If you’re in the DC area, you’ve most likely encountered a Bikeshare Bike in the city. And you’ve also likely encountered the Washington Post Express newspaper. It’s the smaller, free paper that the Post puts out daily, and it’s full of interesting stories. Yesterday, my friends and I were the interesting story! In fact, we were the cover story – they had six of us Ironman triathletes “race” the six different bikeshare bikes in DC.

Read the Washington Post article here: 

We had triathletes race all 6 of D.C.’s bike-share bikes. The results surprised even us

First of all, I didn’t know there were SIX bikeshare companies now! We’re all familiar with Capital Bikeshare, which has been around for almost 10 years and has docks all over the city. I’ve always meant to try it, but because I’m a commuter from the suburbs to DC, I just haven’t taken the plunge for my in-the-District transportation needs.

Recently, I learned about the dockless bikeshare companies from friends who had seen them popping up in DC. I was fascinated with the concept of the easy app-based system, and especially lack of planning required – just unlock the bike with the app, ride to your destination, and then leave it on the sidewalk and walk away.

Once you know what these random colorful bikes are, you notice them everywhere. Green, orange, and yellow bikes leaning against signposts, or propped up by their kickstands on the sidewalk. Sometimes in the way of pedestrians, but typically just conveniently poised for spontaneous travel.

So when the Washington Post Express wanted to do a story comparing the bikeshare companies, my friends and I quickly volunteered.

Photo by Jolene, on the electric Jump Bike.

We met in Georgetown on a rainy Sunday morning on the corner of Wisconsin and M. It was an easy, central location, and I saw dockless bikes strewn along the sidewalks as I drove down M Street to find a parking space.

“SCORE!”, I thought – there’s tons of them right here! I wanted one of those bikes that was on M, close to the start. And I fixated on that {Foreshadowing: you’ll see why this is important later..}.

Once we all gathered, we drew a bikeshare company name out of a hat. (Or, er… a bag, but you get the point – random). Then we downloaded the app for our company, created an account if necessary, and added funds to get started.

I got LimeBike, which I had seen around the city and had been the first dockless company I had heard about from a friend. {In fact, I had seen one on M Street as I drove to the meeting spot…}

The other five were:

1. Mobike, ridden by Trevor
2. Spin, ridden by Ellen
3. Ofo, ridden by Heather
4. Capital Bikeshare, ridden by Beckie, who was conveniently already a member and knew the system
5. and Jump. Jump is an electric bike – which might sound like a huge advantage in a race, but there are only four of them in the city. This meant that Jolene, who drew Jump bike, had to run about a mile to her bike.

(PS – follow all of us on Instagram for adventures like these!)

Once we were all set up, we received instructions about our “finish line” and worked through some directional challenges (we aren’t all city dwellers, ya know).

Keep in mind, the “race” involved the entire process of the bikeshare experience – finding and getting to a bike, using the app, unlocking it, and then getting to the destination. The race wasn’t just about which bike was physically the fastest – if that were the case, the electric Jump Bike would win hands-down. The Post wanted to know everything about our experience with the bike.

We all put our foot on the white tile pictured above, and Sadie from the Post Express said

GO!

I started running down M Street, towards the LimeBike I had fixated on when driving. But as I ran, I looked down at the app, and it showed tons of “limes” in the area. And suddenly I had a lightbulb moment: there were other bikes just as close that might be better positioned.

It was the quintessential “keep in mind, the closest exit may be behind you” feeling as paused while running in the opposite direction from my intended route.

If I ran to a LimeBike down Wisconsin, I could avoid running another block down M, then doubling back through Georgetown traffic. I could run to the bike and be partially on my way.

I had come into the race with a plan, but it was time to scrap it.

I turned around and ran back towards our starting point, and hung a right on Wisconsin. I ran down the hill towards the better-positioned bike. I knew the street well – I do fitness classes in that neighborhood, so I was annoyed that this little mistake cost me some time.

I arrived at my bike. It was a cutie.

It was really easy to unlock using the QR code on the app. I put my phone in the basket, and figured I’d have Google Maps visible to navigate (hint: not a good idea and you’ll see why).

I pulled the bike into the street, hovering over the saddle. Cars were coming, so I paused and got my bearings. I tried to ride.

But wait – the seat is too high, I can’t reach the pedals!

I hopped off, figured out how to adjust the seat, which was really simple once I realized where the lever was, but it took a couple adjustments (valuable time lost right there, people!).

I rode half a block downhill and turned left to head towards Rock Creek Trail. The streets were rough and my phone started bouncing a foot in the air! I saved it before it bounced onto the street and was run over by a car, but it cost me time to stop and zip it into my rain jacket pocket.

If you read the article, you’ll see that the route we all took wasn’t the fastest option. In fact, Google Maps told me the city streets were faster, but I was worried about a few things:

• Riding an unfamiliar bike through unfamiliar city streets (I don’t know that part of the city well)
• The rain + cars
• Stoplights might delay me

I wasn’t convinced that the city route would end up faster, and it definitely wasn’t safer, so I figured I’d cruise down Rock Creek and over to Adams Morgan. I knew the big hill would be a challenge, but I figured I’d be able to handle it. I ride on hills all the time…

The LimeBike was easy to ride – there was a handy bell at my left hand, which I rang accidentally 1,000 times, but at the appropriate times, it made it easy to alert people that I was coming.

On Rock Creek, there were walkers, dogs, and runners to contend with. It wasn’t too crowded since it was rainy, but I came to an area with a construction tunnel and a runner was entering right at that moment. We weren’t both going to fit. I had to stop and ring my bell a few times, and then she allowed me to go through first.

The bike handled the twists and turns of the path well, but with the rain my feet slipped on the pedals a bit. I’m used to being clipped in and this was an adjustment. I didn’t push my speed – I really only ride a tri bike right now so I was having fun on this “regular” bike.

I got to the huge hill (we all know this hill from Rock n Roll DC), and rode up as much as I could. I hopped off and ran while pushing the bike next to me, which really tired me out! It’s way heavier than my triathlon bike!

I got back on and rode further up the hill, but eventually I got off again and just ran/pushed it up to the top. I felt totally fried after that – what a workout! [Later, I noticed that apparently there are gears to shift that could have helped me, but in the haste of accessing the bike and starting the race, I never noticed.]

I got to the top, turned right onto Calvert Street, and rode in the bike lane. Again, I found obstacles in my path. An Uber waiting for a passenger, a city bus – these are the real-life obstacles of being a bike commuter. I stopped once to check my directions, and got held up at a few stoplights.

I was sure I was in last place.

And then it was there: the plaza with the finish line!

I saw two of my friends already there, but nobody else around. I parked the bike, locked it, ended my ride, and ran to the finish.

Woohoo, I got third!

Seriously dorky pic but you can tell it was a really fun moment! Photo by Allie Caren.

The Post had us pose for a makeshift “podium”.

Photo by Allie Caren.

It was fun to hear the story of Trevor and Heather’s race – you can read more about it in the Post article!

Photo by Allie Caren.

Victory was ours… but where are the others?

Photo by Allie Caren.

Okay, here comes Ellen! She was on the Spin bike and had a bit of a jog to get to her bike in Georgetown. We heard from her that Beckie was close behind, but she had to dock her Capital Bikeshare bike.

When five of us were gathered, we saw Jolene coming with the Jump bike. It also had to be docked and locked.

But wait, something was wrong. Is that blood?

Jolene had gotten in a minor accident and was all scraped up. Blood was streaming down her arm. But like a true badass, she got back up and finished the race!

The whole experience was really fun, and we were all abuzz about the bikeshare bikes. I got to test the electric Jumpbike – short video on my Instagram – click here then scroll through for the video!

The Post had a photographer capturing all the finish line action.

And the photographer captured me taking photos – I was kind of obsessed with these bikes!

Photo by Allie Caren.

After the race, we went to brunch and told the tales of the road into a voice recorder. We each had a story!

Jolene cleaned her wounds and recounted her accident. Thankfully, she was still smiling.

Eventually, it was time to get back to our cars. Instead of Uber, we realized that bikeshare bikes were the way to go! We each tried different bikes for the way back. I had some trouble with a couple of the apps – and ended up making it work with Mobike. I jogged to it, but then the app wouldn’t scan. Thankfully there is a second QR code on the bike and that unlocked it.

A few of us rode our different bikeshare bikes back to our car – totally fun way to travel now that we weren’t “racing” under pressure!

After trying all three apps for Mobike, Ofo, and LimeBike, I had the easiest time with the LimeBike app for ease of use and inviting friends. In fact, my links to LimeBike in this post will give you free rides and me free rides – it’s how they roll.

Read the Washington Post story here: We had triathletes race all 6 of D.C.’s bike-share bikes. The results surprised even us.

And check out my Instagram post about it!

I’m a bikeshare bike convert now and plan to keep using the bikes. I’m a bit partial to LimeBike after my bike and I bonded during the race, but I have each company’s app downloaded now.

It was a fun adventure “racing” the bikeshare bikes on a rainy Sunday morning, and I am so thankful that I have friends who love doing crazy stuff like this too! Follow me on Instagram, along with my fun friends Trevor, Ellen, Heather, Beckie, and Jolene!

Thanks to Sadie Dingfelder and the Washington Post Express for the fantastic story idea, and for putting up with six crazy Ironman triathletes for a morning!

Have you ever used a bikeshare bike? Which one and how did you like it?

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