I biked 4 out of 5 days, and every day was great. It doesnt get much better than riding down the CCT on a temperate day, cottonwood floating in the air heavy with the scent of honey suckle, deer, goslings, hawks, etc.

I wonder about the real numbers for BTWD. I am one of the people NOT listed as a BTWD participant apparently because of some glitches with the WABA. I know I am not the only one, so I wonder how many more there are that actually made the trip on Friday. However you look at it, 11,000 cars that were not on the road is pretty significant.

by SJE on May 22, 2011 11:58 am • link • report

Make that 11002. I was not registered either.

by Jasper on May 22, 2011 12:31 pm • link • report

PS: I did not bike all the way from home. That is too far (30 miles) and there is simply no safe way to go (!). I did bike from the closest CaBi station to work: Crystal City-Georgetown. In 27m30s (I love the seconds counted on CaBi). It was a great ride in great weather, with the note that CaBi bikes need a higher gear for uninterrupted biking as on the (slightly flooded) Mt Vernon trail.

by Jasper on May 22, 2011 12:34 pm • link • report

11,000 registered. Poor assumption to think a large percentage followed through.

by TGEoA on May 22, 2011 1:21 pm • link • report

I'm a regular biker and I love doing it. But luckily I'm on vacation this week. Bike to work week is probably the worst week to bike. Everywhere you look are inexperienced bike commuters getting in the way.

I'm all for more people bike commuting on a regular basis. Please don't act like you are doing something special because you biked to work one day a year. Make a change and do it the majority of your time or not at all.

by ARL Biker on May 22, 2011 1:56 pm • link • report

Those of you who weren't able to register were offset by those of us who did and didn't ride...

I'm a routine Cap Bikeshare rider with a short (<2 mile) ride to work, and I do it every time it's not raining, or (as was the case Friday) when work takes me out to the suburbs; a class at the PG County Sports and Learning Complex meant no bike that day...

Still, a fine opportunity to help illustrate that folks increasingly have green commuting alternatives.

by Kim on May 22, 2011 2:41 pm • link • report

@ARL: What, you means there's traffic? It's not like I saw hundreds of cyclists wobbling across the trail. Most people I saw were riding safely and legally (well, as legal as anyone behaves on our roads).

by Ron Alford on May 22, 2011 8:45 pm • link • report

Biking to make a difference is a bunch of hooey. I bike to work every day it's not raining because it's faster and cheaper than any other mode and maybe gets me in shape. I'll take the green stuff as a side benefit but if I were serious about that I probably wouldn't fly to Utah to go skiing. Don't try bike commuting just because it's green -- do it because it's faster and cheaper!

by CBGB on May 22, 2011 10:02 pm • link • report

Wow, with approximately 2 million cars on the road during rush hour that amounts to almost .05% or almost 1 in every 10,000 commuters.

by Burger on May 23, 2011 9:48 am • link • report

@Burger
Check your calculator. 11,000/2,000,000 = 0.55% or about 1 for each every 180 car riders.
Recent statistics show that between 2-3% of commuters in DC are cyclists, and it's growing. Wouldn't it be great if 2-3% of transportation funding went to bikes? Fairer, too.
Most of the bike commuters do not bother with bike-to-work day. But it's a great celebration for those who do.

by Steve Offutt on May 23, 2011 10:37 am • link • report

". . .1 for every 180 car riders"

by Steve Offutt on May 23, 2011 10:38 am • link • report

@ARL Biker My opinion differs in that I don't see it as an all or nothing proposition. I bike some, drive some, walk some and take transit now and then. It depends on the weather and the circumstances. Someone who even tries it now and then may well be a more aware driver who will give a little more consideration to bicyclists on the road. I think there is room for more than one type of bicyclist on the road, don't you?

by CB on May 23, 2011 4:00 pm • link • report