Two posts in one week! Be still my beating heart! Here in DC we've gotten to enjoy some faaaabulous weather thanks to a summer POLAR VORTEX. I actually had to put on a sweater last night during our group night ride. Craziness!

I always think that sometime soon, I'm going to run out of bicycles to creeper up on in the District. We're a relatively small town and how many cyclists can there be in this joint? Apparently a lot. However, lately I find myself having to check past photos to make sure I didn't take photos of an existing featured bicycle. My memory is not that good.

This is a real classic, a vintage 1953 Hercules bicycle from the UK. I met the owner while checking out a coworking space. She bought it with all the original parts on this ride from an owner in DC... even the tires are original. Love love LOVE this steed. I totally want a 1940s-era Raleigh or Hercules to go along with my British WW2 uniform. Yes, Mr. District Dutch is a nerd.

A Biria CitiBike along the 15th St. NW bike track. Love the light blue color of the frame and racks. Also really like the front rack which is just big enough to fit a six pack of beer.

Another Biria CitiBike, this one in Dupont. I can always appreciate a milk crate on the rear rack. Can also appreciate the Abus folding lock although I don't understand locking the front wheel to the frame. The rear wheel can be easily as stolen and costs more to replace. That reminds me, I should buy some anti-theft skewers for my bike.

A Windsor Oxford, also in Dupont. I see a lot of Windsors around town, this is probably the fourth or fifth one I've featured here. I know they're pretty low cost, I wonder how they ride. Any thoughts?

I thought this green Huffy 10-speed bicycle was parked appropriately, next to a tree box with lots of green flowers in full bloom. Don't ask me what kind of flowers, I do not have a green thumb. But this bike in Dupont had a "Back to Nature" sticker on the top tube to go along with the green paint scheme. The vintage Terry Liberator saddle is also interesting.

Sad panda... saw this Linus on the ground with entire rear wheel out in the 15th St. NW bike track. Another reason to use the Sheldon Brown method of locking up your bike... tends to keep it upright. I hope the poor lonely Linus didn't see its rear wheel damaged at all. Don't cry, sad little Linus. :(

Earlier, I pointed out that the NoMa BID installed a public repair station by the MBT entrance. It's by far the first one installed in DC. I am pretty sure that honor goes to the Anacostia Arts Center east of the river. It's been there for at least a couple of years now.

Keep on keeping on with the cycling, especially with this polar vortex weather!

So I've got a new blog entry up after only a week and a half... that's an improvement right? Well let's get on with some bike photos.

I can't find the manufacturer of this bicycle I saw in Capitol Hill. I am guessing it is German in nature, with all the design features it has: front caliper brake, rear drum brake, rear wheel lock, internal hub gears, internal dynamo hub for the lights, double-sided kickstand. The step-through frame is a real beast, too. Look at those mounting points for racks! I'm surprised it doesn't have a full chainguard on it, however. I also like the wire frame protector for the rear fender reflector/light.

Another nice step-through Bobbin Birdie, also in Capitol Hill. Mud flaps on the fenders are always a nice touch. The added orange stars and crescent moon stickers for personality is an even better touch. Also one of the few bikes I see around town locked up using the Sheldon Brown locking strategy, locking the rear wheel through the rear triangle frame. This prevents a thief from stealing both your frame/bike and rear wheel.

I wish I had gotten a better photo of this bicycle during more light hours. I went on the last BicycleSPACE social Thursday ride and this gentleman had this fully restored 1960's-era Raleigh bicycle. So sexy... especially with the Brooks saddle on there and the vertically mounted brass bell on the stem. This was taking during the mid-ride stop in Navy Yard where the ride organizers busted out popsicles and cookies for the group!

Really old vintage Schwinn locked up in Columbia Heights. The hard plastic grips are long gone. The ride only has rear caliper brakes, and still has a column shifter on the stem. But otherwise in great shape.

The NoMa Business Improvement District has really gone through some great lengths to encourage bike riding around that part of town. They've had a couple of public bike pumps around and really pushed for the First St NE bike track that runs from the Harris Teeter on M St to Union Station. I love it. Recently the BID put in a lot more public pumps around NoMa and installed this public bike repair station by the NoMa metro station, right where the MBT exits off the Red Line.

This new bike pump is along the First St bike track across from the CNN Headquarters. I'm not sure if the tube part is meant to be used as a bike rack, but having a bike locked up there makes it a pain in the ass to use the pump. I kept hitting the bike's frame while inflating my tires. Oh well!

Lastly for this Monday morning, the District is suppose to benefit from a summer polar vortex this week. So instead of brutal sweltering weather in the 90s, we get to enjoy low humidity days in the low 80s. No excuse to not ride a bike this week!

So it's been a hectic two weeks for Mr. District Dutch. I got a new day job! My "day trip" up to New York late last month was actually for a job interview. I'm still going to be in DC but the company is headquartered in Brooklyn. Better news is that I'll be working from home and have to be out and about town a lot. In theory, should be many more updates. Thus the last two weeks have been filled with me leaving my old job and starting my new one, which required me to spend a week up in Brooklyn for training. A rough life, yes I know. I also had to postpone my planned scavenger hunt because of current events.

I did get a lot of material from those two weeks, however, so kick back and take in a super long edition of District Dutch.

Here we have a Republic Plato step-through bike out at one of the monuments. It's only a single-speed model but otherwise it's a pretty well equipped city bike: front and rear racks, full chain guard, skirt guard, front rim brake and rear drum brake. I really like the frame detail in the support bar between the step-through bars. The aqua blue bottle cage is a bit awkward though... it's just zip-tied on. Surely there's a more elegant solution for water on such a ride? I also don't like the dual chain locks... so there's two? If a thief can get through one easily, he won't mind spending another 2 minutes just cutting through the other one.

This one is interesting and unique: It's a Univega city bicycle... it's a US brand manufactured in the 1970s and 80s with parts made in Italy and Japan. This one is in outstanding shape by the Dupont metro. I love the really large Clarijs pannier bag on it.

This one was also at the Dupont station. I normally don't post photos to hate on bikes... this is all about bike love. But I wanted to post this as an example of how far my beloved Schwinn company has fallen. Due to labor troubles in the late 80s (Chicago? Labor issues? Naaaah), Schwinn went bankrupt in 1992. The brand itself was sold a few times over and now resides with... who knows at this point. But 100% of the manufacturing and probably design is done in China, much like everything else you buy at Wal-mart.

First off, I really don't understand the beach cruiser craze. I really don't... maybe I don't have enough California Dreamin' in my blood but I don't understand bikes that are purposely built to be heavy and impractical like the beach cruiser all in the name of garish styling. Thick ass tubing of cheap steel, big knobby tires, curves that are more style than substance. All for $180 from Wal-mart. No joke. Anyways, I guess the owner is at least riding, so he/she's got that going for them, which is nice.

A vintage Huffy Regatta 3-speed bicycle from the 1970s, parked in Capitol Hill. All the different locks securing this ride couldn't save it from the car that slammed into its rear tire and fender. :( The frame looked OK and maybe the fender could be hammered back into shape, so the owner just needs a new internal hub rear wheel. Bet the asshole car driver didn't leave a note either.

But on to happier times! This Sears Free Spirit bicycle was a real beaut, its electric deep blue color scheme really popped at you. Located on Barracks Row, owner must really love this ride, because it was quite clean well up-kept. And I'll always love a classic brass bell.

I don't know the make of this bicycle, also on Barracks Row. But there are so many deliciously cool and peculiar things about this bike that I fell in love with it. It has the prerequisite Brooks saddle and grips. I love the extra wide yet streamlined front rack. Hammered metal fenders and touring pedals from I suspect Velo Orange really add some style to it. But the porteur-style chain guard with what looks like custom stenciling on it really kills it. It has "Alternative Means Transportation" stenciled on there. How cool is that! And to just kick you while you're down, the brass bell is mounted vertically on the stem! WHO DOES THAT. Yes, I am a total bike nerd.

Kind of hard to follow that act. But this Giant Via in Dupont is a nice and subtle attempt. Two points of interest on this cycle: First, there is a hand-painted floral design on the head tube and fork. I really like personal touches like that. And second, there is a World Bicycle Relief sticker on the rear fender, a most noble cause. Donate to them if you can!

A really bright yellow Bobbin Birdie, an English bicycle company. Love how the color just pops right out at you. Also like the Linus headlight on the handlebars. Also in Dupont.

An older PUBLIC C7 bicycle at Dupont Circle before the DC Bike Party's second anniversary ride in July. You don't see the distinctive tri-color signature PUBLIC band anywhere except on the fork. The fenders have been replaced with brushed metal ones and the owner has added silver reflective bands around the frame, as well as having a reflective fabric band around the step-through tubes.

A really nice Peugeot mixte frame bicycle in Georgetown. Great shape, still has all the original detailed decals on the frame. Love the rear brakes that around mounted just behind the seat tube instead of on the rear seat stay.

So some things about around the District and New York. First, I didn't take any photos of bikes in NYC. Of course I could have, there are so many wonderous and unique bicycles up there. But this blog is about DC, not NYC so I spared you all the inferiority complex of posting up LOOK HOW COOL NYC IS. I did use CitiBike all week to get to/from work and my hotel when I could... it rained a lot during the week. Biking in Brooklyn was easy. My last day there, I did bike around Manhattan before catching my train home. That was pretty nuts... you have to be hyper-aggressive to survive those streets.

But walking home from dinner one night in the rain in Brooklyn, I walked past the Nu Hotel and saw these:

Yes, the hotel has a fleet of Brooklyn Driggs 3 cruisers for guest use. Kimpton hotels do the same with custom branded PUBLIC bikes. I went inside and talked with the front desk. Definitely can use them for work commuting. My next trip to Brooklyn, I may stay here and just use one of these to get around.

As I mentioned before, I attended DC Bike Party's second birthday ride. These rides are usually always the second Wednesday of every month, there's usually a theme of some sort, and when there's nice weather, there are a ton of people who turn out. This one had upwards of 400 riders... pretty cool! The meet up spot is always at the Dupont Circle fountain, here's people starting to gather for the ride:

Had a lot of fun with Ms. City Planner's friend, Ms. National Gallery... she's a pretty avid rider too.

The following weekend was double duty of riding with Ms. City Planner. We had planned on doing the 60 miles between Harper's Ferry and DC in the next week so decided to see how we would handle a longer ride on our city bikes by riding out to Great Falls, MD on the C&O tow path and back. That's about 38 miles. We did it, but it was too damn hot. But when we got out there, we saw that there's a non-profit that loans out bikes for free to tourists to ride along the path themselves. Neat!

The following day, we attended BicycleSPACE's social ride to RFK Stadium to watch the Brompton US Championship along with Ms. Movie Theater. The Brompton race are Brompton owners racing a full course in shirt, tie and jacket. It's for fun although the winner of either the men's or women's categories gets to go to England for free to compete in the world championship race. The social ride is just an excuse to dress up for a bike ride... we stuck around for the whole race to cheer on all the participants. We wore our old timey clothes and were even in the Washington Post because we looked so dapper! But it's not about us, it's about the participants of the race. This couple finished the race holding hands. If you don't awww at this photo, your heart is made of black coal.

The race organizers waived the jacket requirement because it was deadly hot out. Good call.

And lastly, to close out the week and this post, I give you some District bike love. I saw this lady in NoMa with a super cool double rider bicycle(s) and dual matching flags. Bike love!

Have a great weekend and get out there and enjoy the great weather!!!