Tuesday, May 16, 2017
DC Ride 2017 - Liberating and Organized
Guest blogger: Jenifer Joy Madden
Liberating and organized. My two best words to describe DC Ride 2017.
It was a cloudless cool morning as we headed from Arlington across the Memorial Bridge. We could hear the music at the starting point well before we saw the huge crowd across the river.
People were smiling and upbeat as we formed into groups according to ability and were slowly released one by one, starting with the least experienced. The ride started along the river and then did a number of long switchbacks including around Hains Point and alongside Georgetown via the Whitehurst Freeway.
There’s something wonderful about occupying a space always dominated by cars. Even when we reached a pinch point entering the 14th street bridge, I felt triumphant walking slowly through a traffic jam of bikes.
There were two main rest stops along the route with light snacks, water, port-a-potties, medical help, and friendly Velocity volunteer mechanics.
As for the organized part, it was very different from the time I rode on the open streets in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on a Sunday afternoon, when everyone was going every which way. In the DC ride, you have identification numbers affixed to your helmet, chest, and bike. The ride is closely monitored at all points and traffic flows one way. You can’t veer from the route, although there were several official places to bail out.
You had to plan ahead because the ride was not a loop. It started in West Potomac Park and ended up on Pennsylvania down near the Capitol.
But the orderliness only added to the enjoyment. As the ride rolled on and space opened up between riders, if you didn’t look behind you, you could imagine you were rolling on your own through the open streets—an almost indescribable feeling of liberation.
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From right to left: Jenifer Joy Madden, Shannon Madden, Reilly Madden, and Matt Lyden
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Labels: dc bike ride, jenifer madden
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Beulah Road Trail Ribbon Cutting - Update
he Beulah Road trail was officially opened on Friday. The project is a culmination of many years of dedicated effort led by Jenifer Joy Madden. Jenifer wanted a safe way to walk and bike to Meadowlark Gardens Botanical Park located a short distance from her house. There was no sidewalk or trail and walking along Beulah Road was dangerous.
Jenifer convinced Supervisor Hudgins that many people in her community wanted safe bike and pedestrian access to the numerous nearby parks, including The Barns at Wolf Trap and The Filene Center. Jenifer then worked with residents, including FABB's president Jeff Anderson, and county staff to obtain Federal funding for trail construction, and with then Congressman Moran's support, funding for a new ped/bike bridge over the Dulles Toll Road parallel to Trap Road. See the project website.
Congratulations to Jenifer and her team and to the county for completing this work. These new facilities have made it much easier to me and others who visit Wolf Trap and Meadowlark Gardens and the other parks in that area to more safely access these great resources.
Update May 26: Article from the Connection newspaper, A Long Time Coming, But Finally Here.
Labels: beulah road, jenifer madden, novi trail network, supervisor hudgins
Thursday, September 22, 2016
FABB Social Ride Oct. 9 - NoVi Trail Network
The Beulah trail is part of a bike-friendly route to Wolf Trap National Park's The Barns of Wolf Trap and the Filene Center. We will return to the W&OD Trail and ride to the Meadowlark Connector Trail which leads back to Meadowlark Gardens.
Some portions of the route are very steep and may require some riders to walk a short distance. The majority of the ride will be on trails but there are a couple of short road segments. Total distance is approximately 7-8 miles. The ride begins at 2 p.m. and will take about 2 hours, with stops along the way to discuss how the trail system was created.
Joining us will be Jenifer Joy Madden, Vice Chair of the Fairfax County Transportation Advisory Commission and the NoVi Trail Network’s chief advocate.The ride concludes back at Meadowlark for refreshments where Jenifer will tell us a bit about her new book, How To Be a Durable Human, which tells the NoVi story and includes tips for making your own community more bike- and walk-friendly.
All riders must have a helmet and sign a ride waiver. The ride is free and you can register using the FABB Social Ride Eventbrite page.
Labels: beulah road, fabb social ride, jenifer madden, meadowlark gardens botanical park
Thursday, May 12, 2016
How to Be a Durable Human Being - May 18 Event
FABB members interested in a fresh take on the reasons why cycling enriches and strengthens their mind, body, and spirit should plan on attending a book launch party on Wednesday, May 18, at One More Page Books. At the event, FABB member and Northern Virginia community leader Jenifer Joy Madden will be discussing her new book How to Be a Durable Human: Revive and Thrive in the Digital Age through the Power of Self-Design.
In what is described as a handbook for being a human in the 21st century, readers learn to refresh in themselves what has been inadvertently trammeled by their close association with smart phones and other devices of personal technology. Jenifer describes how a cycling crash on the W&OD trail prompted her to think about distractions in her life and then develop simple ways to reduce time spent with gadgets and add more activity to each day to promote better health and sleep, especially for children. Among the stories in her book, Jenifer explores FABB President Jeff Anderson’s efforts to start a bike train for children biking to school and highlights the suburban multi-modal transportation advocacy of local cycling mover and shaker Finnouala Quinn.
Jenifer is a multi-media journalist, digital media professor, and parent of three who lives in the Tysons, Virginia, area, and – as an appointed county transportation commissioner – she literally and figuratively builds bridges to greater well-being.
Everyone is welcome. One More Page Books is easily accessible by bike and is just off the W&OD Trail at 2200 N Westmoreland Street near the East Falls Church Metro.
Labels: bike train, everyday bicycling, fionnuala quinn, health, jenifer madden
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Tysons bike facilities - Recent articles
Several articles have appeared recently about proposals by Fairfax County and VDOT to add bike facilities to several existing roads in Tysons and other areas as part of the summer repaving schedule. The next public meeting is Monday in the Mt Vernon District to discuss bike projects on several roads being repaved. See the an earlier FABB blog post about the Tysons bike projects:Proposal Could Bring Bike Lanes, Pedestrian Improvements to Tysons—News4's Transportation Reporter Adam Tuss looks at challenges for pedestrians and bicyclists in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
County’s bike plan comes into focus: ‘Road diets’ will allow cars, bikes to share arteries across Fairfax—Fairfax Times article by Kali Schumitz on creating bike facilities as part of the summer repaving process:
Adding bike lanes this way means that it is virtually no cost to the county, said Tom Biesiadny, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
“We’re not widening the existing pavement,” he said. “We’re just taking the existing pavement and seeing if it can be used a little bit differently.”
Tysons will get its first bike lanes this summer—Greater Greater Washington article by Jenifer Madden, vice chair of the Fairfax Co. Transportation Advisory Commission:
“We’re not widening the existing pavement,” he said. “We’re just taking the existing pavement and seeing if it can be used a little bit differently.”
Labels: adam tuss, jenifer madden, repaving, Tysons
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wolftrap Elementary bike rodeo video
Trails for Youth conducted the rodeo that was paid for by a grant from Prevention Connections. Mechanics from Spokes, Etc. and bikes@vienna were on hand to check out the kid's bikes. FABB was there to hand out bike literature and discuss biking in Fairfax. FABB's Jeff Anderson, the crazy biker dad, was key to putting it together. Tomorrow he'll be leading Wolfie's Bike Train on Bike to School Day.
Labels: bike rodeo, jeff anderson, jenifer madden, wolftrap elementary school
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Ped/bike bridge at Wolf Trap being installed
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| Bridge span being lowered into place. |
This project is part of the Beulah Road Walkway Project that was initiated by the NoVi Trails group headed by Jenifer Madden. It shows that hard work, persistence, and patience pays off. Funding was obtained from several sources with the help of Congressman Moran and the support of Supervisors Hudgins and Foust.
The final span of the bridge will be installed tonight. Congratulations to Jenifer for her work on making this facility a reality.
Labels: congressman moran, jenifer madden, supervisor foust, supervisor hudgins, trap road, wolf trap
