on it... but doesn't love it enough to put enough air in both tires.

A real treat, this is a Batavus Fryslan, parked in Navy Yard. Very similar to the German Excelsior I posted about here, this is actually from the Netherlands. It has ALL THE THINGS that a true Dutch bike has: full chain guard, fenders, upright handlebars higher than seat, internal hub gears, hub dynamo powering the lights, skirt guard, rear coaster brakes, O-ring wheel lock, solid rear rack that can probably support another adult, and of course a little  bell. Love the smaller comfort saddle. Would love to see more of these around town!

Are we ready for the weekend? Or spring? After what was a great stretch of spring and almost summer-like weather for a week, winter just did not want to go away. GO HOME WINTER YOU'RE DRUNK. Tuesday turned cold and nasty and rainy and SNOWY. WTF. I got a major tan from the weekend from being outdoors all the time and I'm back to wearing my winter coat and gloves. Not cool BRO.

I took a shot of this Huffy Cranbrook beach cruiser simply because it has the BIGGEST. BELL. EVER. Look at the size of that thing, it's like a cronut... I really wish I had a banana for scale. I see a fair amount of beach cruisers around town and they're not really city bikes but I can appreciate the styling of them. This owner is one of the few around town using two locks to lock up... a U-lock for the frame/rear and a cable lock... for the frame? I used to run with two but I drunk rode home one night and lost my cable lock. :( This was parked by the new 1st St. NE bike track in NoMa.

Here's a Trek VIA 1 city bike. I really like the look of the buffeted aluminum fenders. Interesting of note is the owner removed the partial chain guard and binned the stock leatherette saddle for a roadie one. Maybe he wanted to make it look more like a fixie? Located in Capitol Hill.

And of course, a Linus bicycle. I've kind of sworn off posting pictures of the Dutchi model but I really can't resist these Roadsters. They are quite sharp looking and I'll have to admit, I want one or even its hipper cousin, the Gaston. Replace the seat with a Brooks saddle, use a classic looking rear rack instead of the modern one this one has, and you've got a winner. I also covet the Abus folding lock locking this ride up. Appropriately, this bicycle was parked on H Street NE.

Have a great weekend, DC riders! If you haven't already, be sure to sign up for the following three things:

1. Bike to Work Day 2014

2. 30 Days of Biking Charity

3. National Bike Challenge

So, I took a week off from blogging because the weather has been just too nice. Couple that with my efforts to ride every day for 30 Days of Biking month, the hands have been on the bars rather than the camera. So here's a bit of a mish mosh of an update.

Here's a Raleigh I saw parked in Mt. Pleasant. Interesting bits is the chain/lock combo that is reminiscent of those used in Amsterdam... really big, heavy link chain wrapped in kevlar sheath and solid lock to go with it, not some cheap Master key lock from Ace Hardware. I also really like the front fender ornament. Bikes in general need more details like that.

A Schwinn parked in Columbia Heights. I grew up near the headquarters of Schwinns so everyone had one when I was a kid. But by the 1990s, the company was a shell of its former glorious self and the company went bankrupt in 1993. The front tire on this bicycle is very flat, and while the body is in great shape, the fenders are all rusted to hell and back.

This past weekend saw the confluence of the cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin in full bloom, the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival and Parade and actual good, warm weather in Washington, DC. So what you get is a huge puppy litter of tourists jamming up the entire National Mall area. If you drove there by car, good luck not blowing your brains out by the traffic moving inch by inch. If you walked, prepare to join the moving herds of tourists slowly making their way around the basin, with constant back-ups due to people taking photos everywhere.

But if you can bike, and don't mind going between cars in close proximity, it was a breeze. This spot was a meet-up point for several friends, between the FDR and Jefferson memorials. Once the call went out, I got from downtown to this point in 15 minutes flat. I parked my bike against the rail and laid down to relax. My friends finally got to that point by foot an hour or so later. Sloane got a lot of look overs and several people posed next to it for photos. Woot.

This is a newly painted contra-flow lane on G St. NE. Salmoning against car traffic is allowed on G and I Sts NE because H St is a huge busy street... with street car tracks. Many a biker has eaten dangerous pavement on this street when their front tire gets caught in one of the tracks. I saw the DC Bike Party roll down it last Wednesday to post-party at the Rock n Roll Hotel and saw no less than 3 cyclists eat asphalt. Ouch. These contra-lanes are new in that the paint is new. Woot.

Last, Mr. District Dutch does own a car and usually drives it to work to his office in MD. Said car is now in the shop for awhile so I've been taking the Metro rail and bus to work. It's not bad. This is a public repair station/pump at the College Park metro station which also has a secured bike parking area... you need a special card to get in. DC could use more of these public repair lifts and pumps around town.

We're halfway through April, I hope you've all been riding every day this month! Keep on riding!

Even though the weather was glorious this past weekend (albeit a bit windy on Saturday), I only got a couple of photos. I passed up quite a few bikes because 1. Most of then were Linus rides or 2. I was in enough car traffic that I couldn't stop.

This was an interesting bike... it's a vintage Raleigh Grand Prix road bike from the 1970s. Completely not a Dutch-style bike by any means. However, the owner (or a previous one) put in the effort to replace the original drop handlebars with an upright sweep-back set and then added the front basket/rack. Along the 15th St bike track near Dupont.

A mixte frame Windsor Oxford parked in Georgetown. The interesting thing about this ride is the helmet locked up with it. I'm pretty sure that is not an actual bicycle safety helmet but rather a woman's equestrian helmet, aka a jockey helmet. I have no idea if it has the same safety standards as a bicycle helmet but I figure horse riding equipment has to have some kind of impact standard.

Which leads to a sore topic for many: riding with or without a helmet. In the District of Columbia, it is not illegal to ride without a helmet if you are over the age of 15. I do not ride with a helmet and my choice is based on the simple fact that just about all bike helmets look lame. So I give props to this owner for thinking outside the box, being a slave to fashion, and riding with something to protect her (I'm assuming it's a she) dome while looking good.

I do not deny the benefits of wearing a helmet for some low-speed accidents. I do not think it will save oneself, however, in a very serious collision with a car. I do other things to compensate for not wearing a helmet: I generally stop at all lights and stop signs. My head is constantly on a swivel looking at all directions, being aware of what's around me. I do not listen to music with ear buds on. I recognize that wearing a helmet doesn't make one invincible, unlike many that I see blow through stop lights/signs. My biggest fear, actually, is seeing someone get creamed in front of me while I'm waiting at the intersection. I don't think I could handle that.

All that said, I did order a new helmet on Sunday after picking up a new bike lock. The nagging of many others who care about me finally wore me down. Probably by this weekend, Mr. District Dutch will be sporting a matte grey Bern Watts helmet. I think the first thing I need to do to it is slap a MFB sticker on the back.

Well looks like spring is finally here, goddamn I said goddamn. And with that, Mr. District Dutch has been out riding around town, too busy to take photos. Yesterday I finally calmed down enough to get back on point and take some photos around town.

I saw a well dressed gentleman lock this bike up at the NoMa Harris Teeter. It's a brand new Gary Fisher Simple City 3. It still has the sizing sticker on the seat post. I like the classic lines of the paint scheme. It also comes with a folding double-sided kickstand.

Another derpy blog post, another photo of a Linus bike. It's getting to the point I have to wonder if I'm taking photos of the same four bikes around town. A nice Roaster Sport in NoMa. I was able to take this photo and upload it courtesy of NoMa's new free outdoor wifi. Every 'hood in DC should offer this.

En route to a late-night group bike ride meeting point. Some random a-hole parking his car in the bike lane on Pennsylvania Ave NW. I did not blur out his license plate on purpuse. Eff you, buddy. He's from Maryland... of course.

I creepered up to this young lady and asked to take a photo of her on her bicycle. She said "You can, only if you tell me if my rear tire is flat." It was a little low, but nothing too bad. She's on a nice 1972 Columbia Sport III bicycle... three speed internal gear. Best thing about it, she got it off Craigslist for $60. Even better, turns out she was en route to same bike ride meeting point as she was a friend of one of the regular participants. So I didn't feel so bad about creepering up to her... but I need to work on my delivery. At least we have a new member to our Happy Bottom bike group.

Last, April is the 30 Days of Biking drive... pledge to ride every day in April, and for every 30 pledges, the organizer will donate a bike to a child via the Free Bikes 4 Kidz foundation. Amazingly, there is not a DC chapter, I may have to correct that and organize a chapter ride later this month... anyone up for a bike n brew? Anyways, sign up, but what can be better than giving a kid a free bike? Bike love!