Riding a CaBi bicycle by Elvert Barnes licensed under Creative Commons.

As we march forward into 2021 and close the chapter on 2020, there is little to be thankful for. But it is important to look at last year and find some good in it. While looking back I realized how thankful I am for Capital Bikeshare.

Before COVID-19 hit, I mainly traveled around the city via Metro, bus, or Uber. Suddenly all my options were inaccessible. Luckily, I am in a city that has made progress becoming bike friendly.

I suddenly found myself riding a bike daily. Living in a basement studio means it is important to get out of the house. As summer rolled on and initial restrictions subsided, bicycling is how I met up with friends, visited parts of the city, went to work (small office, so I was the only person going in), and so on.

DC is very bike friendly, and small. Almost everywhere I wanted to go ended up being less than a 30-minute bike ride. But even further trips are achievable. Columbia Heights to Alexandria is only an hour on a bike, who would have thought!

I am critical of plenty of DC government activities, but I think they are doing a fairly good job building out bicycling infrastructure. I see more and more bike lanes being added all over the city, many of them protected. Capital Bikeshare now has 4,500 bikes and more than 500 stations throughout the DC metro area. It is refreshing to see bike lanes continuously added to the city, and the stations I’ve used almost always had plenty of working bicycles available.

CaBi also recently introduced e-bikes that can dock at the station or at a bike rack for an additional $1 fee. Those are amazing! They’re not the best for exercise, but the standard red bicycles seem so heavy and slow after the e-bike experience.

Bikeshare is also by far the most cost-effective form of transportation I have used. $85 for the year is amazing, and they offer affordable pricing for low-income individuals as well.

I could go on and on about how much I have enjoyed biking. It leads to a healthier population, a greener city, and better road safety and management. I am excited to see what bike friendly projects the city continues into 2021. Rock Creek park recently awarded a contract to rehabilitate their trails. Many city neighborhoods continue to strive for better pedestrian and bike safety. Neighborhoods like Ivy City that lack traditional public transportation options are looking to expand bike accessibility. My CaBi experience has made me excited for all these projects and opportunities.

I am sure that there are issues with the program, or more DC could be doing to accelerate a bike friendly city. But when looking back at 2020 and forward to 2021, I am grateful to live in a city with such an accessible program.

Connor Garvey currently works at a nonprofit advocating for better corporate governance. He hopes to continue to rebuild faith in governance in both political and corporate institutions. As a former bartender and sports fan, he is excited to hopefully soon take advantage of all the amazing activities DC has to offer. He has lived in many DC neighborhoods over the last eight years and currently calls Petworth home.