I have always bragged that I think I have one of the best commutes in the DMV. It hits nearly every major DC landmark and comes in at about 3 miles total, with roughly 2.5 miles of biking and half a mile of walking.
There are two bike stations near my house, one at 3rd and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, and another at East Capitol & 4th Street SE. After grabbing my helmet and locking my front door (and usually stopping a few paces from my front door to triple check that I have my work badge), I choose which station to head towards based on bike availability. Today I head to East Capitol & 4th Street SE which has some e-bikes and a couple classic bikes.
I get to the bikeshare station after about 2 minutes of walking and unlock a classic bike - I prefer the oldest type of bike; they feel the lightest to me and I’ve noticed this makes a big difference in my comfort throughout the ride. After I unlock, I buckle my helmet and both straps on my backpack, put in my headphones, and tuck away my phone in a pocket.
The first few minutes of the ride are on East Capitol street in the direction of the Capitol building. I pass by the Shakespeare Library and the Library of Congress on my left and the Supreme Court on my right. Some days, I get to observe the line of people waiting outside the Supreme Court. One of my favorite DC memories is when I got up at 4:30am on a cold day in March and spent the morning shivering with Victoria waiting in line to see a Supreme Court case. They only let in 20 people that day, and we happened to be 18th and 19th in line!
Then, for my favorite part of the ride: I cross 1st Street SE and squeeze past the narrowly spaced bollards to head onto Capitol grounds. I bike through the pedestrian-only corridor, into the bay in front of the Capitol, usually dodging a few metal barricades and groups of middle school tour groups. I take a right, passing by the United States senate, and bomb down the north arm of the Capitol as fast as I can while blasting 100 gecs or a remix of a 2000s pop song. This is my favorite part of my day.
I have to slow down to avoid some pedestrians and bollards at the bottom of the hill. I ride through the Capitol parking lot towards Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest along the reflecting pool, but turn left at 3rd street and right onto Madison Drive NW. Though I think the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane is great in theory, in practice it involves a lot of starting and stopping which makes cycling feel more arduous than it actually is. Taking Madison Drive NW, there aren’t stoplights at every intersection and the traffic is usually light enough that I can safely run red lights. I bike along this street for 11 blocks, passing the National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Castle, and the National Museum of Natural History, stopping right at the edge of the the National Museum of American History, just before a short stretch of decline before the 14th street stoplight.
I wait for the light to turn green before gliding down the short bit of decline across 14th Street, passing by the National Museum of African American History on my right, and heading towards the Washington monument. I turn onto the 15th street bike lane to head north briefly before turning left onto Constitution Avenue NW where bike past the Washington monument on my left and the White House on my right.
The final leg of my journey is to cross 17th street, ride along Constitution Avenue NW for half a block, and take a slight right onto Virginia Avenue NW before heading up 18th street NW for about a block. I normally have to dodge a few tour buses that are parked here before arriving at my destination of the 18th & C St NW bike station.
Given that I work at 18th & K Street NW, you might be asking: why park your bike here, seven blocks south of your destination? This is an excellent question. As someone who loves to optimize my life around achieving my goals, I have experimented lots with my commute and morning routine over the years. Through this experimentation, I’ve found that I feel my best when my morning includes both being active and dedicating time to learning German. Thus, the walking portion of my commute is born: every day for the last two years, I’ve spent the walk from the 18th & C Street NW Capital Bikeshare station to my office at 18th & K Street NW either doing German flashcards or a prerecorded audio German lesson. It’s only fifteen minutes, but it’s an opportunity to use my brain while it’s fresh to learn something new, and 15*5 days a week*52 weeks in a year = 3900/60 = 65 hours of German learning. And consistency > intensity always.
Not every day commuting looks exactly like this. I often prefer to take the metro if it’s cold or raining, or I’ll take a different bike route (going north to K street NE) if there’s a big road closure near the mall.
I have loved living in DC the last three years, and this commute has been a great way to ground myself before heading to work. Passing by so many iconic buildings serves as a reminder that living and working here was once a dream I never thought possible. On the day that I took these photos in this post, it was pouring and I showed up to work drenched. But you know what? This present moment used to be the unimaginable future. So who cares if I’m a little wet.