Joe Flood's Blog, page 47

Coffeeneuring #6: Illy Cafe

Cappuccino from Illy Cafe at the Renaissance Dupont.

Everyone has their secret spots, places that they only know about.

For me, it’s Illy Cafe at the Renaissance Dupont at 22nd and M St NW. It’s a hipster-free zone, without  a beard or skinny jean to be seen. There’s also no wifi, so you don’t get laptop campers or deluded grad students.

A beautiful cappuccino is only $3.08 – probably the cheapest in the city.

And for the price you get to hang out in the Renaissance’s spacious lobby. It makes a great place to read a book.

Plenty of places to sit – plus they have a bar.

I’m reading Lawrence in Arabia, which is a fascinating history. We’re not the only country to screw things up in the Mideast.

Reading on the Kindle Paperwhite.

The Renaissance is also a great place to write a book – I wrote part of my second novel Don’t Mess Up My Block here.

I wrote a book here.

Cappuccino downed, I returned home from my coffeeneuring adventure via the L Street Cycletrack. The Stoney’s on L Street looks very close to opening. Tables and chairs are all set up. It looks ready to start serving Fat Tire and grilled cheese to the masses.

Coming soon – really!

And on 15th Street, DDOT is finally finishing work on the cycle track. They’ve been horrible during the process – unresponsive to public feedback and failing to protect the bike lane during the reconstruction process. It’s a miracle no cyclists were killed during the healthcare.gov of bike lane projects.

One interesting innovation, however, is the bike box at 15th and M. It’s a space for bikes to wait until the light changes, designed to provide separation between them and cars. It also makes it easier for cyclists to make left turns.

Bike box at 15th and L.

Despite the incompetence of DDOT, this city is still one of the best for biking. And the perfect place for coffeeneuring. Six trips down – one to go!

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The Wallace Line: Now Online

My short story “The Wallace Line” was a finalist for the Nelson Algren Short Story Award. Given annually for over twenty years, the Nelson Algren Award is named for the iconic Chicago writer best known for his novel The Man With the Golden Arm.

“The Wallace Line” is about a trip to Indonesia that goes horribly wrong. Read the whole thing.

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Coffeeneuring #5: Peregrine and the Perils of Grad School

Cappuccino at Peregrine on Capitol Hill #perfection

After last week’s episode of bad coffee in Bethesda, for this week’s coffeeneuring adventure, I was determined to get a good cappuccino.

I knew exactly where to bike to: Peregrine Espresso on Capitol Hill.

And not only was it delicious, it was artistically perfect, as you can see from the photo above. The work of a good barista is indistinguishable from magic.

Peregrine gets a bad rap for being a hipster haven, of being home to skinny jeans, ironic facial hair and hipper-than-thou attitudes. But it’s not the staff that’s the problem, I realized as I looked for a place to sit. It’s the patrons.

I had to perch on a stool in a corner because the tables were occupied by grad students with laptops. While I’ve  done my share of work in coffee shops, I would never choose a busy store like Peregrine. And I certainly wouldn’t occupy multiple chairs with my textbooks, knitware and electronic devices.

Nobody cares about your grad school dissertation – that is what I felt like shouting. Ten years from now, you will not even remember what that paper was about. And your thesis advisor, the only other person to have ever read it, won’t remember either.

Grad school won’t get you a better job. I’d be more impressed by someone who managed a Wendy’s than someone with an MA. The Wendy’s manager had to get people to show up and work every single day – that’s really hard, and much more impressive accomplishment than going to classes.

Besides, all those old rules and gatekeepers are coming down. Our most successful companies, like Facebook and Apple, were founded by college dropouts. There is no reason to genuflect before some academy before you can do what you want. You can do so now.

Avoid the trap of grad school. Instead, take advantage of the opportunities that cheap tech and the internet have brought us. Want to be a director? Go shoot a movie with your iPhone. Aspire to run a company? Use Kickstarter to raise the money. Want to change the world? Use Meetup to start organizing people.

If for no other reason, avoid grad school so you can enjoy Sunday afternoons outside. Ten years from now, you’ll remember sunny fall days like today – not the time you wasted hunched in front of a computer.

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Friday Photo: FotoNOMA Edition

InstantDC at FotoNOMA.

I have a confession.

I live in DC, take photos in DC, know lots of DC photographers, even won a FotoWeekDC contest but I cannot make heads or tails of the FotoWeekDC web site. There’s an overwhelming number of events – gallery openings, workshops (mostly paid), talks, lectures, training and other activities – but without an easy way to sort and find interesting stuff to see.

People have asked me what they should see during FotoWeek. I have no idea. I’m sure there’s lots of good stuff but I can’t figure out the web site.

But I can recommend FotoNOMA: The District Experience.  Admission is only $5 and includes photos from Strata Collective, Instant DC, The Pulitzer Center, International League of Conservation Photographers(ILCP), American Photographic Artists (APADC), Silvercore Photographers, Critical Exposure, Washington School of Photography, Galerie Blue Square, Indie Photobook Library, Empty Stretch and Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW).

The Strata Collective includes many of my favorite DC photographers such as Joshua Yospyn and Matt Dunn. They are experts at catching the absurdities of urban life. Many of their photos will be familiar to you, if you read the City Paper or local blogs.

I’m also friends with the folks behind InstantDC. Founded by James Campbell, the group has expanded my idea of the possibilities of mobile photography, from cutting-edge tools to different ways of seeing the world.

The International League of Conservation Photographers is also represented at FotoNOMA. They’re a great group of incredibly talented photographers who use their National Geographic-level skills to further environmental conservation.

FotoNOMA: The District Experience runs through November 10. The exhibit is just a couple blocks from the New York Avenue Metro. A whole new neighborhood is going up there. Check it out.

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Coffeeneuring #4: Capital Crescent Trail

“The journey is its own reward” should be the slogan of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. It’s not the coffee you drink, but how you get there.

That was my consolation after drinking this.

A bowl of hot milk – enjoy!

It was supposed to be a cappuccino, from Quartermaine’s in Bethesda. It was more like hot milk in a bowl with a dollop of espresso. I’d been so spoiled on my previous coffeeneuring adventures to Dolcezza and Buzz Bakery that this mediocre concoction was a shock.

I needed to return to DC, where cappuccino was made by surly men with beards. So I gulped this down and headed back to the Capital Crescent Trail. It’s my favorite trail in the Washington area and the one I ride the most.  The CCT follows an old railway line from Georgetown to Bethesda, with a gentle uphill grade most of the way.  Scenic year-round, it had exploded with fall colors over the weekend.

There’s actually a speed limit on the CCT – 15 miles per hour. On the downhill run back to Georgetown, it’s easy to exceed the posted limit. DC hasn’t figured out how to post speed cameras on bike trails – yet.

The MD section of the CCT is maintained by Montgomery County. It’s in better shape than the DC section, which is neglected by the National Park Service.

The Dalecarlia Tunnel, where the CCT passes under MacArthur Boulevard.

And then there’s great old railway bridge over the C&O Canal.

The Sunday after the time change, and the shadows were long.

For the last few miles into DC, the CCT runs parallel to the C&O Canal. This is at Fletcher’s Cove.

The CCT begins in Georgetown, right under Key Bridge. The late afternoon light and the fall colors were absolutely perfect. Crazy how good iPhone pics can be with the right light.

Four coffeeneuring adventures completed – three to go! Will I complete all of my seven required trips by November 17? Will I have better luck in coffee? Stay tuned!

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This is Not a Bike Lane

15th St Cycletrack under construction.

Progress in this city is as rutted and uneven as the bike lane pictured above. This is the 15th St Cycletrack. It’s supposed to be a bike lane running along the curb, protected from traffic by white, reflective bollards and a line of parked cars on the left.

The DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) is rebuilding the lane – great! But they tore it up and left it this way, with no detours or accommodations for cyclists. Without white painted lanes or bollards, drivers don’t know it’s a cycletrack. They drive and park in it while cyclists come the opposite way – a recipe for accidents.

DDOT was warned. WABA asked to help during the planning process – and was ignored. And once the construction started, cyclists tweeted at them, including me, after witnessing WABA Bike Ambassador Pete Beers nearly get killed. I asked that orange cones be put up to mark the lane. DDOT assured me that they would fix the problem. But they did nothing.

@joeflood @JackEvansWard2 Thanks Joe. We are aware and will address the issue.

— DDOT DC (@DDOTDC) October 22, 2013

 

This infuriates me. I work in government. I respond to citizen concerns every day. Civil servants have a duty to fix problems. DDOT under the Fenty administration responded to and fixed problems the same day.

This DDOT project has been poorly planned, reckless and negligent. It would not have happened under Adrian Fenty. But is commonplace under Mayor Gray. Cast your vote accordingly.

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Coffeeneuring #3: Union Market

The great thing about coffeneuring is that it gets you biking to new places. Coffeeneuring #1 sent me to Buzz Bakery and their delicious red velvet cupcakes. Coffeeneuring #2 was a trip to hipsterville aka Big Bear in Bloomingdale.

For my third coffeeneuring adventure,  I decided to visit Union Market. This wholesale market in Northeast DC (formerly known as the Florida Avenue Market) has been reinvented as an artisanal shopping experience.

To get there, Google Maps sent me across the city via M Street. I thought the route was crazy, but I played along.

Logan Circle to Union Market, the crazy Google way.

The Google sent me down M Street through Shaw, across Mad Max-style New York Avenue and through NoMa streets torn up from construction. After going under the railroad tracks, I just followed the hipsters up to the market.

Union Market is home to more than a dozen different restaurants and retail shops, including Peregrine Coffee, Dolcezza Gelato, Co Co. Sala and TaKorean. It’s sort of “city in a box” where you can shop for all your luxury treats in one location.

Union Market

Union Market sign

DC is the real Portlandia.

Salt and Sundry

Co Co. Sala chocolate

Coffeeneuring #3 – cappuccino from Peregrine at Union Market.

What’s funny about Union Market is that it’s a luxury enclave within a still-functioning wholesale market that sprawls over several blocks of Northeast DC. The rest of the market looks a little bleak:

The other side of Union Market.

I ran into one of my favorite local photographers, pablo.raw, at the market. He disappeared into this industrial landscape to look for interesting alleys.

With my trip to Union Market completed, I disregarded the Google. Instead, I went south to the Capitol, with the first hints of fall creeping into Washington.

Biking toward the Capitol.

Another coffeeneuring adventure completed!

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Friday Photo: Two Phones Edition

I have two phones on my desk.

I had too much fun during the government shutdown, taking advantage of the unpaid break to drink in beer gardens, eat delicious jamon and go on coffeeneuring adventures.

But now it’s back to work. While my bank account is thankful for this, the reintroduction to the absurdities of government can be a painful one.

I have two phones. We’re switching from our 90s era phones to new ones. Rather than just replace one with the other, they left both, so I have two phones on my desk with two different numbers. It’s like I’m a 1950s businessman. I haven’t had the chance to talk on both phones at the same time, barking out orders, but I’m hopeful I will have a chance to do so soon.

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Coffeeneuring to Big Bear Cafe

For my second coffeeneuring adventure, I biked to Big Bear Cafe in Bloomingdale. Reminder: the idea behind coffeeneuring is to bike to seven different coffee shops by November 17.

Like most bike people, I have more than one bike. I’ve limited my addiction to just to two cycles – a Specialized Sirrus and Breezer Zig 7, a folding bike that I bought off Craigslist. Small enough to fit in the trunk of a car, I’ve taken this bike everywhere, from the cobblestoned streets of Savannah to mile-high trails in Colorado.

But I had a problem.

This could be a problem.

I can fix a flat tire. But I could not loosen the nut that held the tire to the frame, even after employing bike tools, WD-40 and even a hammer. So I took it to The Bike Rack at 14th and Q.

The Bike Rack at 14th and Q NW.

It’s a great store with honest mechanics who quickly and cheaply fixed my problem. Within minutes, I was back on the road.

Taking the Q Street bike lane, I biked east across the city to Big Bear Cafe at 1st and R Street NW. Ten years ago, this was ratty corner store adjacent to an open-air drug market. Now it’s home to strong coffee and bearded baristas. With its second-hand furniture and vine-covered patio, it would be a great place for a meet-cute romantic comedy. But this is Washington, so everyone was engrossed in their laptops.

Strong coffee on a warm October day at Big Bear Cafe.

I continued east on R Street to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Eventually, this trail will stretch from Union Station to Silver Spring, following the route of the Red Line. At the moment, it exists in bits and pieces and some of those bits are under construction.

Metropolitan Branch Trail.

After following the trail to Union Station, I biked up to the Capitol, where our legislators can’t make up their mind about how to fund the government – their indecision why I have time to coffeeneur on a Tuesday. Unfortunately, this time is unpaid, since I’m a government contractor.

The solution to all our problems – a foldy bike!

Going around the Capitol, I cruised down the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane, which offers glorious vistas of the city, before making my way up 15th St and to home.

My giant head enjoys the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane.

Here’s the route I took.

Coffeeneuring to Big Bear. Tracked in Moves, an iPhone app.

One thing I realized during this cross-town journey: if local government builds bike lanes and trails, people will use them. Everywhere I went, people of all kinds were out riding. And not just for relaxation – from college students to commuters, a sizable chunk of this city uses bikes for everyday transportation. The city of Washington built this community. While our federal government may be dysfunctional, we can still make progress on a local level. Bike DC!

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WABA Ambassador Pete Beers Gently Educates Drivers

WABA Ambassador Pete Beers politely informs a driver that they’re driving in the bike lane.

You never know what you’ll see walking around on the streets of DC.

On October 11, I was on my way to get coffee when I happened to catch this little drama. It was a rainy and miserable morning but there were still plenty of cyclists in the 15th Street Cycletrack. More than just a bike lane, this is a strip of road reserved for cyclists, with bollards and parked cars protecting them from the madness of DC traffic. Bikers can go in both directions and the Cycletrack is packed every morning with commuters – an inspiring sight.

Except at 15th and M, where the bollards have gone missing. I ride through here all the time and was about to get a picture of the danger when this Audi pulled into the Cycletrack. Then the light changed and cyclists started coming the other way.

And it was Pete Beers! He’s a Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) Ambassador, charged with educating the public on the benefits of biking. As part of his outreach duties, he was riding around DC hauling the WABA “Every Lane is a Bike Lane” trailer

Pete nearly ended up on the hood of the luxury sedan. Despite this, he was polite, informing the driver that they were driving in a bike lane. It was a very civilized exchange that ended positively.

In contrast, when a cabbie made a u-turn in the Cycletrack last week, I peppered him with obscenities. “You’re a fucking idiot!” where my words, to be precise.

Maybe I should try Pete’s more Buddhist approach. Read Pete’s side of things, and his gentle approach to driver education on his blog, I Love My Commute. He also has a great Flickr feed where he obsessively documents DC-area trails, as well as his adventures in carrying large objects on bikes.

I tweeted this photo at the DC Department of Transportation. They say they will fix the problem. I hope so – it’s literally an accident waiting to happen.

 

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