New BicycleSPACE!

We are excited to announce the new home of BicycleSPACE: 4000 square feet in the Lyric Building on 440 K St. NW. Coming this spring, our new location will have ample room for community classes and events, as well as a larger bike assortment and service department. 

For BicycleSPACE co-founder Erik Kugler, "this is a dream come true; it's is exactly the kind of space we've been working for since our inception. We're very excited to be working with Sandy Wilkes and Quadrangle, and the prospect to better serve the community which has been growing up around us."

The icing on the cake might be our future neighbor, a new bakery from the creators of Baked and Wired.

Make your voice heard

We are dedicated to making D.C. a better city for cyclists, because ultimately this creates a better city for everyone, pedestrians, bikes and cars, alike. What would you like to see in a Cyclist's Bill of Rights? Tweet us your ideas or post them in the comments below. 

We will be presenting your ideas to Mayor-Elect Muriel Bowser in her #freshideas Transportation Town Hall, on Tuesday December 9th at 3pm. The meeting will take place at 441 4th Street, NW, please feel free to join us and speak your mind. 

HOLIDAY BIKE SALE 2014


Plaid Ride & Ranger Games 2014

Hundreds gathered in Mt. Vernon Square this Saturday for our 2nd Annual Plaid Ride and Ranger Games. The event started off with a social ride through downtown on our way to the Ranger Games on Kingman Island.

The rules were simple: wear plaid - be rad. With lumberjack implements in hand, there were no problems with either stipulation!

Lumberjacks and jills of all ages filled the streets.

Our group wove through the National Mall on our way to Kingman Island in SE. Surely, the combination of grids on bikes on a red street system befuddled tourists, or at the very least left a lasting impression of good plaiditudes.

It's also probably worth mentioning: the Monkey Wagon is back! There's something so satisfying about a really loud sound system, and we're glad we got to share that with you!

Neighbors cheered us on as we passed through Capitol Hill. It was like when Santa comes through your neighborhood on a fire engine, except this time it was lumberjacks on bikes. 

Kingman Island sits just east of RFK stadium in the Anacostia river. It's a great little gem of the district, and we had gorgeous weather.

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The Bumper Jacksons provided the perfect soundtrack for the days events. They do shows of all sizes, but they love doing small, local shows the best! A big shout out to Banjo Brothers, who sponsored the concert and continues to show us that bikes make us family through great intimate live shows!

Let the games begin! First up in the feats-of-strength: Hammertime, presented by All-City Cycles! 

It paid to be nimble on New Belgium's Sap Spill Hill Climb. Competitors fought for glory and tickets to the ultimate Ranger Banquet.

Cleverhood Rain Rangers raced Bromptons in their waterproof cycling capes to retrieve big ol' cups of fresh Anacostia. 

Rangers adhere to strict nutritional guidelines and are powered by Acme Pie Company and New Belgium.

Bikes don't have hooves, so they don't need horseshoes, but they do need good locks. We tossed Abus U-locks all day, and they were working as good as new.

The Log Lug was a popular activity. Riders had to take a log-laden Surly Big Dummy through a grassy obstacle course to compete for the prize: a snazzy new lid from Bern! 

There's not as much mountain biking in DC as we would like, so when we get the chance to bust out some fat fat meat, we take it. James sent us a few of their great mountain and cyclocross bikes for us to get thoroughly filthy. 

The dirt loop was also Cross Check friendly. Then again, there isn't much terrain that a Cross Check can't handle.

Thanks #bikedc for joining us for the Plaid Ride and Ranger Games, and a big shoutout to all the volunteers and sponsors who helped make this possible. Proceeds from ticket and beer sales totaled over $1500 and will all go to Living Classrooms who manages and helps preserve Kingman Island.

We enjoyed hosting the event, and hope to do it even bigger, badder, and plaid-er next year! What events or activities would you like to see?

Photos by Francis Tatem

Story by Kevin Sundeen 

Artcrank Artist Profile: JD Deardourff


Artcrank artist JD Deardourff works out of Open Studio off Okie St. in the Trinidad neighborhood. JD says he enjoys riding because it's often the most practical way to get around the city. "[I use my bike for]  errands, getting from point a to point b, going to work, going to Nats games."

Screenprinting is a passion of JD, he's currently exhibiting a solo show at the McLean Project for the Arts, featuring some of his recent screenprinted work. 

"I first became interested in screen printing because it allowed me to imitate the way comic books used to be printed, and then I just sort of became addicted to it. It's a good way to explore color relationships, opacity and transparency, and I like having a matrix that you can either make multiples or variables from. I like it because it's a technical and visceral process. "

Inspired by the classic BMX film, Rad, JD chose to embrace bright 80's style colors for his prints. 


When asked how this city influences his work, JD answered: "I don't know if there's a direct influence on my work, maybe something subconscious, but I do take pride in being a DC artist and growing up here, and I think there's a rich tradition and a good, underrated, growing local scene."

The BMX racer was inspired by an old cartoon-style Mongoose ad. Throw in some intergalactic mountain ranges and you get one very rad print. 

Join us at Artcrank from 4-10pm on Saturday November 8th, to see work from JD and many other talented local artists. 

Connect with JD: deardourff.com @jddeardourff 

Screenprinting classes via: openstudiodc.com 

See JD's solo show at the McLean Project for the Arts now through December 20th 

And join him for his opening on December 11th from 6-8 NoMa lobby project, at 1200 First Street NE

Artcrank Artist Profile: Travis Poffenberger

Artcrank artist Travis Poffenberger lives and works at his home garden studio in Alexandria, VA .Travis believes in reusing whenever possible, both his work and his garden are often composed of found objects. A old swing set lives on as trellis and planters include a kitchen sink. 

"Lately my garden has taken over my work. I made very little art work until the plants were established, the garden was set up, and food was no longer a priority. I started making pieces from dried bits of plants I had grown or collected, it felt natural."

Travis creates stamps and test prints in his lush garden studio. Travis credits his resourcefulness and waste-nothing values to his Grandparents, originally German immigrants, who "learned to make do with what they had around them." 

 

Travis carves a stamp from foamboard that was originally used to package a live Betta Fish that was shipped to him years ago.

"I learned how to make stamps for the Artcrank piece. I wanted to learn something new, and explore the medium, as one does when you first learn to ride a bike. There’s nothing like that feeling when the training wheels first come off; it's amazing. Although I feel the sense of freedom gained through learning to ride is more profound than learning a new art production method, the core is the same. I've been making stamps like crazy for the past few months, like just learning to ride a 2 wheeler, it's all I want to do."

Travis and his trusty hardtail. "I primarily use my bike for leisurely transportation or short errands, more as a tool for mental clarity than utility."

Connect with Travis:

poffen.be/rger

intaes.info

hipster.im

peopleholdingturtles.com

jodihighroller.com

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Artcrank Artist Profile: Workhorse

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Abe Garcia and TJ Cichecki run Workhorse, a design studio based in Capitol Hill. After moving from Illinois to DC in 2012 TJ quickly ditched his single-speed set-up for some gears to make the climb up to his home in Columbia Heights. 

TJ prepares a screen for printing. Abe credits their studio as a source of inspiration, "it’s great to share space with other artists and craftspeople and see the cool things other people are creating." 

Sketches for TJ's "Political Machine," a print inspired by Rube Goldberg style illustrations. 

While TJ and Abe predominately work designing websites and apps, they welcome projects like Artcrank as an opportunity to try new things and produce physical work.  

The screen printing table was built with the help of another studio-mate. They table allows them to experiment with personal projects and make prints for themselves and friends. 

Connect with TJ and Abe: wrkhrs.co  and @wrkhrsco on social everywhere

Handsome Origins

Come join Handsome Cycles co-founder Jesse Erickson at the shop, Thursday November 5th to have a drink and check out the latest from one of our favorite bike makers.

"Ride like you're from Minneapolis" is more than a t-shirt, it's a frame of mind. Jesse was born into bikes: he grew up in his father's Minneapolis based bike shop. He and his co-founder Ben Morrison were inspired by classic steel bikes like the legendary Bridgestone XO-1. One of our favorite things about bikes like the Handsome Devil, pictured above, is that you get a versatile bike in clean package. Set it up as a commuter, a light tourer, single speed, 1x8, internal nexus, cyclocross bike... you name it, a Handsome can do it all with style. It's a well thought out bike designed by bike shop veterans, with everything you need and nothing you don't. 

Best of all, now through the end of the year, every purchase of a Handsome bike gets you a cool $100 towards any accessories in the shop. Heck, if you get one while Jesse is here, he'll buy you a beer, you handsome devil.

Photos by Francis Tatem

Words by Kevin Sundeen

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Artcrank Artist Profile: Annie Riker

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Artcrank comes to DC this Saturday. Today we meet local artist Annie Riker. 

"I've considered myself an artist ever since I was old enough to hold a paintbrush. I went to an art college (Ringling College of Art and Design), and chose Graphic Design as a major. I decided design would let me incorporate all of my artistic interests (illustration, photography, painting...), and allow me to regularly use the "problem solving" side of my brain. It has worked out well!" 

 

"I'm brand new to screen printing. I had been wanting to try it for awhile, so the ARTCRANK project gave me the nudge to take a lesson and print my posters myself. I have an even greater appreciation for screen printers now—it's quite a bit of work to get everything set up!"

"I like to be outside, so it's nice to start the day on my bike. I get a bit of a zen feeling from it. I even like to ride in the rain and cold weather (I'll draw the line at slushy snow, though...). 

[The City] offers a great balance for me—good energy, diversity in activities and people, with plenty of parks and green space for me to reflect. Plus, I work for an organization with a mission I care deeply about, and it's inspiring to be surrounded by my passionate coworkers with similar values. "

Connect with Annie:

http://annieriker.com  twitter - @AnnieRiker  instagram - TeaTimePhoto

Ivy City 1512 Okie St., N.E. Washington, DC 20002 202-853-9390

Please come visit us at our expansive Ivy City location- there’s a bike lane connected to downtown just around the block (and lots of on-street & longer term garage parking next door if you really must drive…)- our great people, bikes, and service are waiting for you!

contact@bicyclespacedc.com