A month ago, on April 2nd, Bobo and I visited the 723rd and final dock in the Capital Bikeshare network. Our little village of friends met at the dock and cheered us as our counter reached 100%. We celebrated with a rendition of “Life is a Highway Bike Lane” at Wok & Roll karaoke afterward. To cap off the day, my soccer teammates and I went to our Sunday league game, where we got hammered 5-0 (don’t worry, we’ve won back-to-back since).
The Washington City Paper just released a feature article on our bike share journey. I’ll spare you all the details since (1) you should check out the full article linked above, (2) I shared a bit of context in Part 1 and (3) there is a good chance you’re tired of hearing about this by now. So instead, I wanted to share 10 of my practical and aspirational lessons from this journey:
1. Give yourself a few feet between the dock and your bike before parking: Docking a CaBi bike is a Goldilocks situation – push it too hard and it will jam, too soft and it won’t register. A few feet of walk-up space lets you dock your bike firmly and efficiently.
2. Pack for a range of weather (and food) circumstances: It’s okay to bundle up on cold mornings, but be prepared to layer down as you heat up and/or the sun comes out (even if you have to change in a library bathroom). Or you could, as my hiking friends say, “be bold and start cold.” And always, always bring a water bottle and a few snacks, because you never know when the Metro red line decides to stop operating.
3. Biking on the sidewalk might get you punched: Biking on the road is scary, but when you zoom past someone on the pavement, they might freak out. Or yell out some expletives. Or run after you with a raised fist (true story).
4. Plan ahead, and budget 30% more time: If Google Maps says it’s two hours of biking and an hour commute total, better to have four hours in hand. Inevitably, a dock won’t work, you’ll take a wrong turn, or you’ll find something worth exploring.
5. Stop and smell the roses: The journey is truly underrated. Near the end, I began to spend more time admiring the creeks, street art, and people that I came across, and I’m now much more appreciative of the nooks and crannies that make up the DMV, not just the postcard highlights.
6. Listen to your body, and help it recover: My knee started hurting near the end of rides in December. I kept on the journey, but when the pain would spike, I would try to slow down. It’s frustrating in the moment, but I’m grateful I got to the end without a serious injury. (A few months of physical therapy and I’m mostly back to normal!)
7. Know when to put your headphones in, and when to take them out: I’m guilty of always being plugged in. But whenever you can, let your ears be part of your senses. You never know what funny conversation between a kid and his grandpa you’ll get to hear. Sometimes though, you need Alexander Hamilton rapping about His Shot to get you to the finish line.
8. Go explore your community, really: Many of us live in a city. But in practice, we spend our time in a few blocks, connected by lines of transportation to other little clusters blocks. It’s an exercise in discomfort to break out of our bubbles, especially when we don’t need to, or if we’re alone. But it’s worth learning what your communities really look like. Stereotypes of neighborhoods might break down. Seeing people just live their lives might help ground you. You might become more aware, informed, empathetic, and even find a new favorite bubble tea spot.
9. Embrace your silliness, and people will support you: When we used to think this goal was stupid, our friends did too. But when we got really into it, our small village of supporters helped motivate us to the finish line. The conviction in how we spoke made the difference. When strangers asked us why we were disturbing their neighborhood at 8 am on Saturday and we answered with excitement, their frowns would turn upside down (or at least back to neutral).
10. You can (and should) only plan ~70% of your journey: While it’s smart to have a general sense of where you want to go, don’t plan stop-by-stop, or at least don’t live by that plan. Sometimes there’s an uphill you didn’t expect, or a shortcut comes up that makes life a lot easier if you’re agile enough to adapt to it.
11. (Bonus) Wear a helmet: This should be the most practical, but it was aspirational for me. I started off this journey thinking I was too cool for helmets, but I made it a New Year’s resolution to be smarter on the bike, and so far, I’m glad I haven’t experienced its benefit yet.
Thank you to everyone who humored our endeavor and cheered us on at each step. I hope that our crazy, silly journey might inspire you to get active, truly explore your own community, and/or find your own pointless goal to achieve.