Some of my girlfriends like to check out the bikers on campus. I prefer to check out the bikes. Ever since I was a child, I loved biking. I couldn’t run very far or very fast and I couldn’t drive a car, but on a bike I was free. The world never seemed as fun to me as it did when I was flying down a hill on a bike. And whenever I was restless, when I needed to explore and find something new to experience, I would always turn to my bike.
Before visiting Georgetown, I was training for a triathlon at home in New Hampshire, which of course involved bicycle training. Being frequently surrounded by passionate cyclists with state-of-the-art road bikes on long rides inspired in me a slight obsession with the surrounding athletic environment Even compared to the scenic hills of New Hampshire, D.C. seemed like it would not disappoint.
Only about an hour after arriving in D.C., the cab ride from the airport allowed me to observe plenty of well-maintained, clearly marked trails along the roads—filled with cyclists. Driving through the city, it looked like many D.C. professionals commuted to work on bicycles to avoid the congestion of the roads and the slowness of public transportation. I quickly learned that bike lanes could be found on major streets from the Capitol to Dupont Circle. Soon I was picturing myself in these bikers’ shoes, exploring the city streets or taking a spin along the river.
Unfortunately, come the first few weeks of school, biking at Georgetown proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. As any biker on campus knows, even navigating university grounds is a challenge. Most of the paths around campus aren’t wide enough to accommodate bikers and students walking, and it can sometimes take a lot of creativity to find paths that aren’t blocked by stairs at some point. Off campus, the narrow brick roads with stop signs every ten feet don’t give way easily to a pair of wheels. And Georgetown’s bike racks can be a D.C. thieves’ paradise—the bike I brought from home was stolen within the first few months of school, quickly killing any enthusiasm I had left for the sport.
As I came to realize throughout freshman year, the mythical “Georgetown bubble” was less of a myth and more of an oppressive reality. I couldn’t explore D.C. the way I had always wanted to because I didn’t have the time to wait for a Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle, then the metro, and then have to walk to my destination (especially not in the summer, when this long journey took place in 80 and 90 degree heat). Restless in the middle of a long D.C. summer, I desperately needed to break out of the Georgetown bubble, so I did what any reasonable college student would do: I purchased a bike off Craigslist.
Having a bike in the summer was practical—I rode it to work when I was late, even though I only worked a few blocks away from campus, and I would ride to Trader Joe’s to get groceries. But more importantly, joining the ranks of D.C.’s street cyclers opened D.C.’s diverse neighborhoods up for me in a way that traveling by foot or public transportation never did.
My plan is to experience as much of this busy city as I can in my time at Georgetown. I’ve taken my bike to other neighborhoods, trying to get a feel for the different shopping, eating, and general culture beyond insulated M street. I love watching the urban environment of U Street or the professionals in Penn Quarter, exploring the many quirky shops and restaurants of Adams Morgan, or even just getting lost in the beautiful architecture of Embassy Row. Sometimes I give myself personal bike tours of the nearest tourist attractions—the Mall and the buildings in Federal Triangle, the Smithsonian art museums, the National Cathedral, and the cherry blossoms in the spring. The freedom of a personal tour allows me to experience exactly what I want, when I want; I can spend as much or as little time at my destination as I need to, and I can leave whenever I want. Touring D.C. with my parents or even friends never worked that way.
I know it’s not realistic, but some days I wish everyone at Georgetown had a bike so they could see what D.C. really has to offer.
