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Donald Moore, secretary of Long Beach Cyclists, recently visited Washington, D.C. with his wife Sally. While there, they tested out some Capital Bikeshare bikes—the D.C. and Arlington, Virginia public bike rental system, with bikes available at more than one hundred unmanned Bikeshare docking locations sprinkled about town. In D.C., the first thirty minutes of a Bikeshare rental is free with a swipe of your credit card. Thus, for short hops, you can cycle from one D.C. Bikeshare dock to another at no cost whatsoever. Beyond thirty minutes, the rate for rented bikes is very low. You can visit D.C. and Arlington without a car—absolutely! Might Long Beach offer something similar in the future? Donald files this report:

Sally and I just returned to Long Beach from a wonderful vacation in Washington D C.  Fourth of July fireworks there were by far the most spectacular and beautiful display we have ever seen.  D.C. has recently been rated as the best city to live in the USA.  With its many cultural attractions, museums, parks, and varied neighborhoods (and its bike friendliness), the high rating is not surprising.

To and from the airport, Sally and I took a shuttle. We also took one taxi ride—a mistake, as I think the driver took us the long way. And we took the Metro once. Other than those trips, Sally and I went everywhere around D.C. using the public bike rental system known as Capital Bikeshare.

D.C.’s bike rental system is very similar to the one called Sevici that Sally and I used last year in Sevilla, Spain. (I reported about the Sevilla system April 11th, 2010 on this website. Click the blue Sevici tag at the bottom of this post to then quickly scroll down to “Cyclists From Long Beach Visit Spain.”)

The first thirty minutes of any Capital Bikeshare rental is free. The next thirty minutes is $3.00. On the first day, Sally and I each bought a 5-day Bikeshare “membership” for $15. You obtain “membership” with a swipe of your credit card at the unmanned payment kiosk at any of the many Capital Bikeshare stations. $15 was all it cost us to use bikes two to six times a day for the rest of our stay.

Each time we rented a bike, I would swipe my credit card, check the “Are you over 18?” box—yes, I am still over 18, just like last time—and I would receive a code that for the next fifteen minutes would allow me to release any one bike I might select from its docking station.

Rental bikes and Capital Bikeshare stations look new, with no signs of wear. Sally said that the bikes did not appear to be the same bikes she saw when she was in D.C. several months ago.

The Capital Bikeshare website states that 1,100 bikes are available for rental at 110 stations. Like the bike rental system in Sevilla, Spain, the D.C. bikes are heavy. They are designed for circus bears or worse.

The D.C. bikes have step-through frames, a 3-speed internal geared hub for pulling stumps, a luggage rack on the handlebars, dyno lights that function on whenever the bike is moving, chain guards, and fenders. The bikes seem well designed for their intended purpose. Other than the fact that the bikes are very heavy, I note that the bikes do not have rear-view mirrors, their brakes seem mediocre, and their lights quit when stopping at intersections. I felt that their gearing was too low; I easily climbed hills in any gear. Maybe Capital Bikeshare bikes were geared for typically overweight American tourists.

If a bike was not working properly, (they always did work flawlessly for us), you could depress a button at a bike’s dock with an icon of a wrench. (I believe this marks that bike as ‘out of order’ until repaired by a Bikeshare mechanic.)

There were usually enough bikes at each Bikeshare station, and there was usually an empty dock to park yours when you were through, though not always. If there were no empty docks, you could phone the ‘help’ line and get 15 additional minutes (free) to find another nearby dock. I actually used this number… and a real live person answered my call… and was very helpful! No, I am not kidding!

The iPhone App that I downloaded before my trip to D.C. that would help me locate Capital Bikeshare stations never worked—that was a problem. Fortunately, at each station there is a large map indicating the locations of all 110 stations.

The system seems to get a great deal of use. About one third of the very numerous bike riders we saw cycling around D.C. were riding Bikeshare bikes. Using the Bikeshare system seemed to be as fast a way to get around as using the Metro, buses, a taxi, or at times even using a private car.

There appeared to be many more bike riders in D.C. than in Long Beach. Car drivers, even taxi drivers, seemed much more mild-mannered and respectful of bikes and of each other. D.C. has numerous bike paths, though driving attitude seems to make the biggest difference.

There is a nice, two-way bike lane down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue that keeps cyclists separated from motor traffic lanes. There are bollards at intersections. However, we saw that at intersections the cyclist can turn either left or right. Without caution, one could cause a ‘right hook’ impact with a fellow biker.

I did not see any recumbents in D.C. on this trip.

Overall, I would give Washington D C an ‘A’ for bikability. It’s hard to imagine how cycling could be any better in such a busy, bustling city center. For more information, go to www.capitalbikeshare.com.

Donald Moore, secretary of Long Beach Cyclists.