BikeArlington

Winter hibernation for Arlingtonian riders is over, and we've got the data to prove it. Check out the graph to see the sharp spike in bicycle ridership on Arlington trails from March to April!

We're loving this post on the local Arlington Patch blog by local bike advocate rock star Mark Blacknell about upcoming 2013 bike infrastructure projects happening in Arlington County:

This past Sunday, in partnership with the Washing Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) and The Old Bike Shop (who generously donated their bikes to us for three hours), I helped lead a Learn to Ride (L2R) class which specifically teaches adults how to ride a bike. Being involved in the L2R classes is the best part of my job. Nothing is more fulfilling than seeing the smile on someone's face after they've learned how to ride a bike.

Check out this video that we've put together showing the GPS routes of local area cyclists as they pedal their way across Arlington and the District this past weekend. This clip shows approximately 750 rides that were recorded by the general public in and around Arlington County and Washington DC between April 5th and April 7th using their smart phones or dedicated GPS bike units.

I recently attended the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. It’s always an exciting and energizing event and I particularly enjoy meeting bike advocates and professionals from around the country and hearing about biking in their area. This year, what I kept hearing is the recognition that biking and walking are good for the local economy.

Today (March 28th) we celebrated the opening of the first Capital Bikeshare station in Central Arlington near Columbia Pike at the Walter Reed Community Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony! We opened the event with Arlington County Director of Transportation, Dennis Leach, endorsing the station location, and gave the honors of cutting the ribbon to Arlington County Board Chair, Walter Tejada, who also spoke about the importance of expanding Capital Bikeshare into the Columbia Pike and Shirlington areas.

Last week the BikeArlington team attended the National Bike Summit, including the second annual National Women's Bicycle Forum. As a female who also rides a bike, I was especially interested in attending the "Women Mean Business" themed forum. With such inspirational leaders in the bicycle world as Janette Sadik-Khan pegged to speak, I was all ears.

"Wayfinding” (or directional) signs, placed at frequent intervals and at appropriate locations, help cyclists and pedestrians more easily navigate Arlington's 100+ mile bicycle network and sidewalks. Wayfinding signs include information about where you are, what direction you’re headed and what destinations are nearby -- all with distances indicated in miles. By the end of March, the County will have installed the more than 100 wayfinding signs for the Custis Trail between Rosslyn and Ballston. By this summer, there will be an additional 200 signs covering the complete on-street bike network between Rosslyn and Ballston as well.

Getting ready for your first ride of the spring and haven't ridden since the spring? If your bike was in good working condition when you put it away then chances are there isn't that much that needs to be done to get it rolling again.

Next week, BikeArlington and friends head across the river to join with more than 800 bike advocates and enthusiasts from around the US who are all taking part in the National Bike Summit...