I stepped out of the Smithsonian Metro station and saw the Washington monument.
Jefferson Memorial (more later)
Wash Monument from Lincoln Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial. Lots of steps.
Abe Lincoln. Big statue!
Vietnam memorial with the Lincoln memorial. I grew up in Canada when the war was going on and I didn't know anything about Vietnam until I saw the "Deer Hunter".
I was moved to tears when I descended into the monument. All those names. All those people. All those broken families.
No Pedestrians. Back of the White House.
Museum of Natural History.
The museum was great but I was a little disappointed that the animals were not shown in their native habitats.
Black panther attacking a mole (?)
The Hope Diamond. It's pretty big and blue.
Entrance to the Air and Space Museum. That's Space Ship One hanging up there.
I spent two separate occasions at this museum during my visit.
Supermarine Spitfire. I have always loved this plane. If it wasn't for this plane I would be speaking German.
Saturn V rocket engine
Space monkey doesn't look too happy. He probably has to pee.
Sunny day on the mall. Weather was great but that was about to change...
Piet Canin from Santa Cruz Bike Industry Coalition
California bike advocates in the Reagan Conference center food court.
8 am and the start of the conference with Andy Clarke and Tim Blumenthal
Show me the money!
If there are significantly more bikers than hunters then why isn't IMBA as influential as the NRA? Answer: You need to join IMBA.
End of the conference before breaking out into state delegations. Jenn Dice on stage.
Pumping the crowd up
The IMBA delegation went to La Tasca Tapas restaurant. Mike Van Abel, Chris Scott and Scott Scudamore.
Jenn Dice and Laird Knight
Scott, Mike and Jill Van Winkle
Cathy and Jim Haagen-Smit
The Capitol at 8 am. It's lobby day!
"Burn calories instead of burning gasoline" - Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). This guy is a hard core bike geek. Very cool!
Now we meet with our reps. Congressional offices in the Rayburn building
Ouch! That hurts.
Jim Haagen-Smit, Jill Hamilton, Cathy HS
We had some time to kill between meetings so John Brown and I did a little sight seeing. Fountain in front of the Library of Congress
Bust of Thomas Jefferson in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Supreme Court vs. John Brown
Equal Justice Under Law
Nice Italian suit with comfy skater shoes and IMBA socks. So Suave!
Community policing. Capitol hill police use Specialized Epics. We had a 20 minute conversation. I would never approach a cop in a cruiser to have a friendly conversation.
The 4th anniversary of the Iraq war will be on March 19th and the protesters were getting an early start
This man pulled up and I was shocked to see the coffin
L/CPL Arredondo died on August 25, 2004 in Najaf, Iraq
I later read that Carlos Arredondo has been traveling across the country with the empty casket.
California bike advocates in a meeting with Ken Kopocis one of Senator Boxer's legislative assistants
A well dressed group of cyclists
Reception in the Russell Senate Office building after a successful day of lobbying.
Tim Blumenthal takes the lectern.
The Capitol at night
We bagged the ride due to the rain and cold weather so we went to the National Art Gallery. I had no idea that Jim Jacobsen was such an art connoisseur.
Al Baumen and Jim Jacobsen. Sorry about the focus. Slow shutter and no flash.
Pat and Julie Childers and kids all on one bike. I stayed with them for the week
Chas 3.5 years old, JD 5.5 years old
One big happy family. I took them out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality. Little did we know that I would boomerang back into their life.
Early sunrise at Reagan National Airport. If I would have turned around you would have seen hundreds of travelers stuck at the airport. They cancelled my flight so I got to spend a couple more days in Virginia and DC
I rode the cold damp Virginia trails with Pat in the morning. I was single speeding it. I wish I had some pictures from the ride but my camera battery was dead. Later that afternoon, Pat took me to "The Bike Lane" which is probably the best bike shop in Northern Virgina.
Scott Scudamore, former President of MORE, works at The Bike Lane for fun. I bought bike shorts and gloves for my daughter to support the store.
Community wall. Shows a healthy bike scene.
One of the many bike caches in Pat's life (I saw 3 of them). This is the Trips for Kids storage locker
A chilly Sunday in DC
Lone protester in front of the White House
Peace
Jefferson Memorial. The winds were high and it was a very cold walk.
Thomas Jefferson
My hero.
Good words which formed the founding of the nation
Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion
Yes it's cold. Yes I'm wearing Race Face cycling gloves.
Dan Woodhead in front of the National Archives. He was one of the 8 who did the Teluride to Moab hut to hut ride. We hung out all afternoon.
A fancy gate in Chinatown but I was really taking a picture of "Fuddruckers". I can't believe that it's a real restaurant. I thought it was a joke in "Idocracy".
Fancy, fancy.
National Portrait Gallery. Folk art exhibit.
This piece was made with beer caps - many of them Canadian. Check out the Molsons, Labatts and Laurentide.
Pig
A precursor to the Emperor
Celebrating California
On the plane just outside of Los Angeles. I missed my family and I was looking forward to being home.
