(DC) Urban bicycle tourism

The Star of the Sea Hostel on Nantucket. (Kari J. Bodnarchuk for the Boston Globe)

It's hard to stay a step ahead creatively of Washcycle, the uber-blog of area bicycling matters, but I'll try. Is there an opportunity for urban bicycle-based tourism?

Last Sunday's Boston Globe had three stories about "rural" and Martha's Vineyard biking:

-- The islands, Mass. Bike trails (message forum)
-- Northeast Kingdom, Vt.
-- The White Mountains, N.H.

And we all know about that kind of bike tourism. Kenneth Jackson, the famed urban historian at Columbia, does an overnight bike tour of NYC urbanism and history as part of one of his classes. From the article:

People who have gone on the ride usually say it's one of their favorite Columbia memories. And why not? Picture a group of 300 students, teaching assistants, guests, administrators and assorted hangers-on, riding at a leisurely pace through the streets of Manhattan behind Jackson and his megaphone. Jackson's sister, who tagged along last year, likened the experience of seeing her brother at the front of the mass of people to her childhood memory of seeing Elvis Presley at a movie theater in Memphis with the crowd sitting behind him in awe.

The group makes its way from Morningside Heights through Central Park and Times Square, down past the bustling and pungent Fulton Fish Market at 4 a.m., ultimately crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to get a sunrise view of the city that never sleeps.

This is something that needs to be considered in DC's Comprehensive Plan. Oh, but the Comprehensive Plan doesn't have a tourism development and management element...

I suppose if a more direct "economic development" edge is added, this could also move the Metropolitan Branch Trail forward a bit more quickly.


Two Sundays ago, the New York Times travel section had an article about Lyon, which mentioned the JCD bicycle rental system as a way to get around for tourists. However, a letter writer pointed out the next week that the JCD smart card system won't work for U.S.-style ATM and credit cards.

Oops, I forgot to mention the Adshel bus shelter contract, which will include bicycle rental systems comparable to what Adshel does in Oslo, and what JC Decaux does in cities like Lyon. I wrote about this in January, here: DC Bus Shelter Planning.
Flickr photo of Adshel bikes by the subway in Oslo by Geirarne

In any case, while the rate quoted in a recent blog entry about Berlin by Felix Salmon, in Public transport in London and Germany, 5 cents/minute, isn't affordable for all day rental maybe, it will add another option, but will require explanation and marketing to hotels, concierges, and other points of contact for tourism marketing and visitor information services.

And of course, such a service will be great for residents anyway.

Wayfinding signage promoting Adshel bicycle rental in the Rennes District in Brittany, France. Flickr photo by by Redjar

Index Keywords: bicycle; cultural-heritage-tourism