Treat yourself: It's Spring, BUY A BIKE!

1. Will F. points us to a special sale on folding bikes. I'm kinda lazy about the idea of taking apart a bike. But if you do, you can take the bike with you anywhere on transit (subway and train) at any time of the day or night. Regular bikes are not allowed on MARC and VRE at all, and there are restrictions on WMATA subway trains (not buses), where bikes aren't allowed between 7 am and 10 am and between 4 pm and 7 pm, during peak travel periods.

This Citizen bike is on special this week for $175.

2. Will and others are friends with Henry Cutler, the American expatriate building "Workcycles" in the Netherlands. We've been having a spirited e-discussion. I say we need to open a Workcycles shop in DC, and sell only bikes appropriate for everyday work and life riding. Will isn't into the weekend bicycle-owning "dilettantes" who trail bike and race. He wants real bikes for real people who ride daily in the city, around the city, to work, to shop, etc.

Workcycles store and manufacturing facility in Amsterdam. Photo by Henry Cutler.

I say we build these kinds of bikes and sell 'em in DC and other urban areas. Or maybe we should start in Arlington...

(Internet photo.) Bikes like this don't seem to be manufactured in the U.S. any more.

Whatever happened to this kind of citybike? You can get a new one for about $700-$1000 (the list price is the top price) plus shipping, from Pashley Bicycle of the UK. Sunrise Cycles in Minneapolis has some used versions for about $150.

Henry points out that "women's bikes" like these are used by everybody in the Netherlands. They call them "step-through bicycles." (And if you've ever crashed on the top bar of a typical men's bike, and "hurt" your "equipment" you'll appreciate the practicality of the Dutch when it comes to biking.)

Bicycle parking facility at Amsterdam Central Station. Photo by Henry Cutler. Henry writes: "It was built a few years ago to hold 2500 bikes, but usually is crammed by mid-morning with at least 4000. They're now building another bike parking garage on the other side of the station for 10,000 bikes. There are also 2 paid bike storage places at the station, each with capacity for at least 500 bikes."


This isn't one of Henry's bikes, but I like it. It's practical, and typical of workcycles in China.