r/bikedc

Just curious I was hit by a car about a month and a half ago. My bike was totaled. I didn’t have any broken bones but several sprains. I went to hospital and am getting physical therapy from my lawyers law firm. Lawyer yesterday just told me they submitted the witness on scenes claim to the insurance company. Lawyer keeps saying it takes time but the proper steps are In motion. I’m just curious if people can share their experiences about the length of time it took for settlements to happen and how much settlements amounted to. I just want to try to get a broader view of what to expect. I don’t know why lawyer is so bland with it. Maybe she doesn’t want me to expect a lot and I only get a little. But I would appreciate my dc community experience on the matter

Does anyone know if we can ride the Indy track? I haven’t been down to the mall/downtown yet

I support the Taylor St NE/Fort Drive/Harewood/Rock Creek Church Rd protected bike lane corridor project for many reasons. Chief among them is this Brookland kick scooter lady.

On many mornings, I see a woman commuting on a large kick scooter westbound on the sidewalks of Taylor and the other roads in that corridor -- AT LEAST as far east as the South Dakota NE intersection and AT LEAST as far west as Harewood between North Cap and Rock Creek Church NW. This awesome lady pushes herself with a large backpack, a high-visibility cape over her bag, and a high-viz vest on her chest, all the way up that nasty Taylor Rd climb. She wears cycling gloves and a kickass pink helmet. Her scooter has serious disc brakes.

We should build our city so you don't have to be as brave and badass as this woman to use a bike or mobility device to commute. But we should never let detractors say people don't use active transportation already to commute. Rock on, scooter lady.

Bonus for PBLs. Also, is there a good app for this kind of thing?

The bike has several different hidden trackers on it. I have monitored it from the moment I knew it was missing. Most of the time it stays inside an abandoned building in NW. At night the thief uses it to roam the residential alleys of neighborhoods with detached sheds, presumably to steal from others.

After three days of tracking it and calling the police, I've learned they will only intervene under the following conditions:

• The bike has remained still for longer than 10 minutes
• I call the police and tell them the location
• I am also present, within a block
• They see the thief with the bike outdoors
• I identify the bike visually (beyond photo evidence or serial number)

Update Below

Got the bike back!

First and most importantly, I always judge people who make typos in the post title. I now see how it can happen, and I’m humbled.

Tuesday night, my spouse and I noticed that the bike had been stationary for about 45 minutes in one of those peninsula neighborhoods nearly surrounded by Rock Creek. We figured he was prowling again and had either found something good or stashed the bike and gone on foot.

We decided to go for it, so I hoofed it up to a neighborhood next to Rock Creek Park on my single speed. Google Maps said it was a 12-minute ride. My spouse called dispatch when I left, but they wouldn’t send an officer out yet. They asked her to call back when I was five minutes away, and no sooner.

When I got close enough, the AirTag pinged off my phone. It was on a steep slope, with houses on the left and a branch of Rock Creek Park on the right. I couldn’t see my bike anywhere, but I wondered if it had been stashed in the woods or was somewhere in the residential area to the left—or if it was a stale location pin and the bike was gone.

An older woman came out of her front door and looked around. I didn’t want to scare her or announce myself loudly, so I just waved like I knew her and kept going.

My spouse had called the police and said they were on their way, but I didn’t want to risk the AirTag pin being stale and losing the guy. I knew this guy’s MO was alleys, so I pulled up a map to see if there were any nearby. There was an L-shaped alley behind the house where the bike had last pinged, so I biked down to the nearest intersection and turned off all my lights. I didn’t want to make contact with anyone, but I didn’t want to spook them either.

I rolled slowly and quietly down the alley, trying to look casual while simultaneously looking into yards for my bike. I probably looked like a thief.

Suddenly a few yards ahead, someone stepped out from a shed with a mask over his face and a hood on, holding some shoes in his arms. He took off his mask, saw me, and turned away.

Pretty suspicious, but I was trying not to make contact, so I said, “Evening,” and rode on.

I rolled down to where the alley meets the street, then crossed over to the next block and hugged the corner so I could see him when he exited the alley. I figured this was my guy and wanted to get an idea where he had parked the bike, but I didn’t want him to see me again.

After a few moments, he gets to the cross street. Evidently, my hiding spot was less Ocean’s Eleven and more Pink Panther, because he calls out, “I see you!”

I try to make like I’m lost and ask for directions back into the park. I’m obviously lying. He points west and says, “Head to 16th Street”—a completely bananas response to which I smile and thank him.

Calling my own bluff, I start riding west, the same direction he is pretending to walk. It was just like those tense scenes in Michael Mann’s Heat, except in our movie the yackety-yak song was playing.

Figuring my disoriented-night-cyclist cover was blown anyway, after a couple short blocks I decide to look back, but I don’t see him anywhere. I book it back east, checking for him or the bike as I pass houses and streets.

When I make it back to the alley where we had our meet-cute, I see his silhouette sprinting, already halfway through the block.

I kept going to the next street over to beat him back to the main road, then tried my hideout tactic again. But when I got there, I didn’t see him. I waited five minutes and still nothing. Either he ducked in somewhere and waited, or he got across the main road fast.

The cops were still not there, and I was bummed to lose this chance. I caught my breath, called my spouse, and decided it was over. But before I left, I decided to head back to the house where the bike had pinged. It was on a steep hill leading into the park, with no shoulder, so not an ideal place to linger.

I pulled off to the side and looked into the woods a bit, hoping to find a stashed bike- nothing visible. I decided to roll a little farther down the hill, when I saw the cop car coming up. (It had been 30 minutes since we called.)

I waved him down and suggested we pull into the driveway to talk. As the cruiser turned in, its headlights lit up the long driveway, and where before I had seen only vague outlines of the property, I now saw, shining under a holly’s low branches, my silver e-bike.

If any one thing had gone differently, I probably would not have found my bike last night. If I hadn’t gone down the alley and run into him, he might have returned to the bike. If I’d gone down the alley a fraction faster, I would have missed him. If the cops had arrived earlier, I wouldn’t have been at the house; if later, I would have given up and left. If he had stashed it in the bushes or deeper in her yard, it would have been left there for him to retrieve.

Oh, and that woman I saw initially at the house— she had just gotten home from a long trip and noticed the bike in her yard. She was spooked by it but called her son to come over instead of the police. She was super nice!

The bike returned to my home late last night with a coating of fingerprinting dust and missing some accessories (child seat, charger, lock).

I’m pretty happy with how everything worked out. I think the penal system is more structured for punishment than reform, so I don’t wish the guy jail time—but I do like imagining him walking the three miles back to his place at midnight.

Thanks to those who were supportive, and thanks to the other goobers for saying weird stuff.

Hi everyone,

Has anyone biked this route/similar route to Harper's Ferry or through to Point of Rocks down to WO&D? I am wondering about how safe road biking in this area is. Based on previous reddit posts I'm gathering that the Point of Rocks bridge is kind sketchy....I don't have a gravel bike, otherwise C&O canal towpath would have been my first choice. I usually try to do my long rides on Sunday morning if that changes things.

Hello everyone, I am sure someone asked but I failed to search properly however I am going to be in Tysons for a week for work and planning on riding 3/4 days early in the morning prob start around 6am. I created a few routes based on other routes in the area. I wanted some feedback if I should make adjustments based on others experience. Ride will be solo road bike. I dont mind a little unpaved here and there. If there are group rides around also open to suggestions but what i found mostly everything is in the evening which wont work for this trip.

Routes:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56720671

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56720395

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56720352

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56720244

The mall is torn up, constitution is torn up, I would prefer not to go downtown during peak commuting times. Any ideas?

Had to go to a doctor's office in the K Street area and there was no bike rack for the entire building, which is 1/3 of the block. I think requirements for bike racks downtown? Or are there ways to request bike racks either from the city or from the building?

General curiosity, plus want to add to my list of places to check out.

Note, im already aware of A. The new trail next to the Beltway (rode it a few weeks ago) B. Extension of the I66 parallel trail. C. Some work on Rte 50 between Blake and Prosperity

Note, by "infrastructure" I mean new bike lanes, or off road multi use trails. While I prefer protected bike lanes, do let me know about paint only ones of some length or importance.

Not interested in sharrows. For road adjacent shared use paths, only if its a useful piece of infrastructure. You be the judge.

The Mount Vernon Trail has been nominated to join the Rails to Trails Conservancy's Trail Hall of Fame. It's competing against the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath in Ohio and the Historic Battlefield Trail in Texas.

The winner will be chosen based on voting through August 16th. Check out the competitors and vote at https://secure.railstotrails.org/site/SPageNavigator/2026_HOF_Vote.html

You can vote more than once, so if you have a few minutes to submit a few votes for the Mount Vernon Trail, we'd greatly appreciate it. Please feel free to share with any friends or groups who enjoy the MVT and want to help us continue bringing more attention and resources to the trail.

The District has put out a draft RFK Campus Master Plan and is inviting public comment, via a structured response form, though August 14. We at WABA are thrilled to see the extent that bike lanes and bikeshare have been incorporated into the plan, including bicycling connections to the Anacostia River Trail. Read this post for WABA's take and a link to submit your own comments.

Local cyclists often ride past the Kennedy Center. If you are interested in its future, please know this - Mayor Bowser of DC, ​Senator Van Hollen of Maryland, and Senator Warner of Virginia are all ​members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.​ Use your clout as their constituents and urge them to ATTEND THE BOARD MEETING on August 13th. Likewise, if you live in New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer is also on the Board, as are Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Sen. Whitehouse of RI, and Sen. John Thune of SD.

The ex officio members don't usually bother to attend these meetings, but they can, and are entitled to participate fully. This meeting may be one of the most important in the history of the Kennedy Center. The Board will be voting whether to close the Center for two years for renovations, or to do the renovations in stages as originally planned, so that the building can remain open and operating as a performing arts center in accordance with its mission.

Short is best. If you call, plan out your own succinct script. (My own "talking points" are: Please attend the meeting on the 13th; Vote for phased repairs to keep the building open and functioning as an arts center; and approve the National Symphony Orchestra budget.)

Thank you for considering this small action.

P.S. The "spite tarp," alas, is still there, but the name is definitely gone.

Edited to add in Mayor Bowser!

Been wanting to buy a new bike but of course I put it off all season. Might as well wait for when they go on sale for the season. Including e-bikes.

Any thoughts? Thanks