Capital Bikeshare‘s full website launched today! You can now sign up and save $25 on an annual membership. There will be over 1100 bikes all over DC and Arlington. In addition to more locations, there is another difference from the older Smartbike system, Capital Bikeshare will operate 24 hours a day! A great option for transport after Metro shuts down for the day. Another improvement over Smartbike is that members can be ages 16 and older, as opposed to 18 and up.

Capital Bikeshare bikes will go live next month.

New contraflow bike lanes (or cycle tracks) and bike boxes have been installed at the intersection of New Hamphire Ave, U Street and 16th Street NW. Here is a great video:

Video by leftforledroit.

GreaterGreaterWashington has a great write up, along with a diagram of the changes HERE.

What do you DC cyclists think? Is this an improvement?

View Capital Bikeshare in a larger map

Yesterday afternoon DDOT announced the official locations for Capital Bikeshare. There will be 100 kiosks with over 1000 bikes.

What do you think of the locations? Any places they are missing? Where should they expand in the future?

Cycling
★★★
Bicycle Film Festival: 10 Year Anniversary
Washington, DC
July 15 – 17, 2010

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The Seersucker Social from ReadysetDC on Vimeo.

You’ve seen the photos and read about it, now check out the video and new images photographed by Matt. Roll tape.

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Words by Jordan + Matt

Photography by Max Cook

This past Saturday, hundreds of DC residents gathered in Meridian Park, toting their finest velocipedes and dressed in their most breathable seersucker, to participate in the first Seersucker Social organized by the Dandies and Quaintrelles. Riding on the success of last fall’s Tweed Ride, this past Saturday saw over 300 riders who came out to battle the suffocating DC humidity, traveling from Meridian Park to the bountiful grounds of Hillwood Estate.

Roughly 450 seersucker wearing Washingtonians came out for the Social portion of the day, which encouraged DC’s finest to sip on delectable Hendricks cocktails, take a turn through the Japanese rose gardens, show off their best putting techniques and socialize over friendly games of croquet. The questionable DC weather miraculously held off for the event, allowing the hundreds of attendees to gather on the beautiful lawn of Hillwood Estate to people watch and chatter while their bicycles (or heaven forbid, automobiles) remained parked out front.

The Seersucker Social proves a point; DC is poised and ready for events that embody more than just a party for a party’s sake. Sir Eric Channing Brewer’s event fused the thriving DC bicycle culture with the creativity of fashionable DC residents. So a hip-hip hooray and all that jazz for a successful Seersucker Social and a toast to future rides around this fine town put forth by the Dandies and Quaintrelles.

– Jordan (the non-rider aka cheater)

Photography by Max Cook

by Jim Darling

Amidst the World Cup fervor that has swept DC, did you notice an air of dandiness leisurely wafting around the District on Saturday? The fine gentlemen and ladies from Dandies and Quaintrelles are the folks responsible. Parlaying off the success of the widely acclaimed Tweed Ride, these purveyors of retro-forward styling organized the first ever Seersucker Social Bike Ride and Lawn Party, an event that helped to bring out the southern charm in all of us.

Departing from Meridian Hill park, the dandified participants headed off through the city,down into Rockcreek Park, and finally culminated the ride at the exquisite Hillwood Estate in Van Ness.  Upon arrival wheelmen and ladies were greeted by bike valet services provided by the lads from Hugh and Crye.

Despite cycling at the most leisurely of paces, most participants were well in need of some cool refreshments upon arrival.  In keeping with their graceful manners, D&Q had delicate finger foods, and a variety of imbibables readily at hand.  Mixologist’s from Hendrick’s Gin were busy hand crafting delicious cucumber cocktails while Me n’ Yu served up a refreshing and bubbly punch.  Some party goers enjoyed matches badminton and croquet, while others opted to leisurely peruse the Estate’s twenty-five acre grounds, or relax and listen to the live music.

Fantastic time was had by all and a heartfelt thanks to Dandies and Quaintrelles for putting on yet another memorable social cycling event.

– Matt (the rider)

Photography by Jim Darling

Cycling
★★★
Bike Prom: Beyond Velodrome
Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW
Washington, DC
Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 9:00pm

Admission: $10 for sale now online or at the door

“A couple years in the future…the streets of DC are ruled by velo gangs who have turned the asphalt into a battleground as they loot lycra and cripple cranksets. Join DC cyclists for WABA’s post-apocalyptic Bike Prom on June 26th at the Black Cat. This fun evening will feature local DJs spinning tunes all night, all the dancing you can handle, ample bike parking, raffle prizes, photo booth, and crowning of the Bike Prom King and Queen.”

*WABA will be setting up additional bike racks out front of the Black Cat for the event

Dress Up: Dressing up for Bike Prom is strongly encouraged.  Here is your chance to sport your best post-apocalyptic prom attire.

King and Queen: Want to be crowned King or Queen? Dress up according to the theme mentioned above and stop by the WABA table in the beginning of the night to sign up to compete for the crown. We will give you a ribbon that identifies you as a competitor and our judges will be walking around searching for the best dressed.

Raffle Prizes: WABA will have a bunch of great raffle prizes from local and national sponsors. Raffle tickets will be sold the night of the event. BRING YOUR WABA MEMBER CARD AND GET A 1 FREE RAFFLE TICKET!

Membership: You don’t have to be a WABA member to attend the Bike Prom, but it will probably help you get more raffle tickets and maybe even a free drink! Join WABA Today>>

Photos: WABA will once again have a FREE photo booth and photographer ready to take your prom picture! The photo booth will be open from 9:00pm-11:00pm. All pictures are digital and will be posted to our WABA Flickr Page following the event.

**Did you get a Prom photo taken last year? Relive last year’s fun and get pumped for this year’s party~

Source: WABA

Event
bbb
Bike to Work Day
May 21, 2010

In the District
8 – 9 AM
Pit Stop Rally in Freedom Plaza

4 – 7 PM
Bike From Work Rally in Columbia Heights Plaza: Stop by on your way home and join your fellow bike commuters to continue the celebration and start the weekend!

“Pedal Power Final Cut” by Mike Kurec

Join thousands of area commuters for a celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work! Meet up with your neighbors at one of 35 regional pit stops, ride into the city with experienced commuter convoys and meet your fellow cyclists at Freedom Plaza. Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Commuter Connections invite you to try bicycling to work as an alternative to solo driving. Help the Washington region become a better place to ride. Bike to Work Day is a free event and open to all area commuters. There will be a raffle, prizes, food, drink and more at all pit stops throughout the region. Free T-shirts will available for the first 8.500 registrants who are in attendance at the pit stop they registered for.

Registration for Bike to Work Day 2010 is now open! Raffles will be held at each pit stop for prizes including commuter bags, bike locks, and bicycles. Pit Stop Locations Freedom Plaza at 14th and Penn NW Bethesda, NIH Bowie Town Center Bowie Old Town College Park Frederick La Plata North Bethesda Rockville Town Center Rockville-Falls Grove Transportation Center Silver Spring (Discovery Communications) Alexandria Arlington Dulles (AOL Campus) Fairfax Fairfax City Leesburg Reston Sterling

Source: WABA

Initially, it’s difficult to identify DC as a bike-friendly city.  The District’s distinctive layout features congested traffic circles supported by roads that are in generally poor shape.  This, compounded by the high volume of cars and pedestrians that line the streets each day, can make the commute on your steed an adventurous one.  However, as Matt pointed out on RSDC last week , the District’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has made significant strides in what they hope will be the successful transformation of the city’s roads to be welcoming and safe for all bicycle commuters.

The DOT’s efforts over the past several years have not gone unnoticed.  Bicycling magazine recently awarded DC the distinction of being one of America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities.  DC was ranked a remarkable 13 out of 50, ahead of its neighbors in Arlington (30) and Baltimore (48).  The District was singled out for being the first major city in the US to implement a bike-sharing programs and was noted for the 11 miles of bike lanes and 10 miles of signed routes that have been added over the past two years.

This is certainly encouraging for everyone who have been involved in the exhaustive process to make over the city’s streets.  While significant progress has been made, there is still much left to be done to reach the city’s ultimate goal.  Specifically, adjusting the mentality of drivers to recognize that the streets are not exclusive to cars, but rather meant to be shared with cyclists.  As bike lanes and cycle tracks continue to be added throughout the city, the hope is that cycling continues to gain popularity — and then cars will have no choice but to accept the overdue cultural shift.

Photography: Tracy Clayton