Last summer, Rich and I took a field trip to Fairfax, VA to find bikes at garage sales. I found a great red bike that had been ridden with love for many years (so much that a pedal was missing). I quickly determined that it was a "bike with character" and purchased it posthaste.
Even though we got it at a good price, I was still concerned with our ROI (Return on Investment, for those in the non-corporate world). Assets v. liabilities, people!
I determined that my ROI on my bike had to be at least 2:1 to justify spending the money. The bike cost $10, and a replacement for the missing pedal cost $2. My roundtrip fare to and from work costs $5. So, for all you math majors out there, I will be riding my bike at least 5 times to make a decent profit on buying the bike (is that right, Michelle?).
Regardless, I rode my bike to work today. It was AMAZING. I watched 2 planes take off from National Airport at Gravelly Point, ate a quick bite by the Tidal Basin and got a great view of the Georgetown Cathedral while crossing Key Bridge. And, I only got lost twice!!! That's about 5 times less than I was expecting.
Other good things:
(a) I don't have to set aside any extra time to work out today - it takes me the same amount of time to ride my bike as to bus/metro in (about an hour).
(b) I'm in a really happy, endorphin-filled mood when I get to work.
The only thing about the bike is... well, it's not a road bike per se and the gears are stuck, so I have to ride the whole way with one gear. But, it's a bike with character, and I love it! Trying to think of a good name right now for her.
The R & E Times
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Life on Metro
Remember my post [http://theretimes.blogspot.com/2008/10/washington-mecca-of-metropolitan.html] from 2008 when I raved about the DC Metro, with a cleverly alliteration-filled title?
Well. It has now been about a year and a half since I posted that, and I certainly do not feel as unicorns-and-rainbows about the metro now as I did back then -- although I do still very much appreciate all of the Top 5. It's had quite its share of problems (remember the red line crashES last summer?) and an disturbingly large number of train cars break downs and fare increases.
But, despite its problems, I still do like the metro for getting me to where I need to go each day. I take the blue line (holla, fellow blue line riders!) 3-4 stops, depending if I get on at Pentagon City or Pentagon, so I'm honestly not even on it that much.
But (enter: the point of the post), I have made some interesting sociological observations while taking my 10 minute ride every morning and every night. One of the most interesting things I have found is that with each stop in the morning, a distinct demographic typically exits. I've made a game of finding a random person on the metro when I get on in the morning, and guessing at which stop they exit to start their day. It's quite a jolly time.
Here is what I have found:
Stop 1: Pentagon City. This is where I get on, so I'm not really paying attention to who gets off. I'm more searching frantically for that highly-coveted open seat.
Stop 2: Pentgon. 95% chance that anyone in military-looking clothing will exist; 50-60% chance that anyone "scary looking" will exit.
Stop 3: Arlington Cemetery, i.e. Tourist Central. In my experience, 100% chance that anyone with children will exit; 90% chance that anyone with a visible camera will exit; 90% chance that anyone with a shirt featuring Washington DC or Obama will exit.
Stop 4: Rosslyn. I would say that nearly 100% of exiters here are wearing suits, although I have yet to find another distinguishing factor.
Stop 5: Foggy Bottom/GWU. 85% chance that anyone with a backpack and/or wearing jeans will exit because of the close proximity to GW and Georgeton. 100% chance that Emily will exit here (unless she gets too caught up in reading the "Totally Lost" blog, which may or may not have been the case this morning).
I think it's kind of fun that each stop has its own personality. I should start awarding myself prizes when I guess people's stops correctly, which -- I hate to toot my own horn -- happens quite frequently.
OR, maybe I could put this sweet acquired skill on my resume in case I want to be an FBI agent or something. Hm, hm? I can be the "Emily: The Metro Hunter." YES!
Well. It has now been about a year and a half since I posted that, and I certainly do not feel as unicorns-and-rainbows about the metro now as I did back then -- although I do still very much appreciate all of the Top 5. It's had quite its share of problems (remember the red line crashES last summer?) and an disturbingly large number of train cars break downs and fare increases.
But, despite its problems, I still do like the metro for getting me to where I need to go each day. I take the blue line (holla, fellow blue line riders!) 3-4 stops, depending if I get on at Pentagon City or Pentagon, so I'm honestly not even on it that much.
But (enter: the point of the post), I have made some interesting sociological observations while taking my 10 minute ride every morning and every night. One of the most interesting things I have found is that with each stop in the morning, a distinct demographic typically exits. I've made a game of finding a random person on the metro when I get on in the morning, and guessing at which stop they exit to start their day. It's quite a jolly time.
Here is what I have found:
Stop 1: Pentagon City. This is where I get on, so I'm not really paying attention to who gets off. I'm more searching frantically for that highly-coveted open seat.
Stop 2: Pentgon. 95% chance that anyone in military-looking clothing will exist; 50-60% chance that anyone "scary looking" will exit.
Stop 3: Arlington Cemetery, i.e. Tourist Central. In my experience, 100% chance that anyone with children will exit; 90% chance that anyone with a visible camera will exit; 90% chance that anyone with a shirt featuring Washington DC or Obama will exit.
Stop 4: Rosslyn. I would say that nearly 100% of exiters here are wearing suits, although I have yet to find another distinguishing factor.
Stop 5: Foggy Bottom/GWU. 85% chance that anyone with a backpack and/or wearing jeans will exit because of the close proximity to GW and Georgeton. 100% chance that Emily will exit here (unless she gets too caught up in reading the "Totally Lost" blog, which may or may not have been the case this morning).
I think it's kind of fun that each stop has its own personality. I should start awarding myself prizes when I guess people's stops correctly, which -- I hate to toot my own horn -- happens quite frequently.
OR, maybe I could put this sweet acquired skill on my resume in case I want to be an FBI agent or something. Hm, hm? I can be the "Emily: The Metro Hunter." YES!
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