Capital Bikeshare Is Throwing Itself a Public Birthday Party This Thursday

"CaBi," as Capital Bikeshare is affectionately known by its users, is turning one year old this Thursday. The private-public bike sharing organization is inviting the public to the party, and it does sound like fun. Here's the invitation:

Capital Bikeshare to Celebrate 

First Birthday

Public Invited to Free Festivities 

on September 22 

Capital Bikeshare celebrates its one-year anniversary on September 20, punctuating a tremendously successful debut. Since its launch in 2010, the bikesharing system has attracted over 17,000 members, logged nearly one million trips and amassed a total of 116 stations and 1,100 bicycles in the District and Arlington, VA, with more than 60 additional stations on the way.

To celebrate, Capital Bikeshare will host its First Birthday Bash on Thursday, September 22 at The Yards Park from 6-9 p.m. The party was planned to coincide with Car Free Day and Capital Bikeshare members are encouraged to take the Car Free pledge at www.carfreemetrodc.com. Admission is free and the festivities will include:

· Live music from 80’s cover band The Reflex
· Food trucks, including Red Hook Lobster Pound, Doug the Food Dude, Eat Wonky, Rolling Ficelle, Carnivore BBQ and Dippin’ Dots
· Free cupcakes from Sprinkles
· Free drinks from Honest Tea
· Games and craft brews from New Belgium Brewing to celebrate their launch into the DC market
· Giveaways, including exclusive CaBi Birthday Bash t-shirts to the first 1,000 guests, water bottles from Whole Foods, Capital Bikeshare helmets and bike lights from BikeArlington
· Moonbounces, bungee run, gladiator joust and wrecking ball
· Paper boy and slow bike races
· Raffle prizes
· Hoola hooping garden with HooperNATURAL
· The Natmobile on site with signups for free giveaways from the Washington Nationals
· Photos with plenty of fun props, courtesy of Smilebooth

It's Best to Lock Your Bike's Frame and Not the Wheel

It's best to lock your bicycle's frame, rather than the wheel, to secure it. Just sayin'.

Photo taken near GW University

One Way to Get Around in DC

Spotted on Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park:

Used Bike Drive on Saturday, April 30 , 11 AM - 3 PM

Georgetown Day School is hosting a used bike drive on Saturday, April 30, from 11am - 3pm. Drop off your bikes at Georgetown Day School, 4530 MacArthur Blvd NW, Washington DC. This is a wonderful opportunity to pass on your outgrown or no-longer-needed bikes to people who need transportation.

Bikes for the World will ship them to wherever they are most needed. They will be refurbished and distributed to those who will use them to get to school, work, health services, etc. Bicycle parts, accessories, and tools also welcome. A $10 per bike donation is suggested to defray a share of the cost of shipping. Questions? Please email Sue Cohn at BikeDriveGDS at aol dot com.

Be Prepared for Snowmageddon II With This Bike

The Bond Bike was made for DC's notoriously snowy winters. It has a caterpillar wheel, like a snowmobile. It has an anti-theft ejection seat. It has a flame thrower for melting away snowbanks. There is no more perfect creation for getting around in Washington, DC in winter snow.

There's only one problem. It's not in production yet. Maybe it will be in time for Snowmageddon III.

Attempted Car Break-In Thwarted in Takoma Park DC Today

This just in: A car break-in was prevented in Takoma Park DC. Here are the details as reported on the TakomaDC listserv. And heads up: The bad guys are still out there.

Just chased a bunch of kids trying to break into our car to steal a bike. 6 kids, two cars, parked on 2nd street, one red 4 door jeep Cherokee another tan minivan wearing schoolish clothes...This was on the 6600 block of 2nd between Van Buren and Whittier.

A New Way to Get Around DC

What if I were to tell you that there is a convenient method of transportation that would allow you to zip around town, flying past gridlocked traffic, at very low cost, on a zero-emissions vehicle that you can use without any kind of computerized reservation, and that you can pick up at any of dozens of locations (most near Metro stations) and leave at the location nearest your destination.  You'd think, "How is this possible?"

The answer is bike sharing, and it starts on Monday, Sept. 20 here in DC. Capital Bikeshare is signing up members now.  You can join for a $50 annual membership fee, or give it a one-month trial for $25, or pay $5 for a one-day trial. Once you're registered, Capital Bikeshare will mail you a key that unlocks any of its available bikes, which you can then ride for up to a half hour for free. (The next half hour is only a buck and a half.) You'd need to be an awfully slow biker to need more than an hour to get from point A to point B almost anywhere in the District.