Photo Dump/Historical Weekend; 15th St. Cycletrack

The parents came to visit this weekend, so it was spent doing touristy-history stuff. With the exception of Monticello, I biked everywhere.

The Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery (I didn't take any photos of the exhibit because you should just go see it yourself):

And Thomas Jefferson's Monticello:

Do you think this is where he thought up The Declaration?
 

I read that DDOT had converted the existing cycle-track on 15th St. to two-way and decided to check out that. Eventually, the cycle-track will be extended from Euclid St. down to the White House. Right now it reaches from V St. down to Mass Ave. I can't wait until the whole thing is complete. I took a short video of the converted cycle-track on 15th (my camera battery died while I was riding it). Check it out! (Sorry for the shaking!)

I don't know if you can see, but the directional icons haven't been painted in yet, and there's still a lot of debris in the lane (mostly leaves and those annoying acorn-nut things). Still it was fun to ride, and a beautiful day to do it!

Since I was already heading in that direction, I decided to stop at the White House and check out the surrounding area:

Protestors on a hunger strike.

James & Dolly Madison's House!

The Decatur House. I've heard its haunted.

My neighbor's house.

Like I said, it was a beautiful day to be out riding. This last weekend made me realize how I take this city for granted. There are so many interesting things to do and see, and now is the perfect weather to check it all out on bike. I'm going to try and get up earlier this week and see a few historical sites before work at least 2-3 times. I think I will start with the Decatur House. I've always wanted to check it out, especially since its rumored to be haunted (the owner, Commodore Decatur, died in a nasty duel in the house!) and was the very first private residence in D.C.

I did notice one thing while I was riding around today:

Love this frame.

Why would they leave their panniers and rack bags on their bicycles? Just like I hope you wouldn't leave your wallet or purse on the front seat of your car, you shouldn't leave your panniers/bags on your bikes! Even if they are empty, they can be stolen for themselves! I don't leave anything on my bike that can be easily taken off (especially after somebody swiped my airplane & my cyclometer). Occasionally, I will leave the basket on, but that's not very often; and I definitely take my (brand new--review to come soon!) pannier with me.

Anyway, just wanted to share my weekend with you!