Off and rolling at the Summit

On the road in DC.

It’s been a gorgeous day here in DC.

From the airport I did the ultimate multi-modal thing and took the bus to the Metro (subway) right into downtown.

Once I got rolling, I made my way to the hotel. The first people I bumped into were Jeff Mapes and Deb Hubsmith.

Jeff is an Oregonian reporter on leave to write a book about bicycling in American cities (he won’t let me write more about it yet).

Deb Hubsmith is a nationally known Safe Routes to School pioneer. She is also head of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and is the new boss of former BTA Safe Routes guy Robert Ping.

Spent the day waiting cruising around and checked out the Natural History Museum. I tried to stuff my tikit into a locker and it didn’t quite fit, although I managed to break something in the process (sorry guys, nothing major).

And I noticed DC has a rental bike program going on:

At tonight’s Bike Advisory Committee meeting (in Portland), Commissioner Adams’ staffer Max Coffman will talk about Portland’s efforts on this front.

Eventually made my way to the Reagan Trade building to register for the summit…and check out the wireless access..

Everything has so much security around here these days. Was concerned about putting the tikit through the security X-ray.

The guy said, “if it doesn’t fit through, you can’t bring it in.”

Bummer I thought. I was sure it wouldn’t fit. But having no choice (I didn’t bring a lock) I laid it on the conveyor built and what do you know… it fit! Just barely. But it fit!

As people trickle in to register and attend the first timers orientation, I’m amazed at how many familiar faces I’ve already bumped into.

Jim Sayer, Executive Director of the Adventure Cycling Association is excited to tell the story about the National Bike Route Network he has been working so hard on.

I ran into some old friends from Santa Barbara (my old town) that work on mountain bike trail advocacy. Can’t wait to catch up with them.

And everyone wants to ride the tikit. Check out Jeff Mapes giving it a go.

Jeff Mapes on the tikit

And check out all the Bike Summit swag I got:

A Bikes Belong bottle opener, a Planet Bike taillight an insulated water bottle…advocacy has its perks ;-).

In about an hour, the entire Oregon contingent (around 20 or so!) will meet for dinner at The Old Ebbit Grill, a historic restaurant just “steps from the White House” that was opened in 1856.

I’ll be uploading throughout the trip. Remember to stay tuned to my photostream and check out my special page for National Bike Summit coverage.