A New Bike in the Family & the 2012 Vasa Ride

Before I get started with this post, I want to remind you of the Police Unity Tour fundraiser link. It's over there to the right (FirstGiving) --------->. My goal is to raise $1700 and I need your help. Even just a dollar or two helps.  We have a few more events coming up soon, and I will definitely keep you posted, but in the meantime please consider donating a few bucks to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. Its easy and goes to a good cause. Thank you!


Since I will be doing a 3-day bike tour in May, I knew I was going to need a bicycle that is up to the challenge. Although I adore each of my bikes, none of them are really suited for long-distance cycling. This meant that I was going to need a new one (darn!). I asked around for suggestions, and BicycleSPACE (a lovely neighborhood bike shop) mentioned Velo Orange. They make touring & randoneuring bikes for a reasonable price. And they are pretty too. Working with David from BicycleSPACE, we picked out the components that would work best for a bike that I could not only use on the Police Unity Tour, but beyond.


Behold: Kermit the Hulk--

Shiny!

Why Kermit the Hulk? Well, my friend Art suggested Kermit because of the green frame; my friend Kim suggested The Hulk for the same reason. So...Kermit the Hulk. It still feels like a she rather than a he though.

Hulk Smash!

Kermit the Hulk is Velo Orange's polyvalent frame with a bunch of Velo Orange components (I love the shiny hammered fenders). The pink handlebar tape was my idea, and I'm sure it probably physically pained the mechanic that had to put it on but I don't care. I like the green/pink combo.

It's taken a bit of time to get used to riding her. I haven't ridden drop bars in a long time. Not having my brakes & gears at my fingertips at all times was a very disconcerting feeling at first. Add in clipless pedals (I opted for the dual-sided SPD pedals) & shoes, and it was a big learning curve in the beginning. I rode at a snail's pace, but after a week or so it became more natural and I feel much more comfortable riding her.

I took her along the Capital Crescent Trail to Bethesda to get a feel for her outside of city riding. It was great, but it was a rainy, muddy day. I didn't head back into DC until after it was dark, so I learned real quick not only how to handle Kermit in wet conditions, but dark conditions as well. I'm proud to say I made it back home without a single problem. 

(How I feel when riding Kermit)

There are still a few minor bike fit issues (The saddle position needs to be adjusted ever so slightly) and the dynamo lights & maybe a rear rack still need to be installed. Still, I look forward to training for the tour on Kermit (I still ride Betty around the city, though).

Kermit's first big test was the Vasa Ride.

From WABA's events page

I did this ride for the first time last year. That was the ride where I ended up killing my iPhone due to the rain. I really should have re-read my post from last year before doing this ride again. Although it wasn't raining this year, it was still pretty cold in the morning. My toes were freezing (note to self: invest in toe covers). Also, I overpacked AGAIN. I used my new Bailey Works messenger bag (which I love now that I've figured out how to work the strap system) and it didn't seem to put too much strain on my back or neck. About 40 miles in though, my back and neck were killing me. I think that it had more to do with my position on the bike rather than the load in my bag, although I'm sure that didn't help.


I stopped by BicycleSPACE the day before the ride to pick up some bottle cages for the ride. I *almost* picked up a handlebar bag, but I didn't. It wouldn't have helped anyway since its not big enough to hold my lock (the heaviest thing I had to carry). If I had been thinking clearly, I would have just stuffed my energy bars & ID in my pockets and left my lock at the registration site (locking it to something). But...well, the ride was REALLY EARLY in the morning and I wasn't thinking clearly. Oh well. Note to self for next year: PACK HALF AS MUCH, LEAVE THE BAG AT HOME, WEAR TOE/SHOE COVERS.


I woke up the morning of the ride wondering what to wear. The weather in DC has been very wacky the last few weeks. It was almost in the 70's just a few days ago, and the weather-people were calling for cold temps & possibly snow. Yikes. What to wear with that kind of variation in the weather? Plus, I didn't want to have another wet, miserable experience like last year. I settled on wearing some compression tights, black denim capris, a Police Unity Tour jersey, sweat shirt & hi-viz rain jacket (more for the visibility rather than rain), gloves, WABA cycling socks, my yakkay helmet & new bike shoes.


I made myself some eggs & toast & had a few cups of water to get the nutrition/water thing going. I still have some "GirlonaBike" energy bars so I threw some of those in my bag, along with my wallet, keys, tools, iPhone & charger, and my lock. The biggest thing I was worried about was getting lost. I did the ride last year with some friends that knew the area a bit, and they did most of the navigating. This year I would be on my own. I wanted my iPhone in case I got lost and needed to know where I was. I was so nervous about this that I barely slept the night before.


Then, it was time to go. It didn't feel that cold when I stepped outside. I think I managed (for once) to dress perfectly for the weather. I took the Rock Creek Trail to the House of Sweden on K St. By the time I arrived, registration was just getting started. There were probably about 40-50 people that had already arrived.

Registration area

KIND blueberry bars & some Fuze drinks were provided at the start, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I saw a few familiar faces, and met a few new people. I still had butterflies in my stomach though. 

This is my "too early in the morning for this" look. Thank you WABA for the photo.

Then it was time to line up for the start. I remembered having a good time on last year's ride despite the rain, so I figured this year would be even better without the rain. HA! Have you ever heard of the phenomenon where women forget just how painful childbirth really was so that they can continue to do it again and again? Yeah. It's kinda like that. You'll see.

We started off just fine. The sun was starting to peek out from the clouds and the road was flat. We started off heading down the CCT to Fletchers, ending up on MacArthur Blvd. eventually. We passed by the Irish Inn (where The Boy and I had our engagement dinner) and Glen Echo Park and I smiled. This was fun! 

And then the hills started. And they never stopped.

At least it felt that way. Funny, I don't remember the hills being such a challenge as they were this year, even though I knew they were exactly the same. I remember passing the same landmarks and stopping at the same places but...yikes, I was far more out of bike-shape than I realized! (Doing the Capital Bikeshare challenge last year must have helped!)

When we pulled up to the first rest stop, I was still feeling good even though my toes were completely numb. This is where I started to worry about my nutrition plan. As I said earlier, I had thrown a few energy bars in my bag, and I had a bottle of water & a bottle of water with Immuni-C (I'm still suffering from the sinus plague). But my stomach really doesn't like solid food when I've been riding for more than two hours. I ate an energy bar, but I knew I was going to regret it later. I should have picked up some gels or gatorade.

First Rest Stop. I think this was around mile 15?

The Powerade people & WABA volunteers working this stop were awesome! They had music pumping and they did a good job at making sure all the riders that stopped had something to drink & were motivated. 

After a few minutes, it was time to hit the road again. Ugh, always the worst part of a rest stop is getting going again. Feeling the cold wind hitting sweaty clothes is not fun. It takes a good 20-30 minutes of riding to get the blood flowing again.

And then there were more hills. I think it was just about when we hit 25 miles that I started to wonder what the heck I was doing. I was cold, tired & my stomach was starting to feel like it was on fire. Only 34 miles to go....

2nd Rest Stop. This was our turning point at last year's ride.

We turned around and headed back the way we came. But this time we took Bradley Road back, which seemed like it would never, ever end. And kept going up and up and up. By the time we got into Bethesda, I was almost done. My neck & shoulders were killing me & I was starting to get nauseous. But then I saw the entrance to the CCT. YAY! We hopped on that and began riding. It was nice to be away from cars, even though the trail was clogged with pedestrians on this nice Sunday. And then it began to dawn on one of the people that I was riding with....we were going the wrong way! We were supposed to go the OTHER way on the CCT so that we would eventually end up in Rock Creek. Oh No! We were probably a mile off track by now (meaning 2 miles to get back).  I stopped to stretch out my shoulders & arms and then reluctantly got back on the bike. It was at this point that this happened:

No. I was not going to ride BACK down the trail to get back on the route. No. My mind said let's go and my body just said NO. There was just no way I could do it. I was already having trouble keeping water down, and I wasn't sure if I could do the Brandywine Hill without throwing up everything in my stomach (which wasn't much at this point). Thankfully Anna (BloomingCyclist on twitter, whom I had latched onto during the ride so I wouldn't get lost. I'm not a weird cyber stalker, I swear!) uttered the words I couldn't bring myself to say: let's just keep going down the CCT anyway to the finish. YES! YES YES YES. Let's do that. We were already at 45 miles anyway. By the time we got to the House of Sweden, we would just be at 51 miles. Perfectly fine. So we did.

I arrived back in time to grab some Blueberry Soup. Which was blueberry-ish and soupy. Anna, who was much smarter, left to grab a burger. If I had any appetite left, I would have joined her.

My blueberry soup. Yeah. That was it. 51 miles for this. 

Hug a Swede? NO.

After the blueberry soup, I headed over to Old Glory for the post-Vasa WABA happy hour ($5 Fat Tires!). I thought I might be up for a burger, but sadly my tummy still said no. I managed to get down some sweet potato fries (because I knew I needed something to eat), but I really had no appetite. I even had trouble drinking the beer! Yikes. The Boy joined me and helped to drink it though, so that was good.

I was not looking forward to riding home from Georgetown, but I did it. I even rode up the Calvert St. Hill from Rock Creek, so I consider that my punishment for skipping Brandywine, ha. I figure with the miles riding to and from the even, I probably hit 59 miles.

I gotta say, this was a tough ride. I've ridden 50+ miles in one shot before, but don't remember it being so tough! It is a pretty hilly course though. And the wind. Damn the wind! Next year I am conquering Vasa for sure.

I can't wait for more bike events. Yay Spring! I'm a little bummed to learn that I will probably miss out on BikeDC this year, since it is scheduled for the same day I ride back to DC on the Police Unity Tour. There's no way I can be at two places at once (or can I?). I also learned that I really need to ramp up my riding. Even a few miles a day really helps. If I want to ride a 100 miles a day, I need to step up my game. I know it won't take too long to get back into bike-shape, but I really need to get going.

View Larger Map

(The purple line is the bit of the route I was *supposed* to take, except that I got lost instead. oops.)

Did any of you do the Vasa Ride? What did you think?

Lockhouse 10, Round 2!

Before I get started with this post, I want to remind you of the Police Unity Tour fundraiser link. It's over there to the right (FirstGiving) --------->. My goal is to raise $1700 and I need your help. Even just a dollar or two helps.  We have a few more events coming up soon, and I will definitely keep you posted, but in the meantime please consider donating a few bucks to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. Its easy and goes to a good cause.

I know its been awhile since I last updated, but I have a lot of news to share! I'll probably have to break it up into a couple of different blog posts.

First up: our return to Lockhouse 10! As you may recall, we had an awful biking experience the last time we stayed in a lockhouse along the C&O canal. Flat tires, stripped bolts...everything that could go wrong with a bike went wrong. The stay itself was lovely, but the problems with my bike made me miserable and I was determined to come back and have a better time.

Right around the New Year, The Boy and I made the choice to go ahead and book Lockhouse 10 for Valentine's Day weekend. Sure it was a bit of a wait, but it would be worth it. By the time Valentine's Day rolled around, we would be ready to get back to the canal again.

Sure enough, the time passed and it was time to get packed up again. This time I used a few of the gift cards I received for Christmas to purchase a some things for the trip. I bought a sleeping bag since I knew it was going to be cold and extra bedding would always be welcome. Plus I could use the sleeping bag for future biking camp trips. I also went ahead and bought two different camping pillows, since bringing along standard pillows takes up the most amount of room. I bought two different types so I could see which ones we preferred (review to come soon--hint: we both like the pumped air type rather than the compressed stuffing type). I also purchased a camping towel, which was awesome. Worked like a charm.

The day to ride out to the lockhouse couldn't arrive soon enough. We woke up and got ready to pack our stuff. Since this was our 3rd time (3rd time is the charm!), we had become experts at packing; enough clothes for 2 days & nights, extra sweatshirt, rain gear, towel, pillows, sheet, toiletries, pack of cards, flashlights, ALL OF THE TOOLS, Kindle, U.S Parks Passport, iPhone & charger, and a stick of butter (so we didn't have to buy a whole box of butter AGAIN. I swear we have 24 sticks of butter in our fridge from buying a box of butter every time we go to the lockhouse).

Turns out The Boy had packed a little something extra....but more about that later.

It was a COOOOOOOLD afternoon when we set off. Brrrr. I actually had to use my balaclava because it was so cold. Bitterly cold. I said a little prayer to the Bike Gods that this trip would be uneventful & smooth, and off we went.

Betty, all set to go. Much better at packing by now :-)

The Boy, cheerful as always. That's not an obscene gesture, he was just pointing with the wrong finger.


I should mention that since the New Year, our commute to work has been drastically shortened due to being transferred to a new workplace. What used to be a leisurely 2 mile bike ride  has turned into a less-than 4 block stroll. Although I still ride to and from work (down the hill, up the hill)---The Boy hasn't been on a bike for a quite a bit. So the 12 mile ride out to the Lockhouse was a bit of a shock to his system. We took it nice & easy, and took several breaks to "enjoy the scenery" (let The Boy rest for a bit).

Taking a break at Fletcher's Port-A-Potty Cove

Lockhouse 6! We miss you and your super comfy mod chairs!

After what seemed like an eternity in the bitter cold, we finally made it to Lockhouse 10. I will admit that even I was feeling a bit tired when we rolled up. The temperatures & wind were no joke! I figured we would go ahead and unpack, relax for a few minutes, than ride out to the Cabin John shopping center to get dinner/supplies before it got too dark. The Boy looked pretty tired too.

This is why I probably should have been a bit more suspicious when he suddenly insisted that we go for a walk along the river's edge before it got dark. I was tired, hungry & cold so that was the LAST thing I wanted to do and I said so. The Boy was very insistent, which was just....weird. He was adamant that we had to do this NOW, so I said FINE and trudged out along the trail with him. I might have sighed a little dramatically too.

There is a nice little trail opposite the canal from the lockhouse where you can sit along the Potomac's edge & watch the river go by. It's a pretty little spot, and we had fun exploring it the last time we were there. It made a good distraction from me cursing at Betty's bike troubles. This time it looked a bit different since the leaves were all gone, but it was still beautiful-especially with the setting sun in the background.

And then The Boy got down on one knee and asked me a question that I was completely unprepared for, and yet already knew the answer to: Will You Marry Me?

I honestly had no words at that moment, and couldn't quite believe what I had heard. The Boy pulled out a ring and slipped it on my finger. I didn't know if I was numb from the cold or the shock, but I had no idea what to say. Of course the answer finally came to me...

Of Course I Will Marry You. (I'm pretty sure I just mumbled something that sounded similar while kind of staring oddly at The Boy; but he knew what I meant).

The rest of that evening was a bit of a blur. We did manage to make it out to Cabin John for food & beer (but not before the sun went down--weeee another night ride! This time we knew where we were going though). We even had a friend over that night for dinner to help us celebrate (the fire alarm STILL went EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE). We had a wonderful evening playing cards, building terrible things with the Lincoln Logs & just sharing stories. It was awesome.

Look at that shiny thing!

I am definitely not an engineer.

Getting ready to prepare dinner (mac & cheese & sausage)/set off the fire alarm.

The next morning came far too early. At least it had warmed up a bit and was actually fairly pleasant outside. It was a perfect sunny day. An ideal day to attempt our ride over to the Irish Inn (which we had planned to do the last time we were at the lockhouse, but bike troubles prevented us from doing so).

Betty, sunning herself on the porch. No flat tire this time!

We knew that the Irish Inn was right off of MacArthur Blvd, but we weren't sure how far down. We checked out a map and it seemed reasonable enough.....on paper. But how would it be actually riding?

Pretty easy, actually. There is a cycle track that runs from the Cabin John Shopping Center all the way to the Irish Inn along MacArthur Blvd. It could not have been more simple. It even went by Glen Echo Park, which I am still dying to check out.

Glen Echo Park during the day (I love that trolley car in the front).

Glen Echo Park at night. Gotta love that neon!

We arrived at the Irish Inn in no time at all, and it was so easy to ride to. The only thing I wasn't too happy with is that there is virtually no bike parking whatsoever (which is odd, given its a business that is located directly next to a bike path). There are a few street signs around to lock up on, but they were pretty far away. Luckily the owner let us keep our bikes out on the patio since it wasn't in use, but obviously that wouldn't work during the warmer months. Oh well. Guess that they don't get many cyclists?

Anyway, the Inn itself was wonderful! Good food, good service, good time. We happened to get in right before it got really busy (and it did get busy!) and they had a live band too. The band was awesome & we had an excellent engagement dinner. I can't wait to go back again. We stayed so long that the sun had set long before we were ready to leave. Thankfully we have lights on our bikes, so we were able to ride back to the lockhouse without incident.

Dessert. They make the ice cream in-house!

I was sad that our last night at the lockhouse was quickly coming to end, but I knew I could't have asked for a better weekend.

View from the bed. I was sad to leave :-(

The next morning arrived way too early. Especially since a maintenance guy decided to invite himself in at 7:30 in the morning. Oops! Apparently Tuesday is the day they do any cleaning/maintenance for the lockhouses...but he had forgotten that guests might still be present up until 11am (checkout time). He apologized profusely, but we were definitely not prepared for such an early wake-up call. Heh. We managed to get everything packed/clean by 11 and then it was time to head back to DC. Always the most depressing part of the trip--especially since I know I'll be heading right back to work as soon as we get in. Oh well. Its nice to know that the lockhouses are always a short bike ride away :-)

We will be back again soon (honeymoon, maybe?!).

P.S. I really want to thank WABA since it was their silent auction that got us started on these crazy trips to the lockhouses along the C&O Canal. Thank you! And I strongly urge you guys to visit the C&O Canal Trust and book a lockhouse yourself. You'll love it.

Coming up soon: A new bike in the family!

A Thank You

Thank you to everyone that came out and made the Police Unity Tour Fundraiser a fun, successful night (and also to you that donated online). We managed to raise a total of $726.00, which isn't too shabby for a few hours worth of work. Also, a big thank you to Georgetown Cupcake for donating 2 dozen of their delicious cupcakes for our raffle. There were two lucky participants who went home happy. Also congrats to the other raffle winners! (We also raffled off some wine, some messenger bags and a few water bottles).

The first fundraising deadline has been met, thanks to you. In order to stay on the roster of riders, we had to have raised $500 by tomorrow (January 31st). I've surpassed that, so thank you!

(Also, just as an interesting aside: There are 88 riders on the roster for Chapter 4. If all 88 riders meet their fundraising MINIMUM by the ride, Chapter 4 will have raised $150,000 for the Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. And that's just ONE chapter of the Tour. Your donating DOES make a difference).

I saw many familiar faces, and manged to put real faces to online names, so that's always a good thing. Quite a few of the twitterati & #DCbike people were there, as well as a swarm of fellow police. It's always interesting to see how the two groups attempt to mingle. If I hadn't been so distracted with greeting everyone, I would have remembered to take photos. Oh well,  next time!

This is only our first of many activities to come, so we're still working out the kinks a bit. If you showed up early, you would have noticed that I was stuck by myself for a bit, so I couldn't get up and socialize too much. This is because the other rider doing this adventure with me (Mir), was told at the last minute that she was receiving an award (I'm pretty sure it was for "Super Cop of the Year" or something like that) so she had to go and pretend to be modest and pick up her award. HA! Anyway, I hope no one felt ignored or neglected. I think everyone had a good time. Once Mir showed up, things went a bit more tipsy smoothly.

We're getting ready to plan our next event (most like it will be a "Coffee & Donuts" ride of some sort, $5 a person donation to ride). We're also getting together some donation incentives. We'll hold an online donation drive in which the person that donates the most amount of money in a certain amount of time will win a prize of some sort.

I wish I could update you on our training, but my bike is still being pieced together so we haven't been able to get out for any good rides yet. Soon, hopefully. I know the parts have been ordered; its just a matter of time of waiting for the bike shop to put them all together. I'm itching to get back on the road. I still ride Betty around town, but she's not really meant for any sort of training rides; and the Jamis is still out of commission from that bike parking incident. I'll be honest-the cold weather isn't helping my motivation at all. Even though we've had a spectacularly mild winter (this time last year, we were still digging ourselves out of snowcommuteageddon), I'm still not a fan of the cold. Last year, the Winter Weather Warrior contest from Capital Bikeshare was pretty much the only thing that got me on a bike voluntarily last January & February. I say this knowing full well that I'd rather take the coldest January day rather than the hottest, stickiest August day in DC. I'm just being spoiled, that's all.

Happy Hour Fundraiser! Win prizes! Buy stuff! Drink beer!

I hope you enjoyed the guest post from Liz. Hopefully we can read more guest posts in the future.

I wanted to make you guys aware of a Happy Hour Fundraiser that Duffy's Irish Pub is hosting on our behalf next Wednesday, January 25th from 7pm to 12am.

Purchasing a $10 wristband at the door will get you:

-1 free entry into our raffle ($1 per ticket if you want more)


$10 pitchers of National Bohemian and Miller Lite. 
$14 pitchers of Sam Adams an Sam Adams Seasonal
$4 16oz drafts of Sam Adams, Sam Adams Seasonal
$3 16oz drafts of National Bohemian and Miller lite
$16 buckets of Yuengling bottles, 16oz Schlitz, 16oz PBR, 16oz High Life, 16oz Coors Light. 

$5 Shots of Jameson

AND 

1/2 off wings until 10pm (the beer specials are good until 12am)

Also, we will be selling Police Unity Tour water bottles ($10) & buttons ($3). I've only ordered 10 water bottles because I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out: they turned out awesome! But there's only 10, so if you want one-get there early. Also, please bring cash. We won't be able to accept credit cards at this time (a check might be ok).

The profit from the sale of the wristbands & other merchandise goes to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, via the the Police Unity Tour.

There will also be some cool prizes for the raffle (you'll have to show up to find out what they are! ;-) )

For those that can't make it, but still wish to donate--you can make an online donation through the FirstGiving widget to the right----->.

I really hope that you can make it out. It will be nice to put faces to the names I see online.

As far as training has been going so far...it's off to a slow start. My bike has been ordered and is on its way. In the meantime, I've been bringing Betty out for a few rides on the weekends, since she was getting cranky at being neglected. Last weekend we hit up the Capital Crescent Trail and explored a bit of Bethesda. 

A cold & sunny afternoon

Betty loves the C&O.

The best part was the ride home, because it was after dark. Riding the CCT in the darkness was spooky & exhilarating. Good thing we had lights!

I fear that I'm going to fall short of my 100 mile goal for the month...but I've still got time. We'll see.

Guest Post: Biking in Washington DC in 2012

Thanks for the fundraising suggestions! I'm pretty excited for what I have planned in the next few months, and I can't wait to share with you all. As always, don't forget you can donate directly by using the FirstGiving widget found on the right side panel of this blog.

Taking a break from fundraising stuff, here's a guest article about biking in DC by a pretty cool young lady. Good stuff. NOTE: I updated this post, since the links in the article were accidentally left out the first time I posted it. Be sure to check them out, especially the Mt. Vernon & W&O trail links--they are some of my favorite trails!

Biking in Washington DC in 2012

If you own a bicycle, and you live in Washington DC, you have a wealth of opportunities to explore history, run errands, and enjoy some quality exercise time. If you live in the capitol of the US you are one of the lucky people who can guide your bike out of your garage, and head downtown to visit your favorite DC dentist. If you have a container holder on your bike, on the way back from the dentist you can stop by your family grocery store and pick up some staples to take home.

On the many beautiful days DC has to offer you might want to save your feet from the long walks, ride your bike, and visit some of the amazing places to be found here. One of the most spectacular places you can ride to is the Washington Monument, the White House, and most of the "must sees" in the area, including the many museums and places of interest.

If you have the opportunity, along with proper lighting on your bicycle, a night tour of Washington DC is well worth the planning. You will be able to see the Washington Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial flooded with lights making each one a little more special than you see it during the day.

If you are an avid bicyclist you will be pleasantly surprised with the many bike trails available. For example, the Mount Vernon Trail is an 18 mile scenic trail. It runs along the Potomac River and the destination is George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. If you prefer a longer ride you might enjoy the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. This 45 mile paved trail spans from Shirlington and Purcellville, VA.

Riders can also choose a route to travel ranging from an all terrain area to asphalt only. The routes allow you to include optional stops. One of these is named 'The Zoo Review." This bike route has unpaved sections and it goes from Georgetown to Bethesda and allows for a stop at the National Zoo. One of the best routes to travel in the DC area is the Washington/Cumberland area named the "C&O Towpath." It is considered to be one of the best off-road bike trails in the U.S.

Visitors are sometimes surprised with the number of people they see riding their bikes to work. This is a great way of commuting. It allows you to get your daily exercise while also saving money on gasoline and doing your part to help keep the air clean. There is no doubt that Washington DC offers a wealth of opportunity for bike riders. You might choose to ride your bike for your annual checkup or take one of the long route rides. The area truly offers something for everyone.

Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in beauty and fashion. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives by spreading positive messages. Liz also likes shopping, hanging out with friends, reading and playing with her dog, April.

The Police Unity Tour

Happy New Year! I think I forgot to say that before. I was pretty sick the week of New Years, so mine was a very quiet & sniffly one. It's only in the last day or two that I finally feel fully recovered. I'm not sick very often, but when I am, it always takes a major toll.

Also, thank you so much for all the tweets, emails & comments you've sent regarding the assault case. I really appreciate the support so many of you have shown. Now that it is finally behind me, I can move on to bigger & better things.

If you follow me on twitter (and if you don't, I don't blame you. I can be a bit of a chatterbox) you may have seen me tweeting about the Police Unity Tour. I'm going to apologize ahead of time because this Tour is probably going to take up a big chunk of this blog & my twitter account from now until May. It's my big "goal" for 2012. The first half of 2012, anyway.

What is the Police Unity Tour? In a nutshell:

The Police Unity Tour (Chapter 4) is a 3 day ride covering roughly 230 miles, from Richmond, VA to Washington DC. There are actually several chapters of the Police Unity Tour with various routes & mileage, depending on where they start from. They all converge in DC and ride together to the Candlelight Vigil during Police Week, where the donations that were raised are presented. The funds go to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

This is a particularly important ride for me, as I have more than a few friends with their names etched on that Memorial.

Do you remember Jim? The officer & friend I told you about back in the summer that died of hyponatremia during training? I'd like to share with you another excerpt from his blog--one that has always stayed with me:

I had one person ask, so let me extend this to everyone. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is on my beat (and I make sure its safe and skateboarder free) so if anyone wants a rubbing and can't make it down here let me know and I can get it for you. 

The following year, Jim's name was added to the Memorial. I know he still watches over it and keeps it safe and skateboarder free :-)

None of us know when it will be our time. We each wake up in the morning expecting to live through the day, but it doesn't always happen. Some of us are called to give our lives so that others might live. This is what sacrifice means.

The motto of the Police Unity Tour is "We Ride for Those That Died". It's a way to honor & remember those sacrifices, and to show our gratitude.

Besides training for the 3 day ride (which I will be blogging about), I also need to raise money for the Memorial. There is a minimum goal of $1700 by the ride, and $500 by the January 31st. I'm hoping to CRUSH that, and I need your help to do it.

• If you look to the right---->, on the side panel, there is a Firstgiving Fundraising Widget. This is probably the easiest & quickest way to donate.
• I will be holding a series of fundraising events from now until May. These will include:
• A Fundraiser Happy Hour at Duffy's Irish Pub. The date is currently set for Wednesday, the 25th from 7pm to 12am. Purchasing a $10 wristband at the door will give you access to some pretty awesome specials that "regular folks" can't have.  I will let you know what they are as soon as I find out. This will be an awesome way to meet up with other cyclists & bloggers in the area, as well as enjoy some excellent food & drink and donate to a worthy cause.
• Police Unity Tour STUFF you can buy: water bottles, t-shirts, maybe even some buttons. Heck, I might throw in some bike levers. I don't know. I will announce as soon as I do.
• A Charity Bike Wash. This will probably happen closer to spring time, since its a little chilly out right now.
• Group rides. I have two in mind: a law enforcement "tour" ride around the city, where we will stop by the memorial, museum, crime & punishment museum & the 7 police districts; and a Formal Wear Ride where everyone dresses to the nines.

If you have any other ideas for fundraising, please share! I'm a newbie at this.

Also, if you are a local business (bike shops, I'm looking at you) and think you might be interested in being a sponsor, PLEASE send me an email. I've got tons of info on what sponsorship means for your business. There are a few perks! Including tickets to this fancy-pants gala:

Super-fancy, guys. I think I might attend (and then wear the gown on the Formal Ride). I was looking at the menu, and I'm pretty sure I had no idea what 2 out of the 3 course meals were, that's how freaking fancy this Gala/Masquerade Ball will be. You know you want to go, right? If you do, hit me up. You don't have to be a sponsor to attend, you can go just for kicks & because if you are going to give to charity, you are going to be fancy about it.


As for the actual training, I plan to share that with you guys as well. I'm doing this ride with a coworker of mine, Mir, and we'll be doing some long rides together. I've ordered a new bike (since Betty definitely won't be able to handle this ride!) and can't wait to get my hands on it. 


Once it arrives, we'll start training in earnest. We'll probably be doing rides on either Sunday or Thursday mornings, and anyone is welcome to join. I'll tweet & post ahead of time in case any lovely readers would like to ride along with us. 


So, that's that. Prepare for similar blogs in the future. If you have any suggestions, please share! And as I said, if you are a business and would like to be a sponsor, get in contact with me! (An email link is at the top right).
  

It's over. The end of the saga.

This morning Judge Beck of DC Superior Court announced her sentencing decision in regards to the assault case that occurred last February.

As you can see, this case dragged on a bit and I've been pretty quiet about it since I posted my story. There were a few reasons for this.

-In the beginning, Mr. Harrison refused any sort of plea agreement. At the time he was facing 2 charges of assault with a dangerous weapon (vehicle), felony fleeing from law enforcement, and misdemeanor assault on a police officer. He wanted to take it to trial. No problem.

-While still being held in jail on these charges, Mr. Harrison made a phone call to a female that revealed he had a firearm in his residence. A no-no since Mr. Harrison was also on probation for prior drug charges. A search warrant was executed and the firearm was recovered. Mr. Harrison was then charged for felony possession of a firearm.

-Given this new charge, a plea agreement apparently sounded more agreeable. The ADW charges were dropped, and Mr. Harrison pled guilty to the fleeing, APO & possession of a firearm. A sentencing date was set.

-Before any sentencing, a meeting is held with the defendant to ensure they understand completely what it is they are pleading guilty to, and that there aren't any issues. Apparently there was an issue. I showed up to the hearing ready to give my victim impact statement (so did WABA!) The attorneys & judge discussed the possible sentencing options. Some of the charges carried mandatory minimums that probably seemed a bit hefty to Mr. Harrison. So he balked. Another date was set to give Mr. Harrison & his attorney time to discuss things. I soon learned that Mr. Harrison's attorney had filed a motion to disavow his plea.

This meant that ANYTHING & EVERYTHING I posted, commented, tweeted or spoke about could become potential testimony & evidence should the case go to trial after all. This also included anything that YOU GUYS might have commented, tweeted, etc. Was it a big deal? No. There's nothing on here or elsewhere that I wouldn't testify to in person. But it would have become a pain in the derriere. So, mum became the word.

To be honest, I was not looking forward to a trial. They are tedious & emotionally exhausting. I also had a feeling that it was going to turn nasty. When a case can't be won on facts (and he couldn't win), they will try to destroy the victim's and/or witness's credibility or integrity. It's not unheard of to have private investigators check up on victims and look for any "dirt" they can leverage.

This is why a very cryptic email I received while waiting to hear if the plea would be taken back started my paranoia ball rolling. It was just a few sentences, but this person claimed to know Mr. Harrison and to have information on what had occurred just before Mr. Harrison used his car to bully a girl on a bike. I had no idea what this person was alluding to, and I still don't. But it was enough to make me wonder why Mr. Harrison was so eager to go to trial.

Thankfully, I never had to find out. The judge denied the motion to disavow the plea, and a final sentencing date was set.

I showed up to the hearing with a prepared statement. Before I was able to read it, however, the defense attorney had announced that Mr. Harrison had written a letter about the case to the Judge. Judge Beck read it silently, and after a few moments asked that I read it as well since it contained allegations about me that I should be aware he was making.

It was multiple-page, handwritten letter. What it contained was a rambling discourse proving that Mr. Harrison had learned absolutely NOTHING about remorse or consequences for the last 11 months he's been sitting in jail.

In essence, the first part of the letter spoke about how he had learned his lesson from the last time he went to jail (did I mention he has an extensive criminal history?) and that he never wanted to go back to prison, that he already lost 5 years of his life and he's done everything he could to make sure he never goes back to that life & that he was doing really well on probation...wah wah wah. This part was laughable because its perfectly obvious to me that Mr. Harrison had not learned a single thing. The night of his arrest, one of his passengers had an active arrest warrant AND his vehicle absolutely reeked of marijuana (he's on probation for drug charges).

It was the second part of his letter that infuriated me. Long story short, he accused me of being a drunken lunatic on a rampage that night back in February. He stated that he never hit me, and even if he had, it was a simple accident and that this should all have been dealt with in traffic court, not criminal court. Oh, and he fled (IN A CAR) because he was in fear for his safety because I was in a rage (ON A BICYCLE). And when I showed up to the scene after he was stopped, other officers had to "hold me back" because I "charged at him".

Seriously? Obviously he has a very different recollection of that night than I have (not to mention my supervisors & other officers have).

1. I was not intoxicated or under the influence of any intoxicating substances. I was LITERALLY on my way home from work when the incident occurred. I left work not even 10 minutes before he assaulted me. It was so soon after work, that officers that work MY SHIFT showed up as my backup because they hadn't left yet. My own boss showed up.

2. I was not in "a rage" or "rampage". In fact, I was a lot calmer than I would have been had I been on-duty, simply because I know how much more vulnerable I am off-duty. I do not take off-duty actions lightly. It's dangerous and I don't want to escalate a situation more than necessary, if at all. The only time I raised my voice was when he sped in my direction trying to flee, and I ordered him to stop.

3. Mr. Harrison accused me of making a "vulgar gesture" at him the first time he bumped into me. Actually what I did was look back at him and shrug in a "WTF are you doing?!" manner. However, even if I had made a vulgar gesture, I'm pretty sure I was warranted.

4. I certainly did not "charge" at Mr. Harrison when I arrived at the scene where he was stopped. Nor did I say anything to him. By the time I arrived, all of the occupants were out of the vehicle and I believe Mr. Harrison was in the middle of a field sobriety test. I showed up to I.D. the car & the driver and that was that. In fact, I made it a point NOT to speak to OR overhear any statements they made to the officers. I did not want to taint my own statement.


Basically, Mr. Harrison blamed ME for the whole mess and he was just a poor victim of cop rage. Nice, right? *sigh* You can see how a trial would have gone.

Anyway, I assured Judge Beck that I was not intoxicated AT ALL, and that I refused to address any other allegations since I WAS NOT ON TRIAL AND IM NOT THE DEFENDANT. Then I went on with my statement:

My name is Kathleen (REDACTED) and I am police officer with the 3^rd District, Metropolitan Police Department. I have been a law enforcement officer for 6 years.

However, I'm not just a police officer, although it was very fortunate that I was that night back in February; I am also a cyclist. 

That evening I was just trying to go home. It's only a mile & a half from my workplace. I don't ride dangerously or aggressively, I follow the rules of the road & I try to be respectful of other road-users. As a bike patrol officer, I am keenly aware of how important it is to ride carefully & safely.

Unfortunately, there are times I encounter hostile aggressive behavior from motorists that ranges from the harmless, yet intimidating (such as aggressive honking or verbal abuse) to literally being pushed around by a vehicle, which is exactly what happened to me that evening.

This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a momentary distraction that led to a collision. This was a conscious decision made by an individual to use their much larger vehicle as a means of bullying a more vulnerable person; a decision made more than likely because they believed that could get away with it. 

To Mr. Harrison, I was simply another girl riding a bicycle. I was harmless. What could I possibly do to him? To him, it was a fun game, as I could tell by the laughter coming from his friends as his vehicle struck me from behind while stopped at the light. I was an easy target.

It was his bad luck that it turned out that not only was I a police officer; but Mr. Harrison had chosen to  do this in MY district.

When Mr. Harrison struck me the first time, I contemplated letting it go. I was off-duty, I was alone & I didn't want to get hurt.

When Mr. Harrison struck me the second time, I couldn't help wonder what would happen if this were to occur to some other woman out there. If he was being this brazen about striking a cyclist with his car, I was quite sure he wasn't going to stop.  I couldn't let it go. Because a person that would willfully hit another human being with their car “because its funny”, is somebody I don't want on the street. Certainly not in my neighborhood.

When Mr. Harrison chose to run after being confronted, it only confirmed that he knew that what he was doing was wrong.

It was very fortunate that I was not injured. The way that Mr. Harrison recklessly drove his vehicle in an attempt to escape made it a miracle I wasn't seriously hurt, or that he hadn't hurt anyone else. Not to mention that I was lucky I wasn't knocked off my bicycle in the initial assaults.

I don't take off-duty police actions lightly. Its a serious decision that can have serious consequences. However, in this case, I was left with no choice.

Mr. Harrison is sitting here today because of decisions that he made. And those decisions need consequences. The biggest problem that I see with Mr. Harrison is that he doesn't understand that his actions were not only reckless & dangerous, but they are indeed criminal

Again, I was lucky that I'm a police officer and I have the training and resources to take action. If I hadn't had a badge with me, I have no doubt that Mr. Harrison would not only have ignored me, but my confronting him probably would have endangered my safety even further. I need to know that this city considers this type of behavior serious & criminal, and I hope that it will be reflected in his sentence.

Thank you for your time & consideration.  

Once I was done giving my statement, Judge Beck announced that she really wanted to take some time to consider her options carefully. I think both my and Mr. Harrison's letter gave her pause to think. She had a pretty full calendar that day, so we all agreed to come back on another date (today) to hear the final decision.

In the end: Mr. Harrison was sentenced to 36 months for the felony fleeing, 36 months for felony possession of a firearm and 180 days for the assault on a police officer, to be served concurrently. So basically, 3 years (minus the year he's already served while sitting in jail since being arrested). I am happy with this. It's the high end of the spectrum for each of the charges, and even though its concurrent, not consecutive, I feel its enough.

My hope is that maybe Mr. Harrison will learn his lesson this time. Maybe.

And maybe others out there might think twice before doing something dangerous to another human being and think they could get away with it. I am very sure Mr. Harrison had no idea what the consequences would be for doing something he probably thought was no big deal. That night, I was just another girl on a bicycle. Today, he's just another criminal in jail.

I want to especially thank Trevor McFadden, the AUSA that handled my case. He's been nothing but professional and supportive throughout this whole ordeal and worked very hard for a successful outcome.

And thank you to everyone that emailed, tweeted, & voiced your support. You guys rock.