One night last week, Ingrid and I made last minute plans to eat food and drink wine on her eighteen-story high rooftop. We decided to meet at SweetGreen in Logan Circle to grab food to go. Not having ridden the bikeshare beyond Dupont Circle, I decided to venture a little further. There were two very crucial questions to which I needed a yes answer in order for this venture to be a success. First: Could I ride (slowly on this three-speed bike) to Logan Circle in my allotted 30 free minutes? Second: Where are there stations in Logan Circle and would there be space available for me to dock?
The first question I could not answer with certainty so I simply had to have faith in my legs (and the traffic). The second question, however, I could answer thanks to my trusty iPhone and the “SpotCycle” App. Spotcycle is a mobile app that uses GPS to display the location and status of bike stations near you. They have locations in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. It is like nextbus for bikes and it is really accurate and quick to refresh.
This was my first time really using Spotcycle. And by really, I mean holding it in my right hand the entire ride and checking it every time I stopped at a light. I learned that Logan Circle bike docks are in high demand at 6 pm on a Monday night so I was a little frantic. But I got a spot two blocks away on 14th and Rhode Island and I also learned to chill out and risk my life a little less blatantly.
My ride lasted just under thirty minutes, which it wouldn't have had a spot not opened up on Rhode Island in the last three minutes. I assume the system is nice and smart enough not to charge if you go over because your destination station is full and you have to ride to another. But we all know what happens when you ASS-U-ME so I pre-emptively e-mailed customerservice@capitalbikeshare to confirm. I will let you know what I find out.
Biking is a wonderful thing but, in a place like the District of Colombia, it too can be stressful. Luckily I had fun with it and was graced with the presence of my pretty friend at the end of the ride. We got our salads- and I got a SweetGreen card which she scolded me for not yet having. We walked to her apartment and yelled to our frisbee friend Ross as he happened to bike by us on 15th street. We played with her bunny and then went to the roof to watch the sunset, rub away goosebumps for a change, eat and drink wine on lawn chairs, and have a wonderful and exciting discussion about life.
 | ||
| Some Rights Reserved |
No comments:
Post a Comment