WABA (Washington Area Bicyclists Association)

Henry from WABA

So on my commute via Giant TCR C2 down P Street NW, I am stopped at a light with another cyclist.  He looks familiar and then it hit me….he was Henry from WABA.  We chatted a bit as we traveled between stop lights and 4 way stops in Georgetown.  I let him know that if it weren’t for my volunteering at the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Bike Valet that WABA organized, I would probably not have considered getting a bike when the GUTS Dupont bus route changed.

My last bike

My last bike I left in Rochester was a Huffy 18 speed mountain bike.  It was yellow, produced in the early 1990’s before 1994, and built like a tank.  I remember 1994 as that was the hear I took my bike on a road trip through Camp Casowasco, a church camp in the Fingerlakes region of NY State.  Let’s just say that you should not take a mountain bike on a road trip!  I was always last and had so much resistance that I needed to petal down the hills!

My current bike

My current bike is a Giant TCR C2.  I talked about this in an earlier post.  This is a racing inspired road bike and I have been able to hit 30 pretty easily and upper 20s on the flat stretches.  I did get my first flat however due to road glass this past Wed on my way to Job #2.

Thanks!

So, I just wanted to thank Henry and everyone else at WABA or who is a WABA member as I am, for organizing Bike to Work Day and for advocating for cyclists in the greater DC area!  You have inspired me to become a lifetime cyclist and as long as my knees hold up, plan to ride often to offset the rising gas prices and public trans fees which can add up.

I also want to thank Hudson Trail Outfitters and City Bikes who transformed my initial bike wish being a hybrid with disk brakes and internal gear hub to a road bike with caliper brakes and standard 20 speed drive train!  I know It was tough to get me to rethink my requirements, but when weight came into play, the lighter components won out and I am very happy with my road bike!

45,032 and Counting…..

The crowds are growing as the busy tourist season is upon us.  The zoo definitely benefits from the warmer weather since I am in an outdoor volunteer position.  The Air and Space Museum is not really affected by weather, and is the most visited museum in the world!

Back to my count……I talked with 1078 visitors this past Sunday at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and 588 interpreting at the Lion and Tiger area at the National Zoo.  I will write again about this in about 3 week which is when I should top 50,000!  It is amazing how slowly it is taking to get to 1,000,000 since so many companies and individuals net that much money easily.

National Cherry Blossom Festival 2

So after being sick with the stomach flu, I returned to work on Friday and headed to the Tidal Basin on Saturday to volunteer at the National Cherry Blossom Festival again.  My day was full this time with Downtown DC/Washington Area Bicyclists Association Bike Valet from 9 – 2 and Recycling with the National Park Service from 3 – 6.

Bike Valet

The weather forecast was bleak which I think attributed for the slow start to the day.  While it was cold, there was no precipitation and the occasional break in clouds to let the sun shine through.  When I left at 2, we parked about 40 bikes which was much slower than the morning the Saturday before.  This time I had hand sanitizer, and knock on wood, am not sick!

Recycling

Before volunteering, I told myself that there better be recycle bins because I was not going to stand around and sort piles of trash.  While sorting was a little part of it and certainly not a requirement, just a motivational point for the up and coming environmentalist in me 🙂  I was teamed up with a few others not part of a team.  I was so impressed by the large number of teams volunteering.  I was thinking “garbage duty” would be at the bottom of the volunteer favorites.

Next to many of the newly installed trash cans there were recycle bins.  While they were not permanent, the side-by-side positioning definitely helps the environment.  Those who are willing to walk to the trash can easily have the option to recycle within arms reach.  The number of recyclables in the trash can and trash in the recycle bags was minimal.  There however were many more trash cans than recycle bins which is were the environmentalist in me strove to dig those recyclables out of them!  It also gave me the opportunity to use my “gripper” to reach down in.  It kind of felt like using the crane at the arcade, some bottles were hard to get a hold of.

By this point the sun was shining and I currently have a sun burned face 🙁  Odd how you really don’t notice the sun until you are out of it and looking in the mirror.  I mention this because I get a little weird at this point.  I made it look like I was trying to “catch” something in the trash can.  “Gotcha” I would say as I stabbed and grabbed another recyclable 🙂

I had a great time and may look at volunteering next weekend.  It is really great to see how many recyclables were separated, knowing that it takes….

  • 1 Million Years for Glass to decompose with plastic and aluminum up there as well!
Translate