Friday night in D.C. was probably one of the greatest nights I’ve ever had.
It all started Monday afternoon when Karlee and I headed out for a cup of coffee, and all of a sudden a little fluff ball of cuteness, Kona, sidetracked us. We stopped to pet and play with him a bit, and then we got to talking to his owners, and who knew they’d end up being the coolest people we’d meet in D.C.? After about an hour of chatting, they invited to go out on a E-Bike Monument tour. A what tour? E-Bike, the coolest bike around.
I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was a kid. The only bikes I hope on these days are the ones at spin class. Things have changed quite a bit since then.
Oh, and we did end up getting that coffee about two hours later.
Around six on Friday night, we hopped in the car with Shaughna and headed towards Revolution Cycles in Clarendon, which was a very cute area in D.C. If you live in the D.C. area, I’m sure you’ve crossed their bike shops once or twice. They have one in Georgetown, Rockville, Stafford and Clarendon. I was shocked at how big the stores were. We are talkin’ upstairs, downstairs, and several stores combined! It was never ending.
After getting fitted for the bikes, our new awesome Revolution Cycles T-shirts and helmets, we headed out on the tour. Things sure have changed since being a kid because I used to hate helmets. I remember crying when my mom made me put it on and rebelling without one when she wasn’t around. They were heavy, bulky and never stayed on. The Lazor helmets we wore from their shop literally felt like air. I forgot I was even wearing one and they had the adjustable fit.
At first, I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to figure out the E-bike. I was shocked to find out how simple they are to run, literally two Knobs to control, the knob on the left to give you assistance and the knob on the right to switch gears. When you are going uphill, you turn the gears down to like one and the assist on high. You basically fly up the hill as if you were on a motorcycle. Do you know how much easier life would have been as a kid with one of these bikes? I used to ride bikes until my mom begged me to come inside. There was no such thing as getting tired on a bike back then, but as I got older, of course it took more out of me. With the assistance on these bikes, there is no such thing as getting tired. I also love that if you don’t want assistance, you don’t have to use it. This bike can act as just a normal bike as soon as you flip the assistance off.
There are a lot of different types of e-bikes. The one we road was the Raleigh Misceo iE and it was probably one of the best ones out on the market right now. It has a pedal assist up to 20 mph, 36 volt, 250 watt center motor, and pushes 25-35 MPH.
Mike, the owner of the stores, said something that was so true. When you’re touring a city by car, your pictures don’t turn out like this because they are blurry from driving so fast, and it’s not always easy to stop on the highway to take a picture. This photo was taken from the bike path right next to the highway. I just parked my bike, walked up to the edge of the water, shot the photo and got back on the bike. You can’t do that in a car. When you’re walking, you can only go so many miles before you body starts aching, blisters start forming and dehydration takes a toll. I never realized how beneficial biking truly is.
Kona is also a biker dog. Mike pulls a little trailer on the back of his bike with the crate. It is literally the cutest thing in the world. I love starring at that cute face when I ride behind him. Every time we made a stop, they brought Kona out too. If I had grumples on the back of a bike, I’d need a MEGA boost motor.
He is one cuddly pup!
After riding on the Mt Vernon path, we made our way to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This memorial was breath taking, especially at dusk.
D.C. is very bike friendly. While driving through the National Park, we parked the bikes and walked up to the memorials.
How legit do we look? 😉
I felt like a kid again, whipping through the wind, going fast, and I just had the biggest smile on my face the whole time. I probably ate over 100 bugs.
We visited the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and Shaughna told us some pretty interesting facts and controversies with the memorial.
We took a picture by the depression breadline. This represented the Great Depression that took place while Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office.
After taking a bike ride by the Lincoln memorial, we headed down the grove of trees towards the Washington Monument.
Flying fast blur and the permanent smile on my face.
You can kind of see Kona’s little face in the back of the trailer! This is my favorite path in D.C. I would run this almost every day if I lived there.
The views going over the Potomac River on the 14th street bridge were absolutely breathtaking.
Shaughna told us about the plane crash that happened in 1982 on that same bridge due to horrible weather conditions. It crashed onto the bridge and then into the water killing 78 people, just 2 miles from the White House.
Riding these bikes would have been so much easier on that hot day that we all walked over ten miles to visit the monuments and the white house.
Everywhere we went, we had to stop for people so they could pet Kona. He’s such a people stopper!
I mean seriously…
I spent the morning running and doing arm workouts because I thought I needed to save my legs for the bike ride. Little did I know that it was going to be the smoothies, easiest, and comfortable ride ever!
I actually fell in love with these bikes so much that I’m looking into buying my own.
Now that Charlotte is growing tremendously, it’s hard to get around. All the neighborhoods are congested and the interstates are jammed packed at certain hours of the day. The city has a lot of backcountry roads and bike paths that I would really like to start utilizing. Not only is it better for our environment, it’s a month saver. These bikes are of course pricier than your average bike, but think about all the money you save on gas, car repairs, maintenance, oil changes, and the time you spend stuck in traffic.
I get in my car all the time just to drive a mile to grab some ingredients or Nick and I drive a mile to grab ice cream. Jumping on the bikes would be so much more convenient and better for the environment.
I think we all agreed that riding the bikes made you feel like a little kid again and it was such a stress reliever. I understand why people enjoy riding bikes. It also explains why Shaughna and Mike were so bright and happy.
If you do make it to Washington D.C., check out the monuments at night. They are even cooler when lit up!
We made our way towards the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is located in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.
There was a lot of controversy over the memorial because of the color of stone they chose and grin that they put on his face. I can understand why this would upset people, but it was still a very beautiful memorial.
The memorial had a beautiful view of the Thomas Jefferson memorial. It seemed so far away but only took about ten minutes to ride a bike over there.
The bike ride back to the store was beautiful, minus eating some bugs. The lights on the water were like paintings. The Korean War memorial was another one of my favorites.
The bike had all kinds of safety features. They had front lights with different settings, backlights, and powerful breaks.
We headed back to the shop to put the bikes up and they gave us a little night tour. Mike told us all about his experiences with President Bush. Bush and him would ride bikes together and go so fast that the servicemen couldn’t keep up. Bush called him “Mikey” and one time called him “PORC (pork).” He looked at President Bush and said, “Why the hell do you call me Pork” and Bush said, “It stands for President of Revolution Cycles.”
Revolution Cycles also set up bikes for a lot of well-known people, including President Obama’s daughters.
They have special rooms for bike fittings. They have a room with monitors and a bike they put you on to determine proper fits, types of bikes, and all kinds of neat features.
Their shop went on forever. I was blown away by the amount of bikes upstairs. You can really tell they truly love what they do because they are the happiest people and have so much passion for bikes. It’s inspiring to see people pursue their dreams to live a happy and fulfilled life.
They are also gong to start doing store transfers by E-Bikes to push the E-bike movement. They are true believers in helping the environment by using less resourses. Even one person can make a different. I hope I can hop on that same boat!
T.C. was giving Kona all kinds of love.
After leaving the shop, we headed back to the apartment, changed clothes and walked down to King Street for dinner.
They treated us to dinner at Hard Times Cafe. They are known for their chili and cornbread. I was way too hot for chili so I ordered wings and did try their cornbread, which was very good!
Shaughna and Mike are the type of people that you talk to for three minutes and feel as if you’ve known them your whole life. I was truly blessed to have met them and I’m already looking forward to my next trip to D.C. to see them. Not only were they great people, but their staff was very helpful and friendly. Their chill vibe and easy going lifestyle is very contagious. They give back to the city, our troops, and their own employees. Those are the kinds of people you want in your life.
Tonight, they are doing another Monuments Tour and you can join them if you’d like! I highly highly recommend it because its something you’ll never forget. Find out information here
Thank you Shaughna and Mike for giving us one of the best nights that we’ll never forget!
Revolution Cycles Instagram
Revolution Cycles Blog
Revolution Cycles Facebook Revolution Cycles Website
The Raleigh Misceo iE.
Maegan says
You are very inspiring to me. I want to get out and explore cities the way you do. I enjoy waking up to your blogposts everyday and I hope you never stop. Those bikes look very fun and I am going to D.C. in a week for a business conference and I hope I can top in the bike store to take a look.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you Maegan! You will love D.C.!
Kathy says
Oh my goodness this is so awesome! My fiancé and j ride bikes everywhere, but I’ve never heard of these bikes! This just shot to the very top of the list next time we’re in DC! Thanks for the awesome idea 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
No problem!!!:) xo
Jillian says
I’ve been loving all of your posts about Washington! I’m planning a trip there with my mom in July and you’ve given me so many great ideas, My mom loves to run and walk but she isn’t much of biker, I think I could convince her to try this out though because of the assistance these bikes have! Thanks for the tips!
Taralynn McNitt says
thanks Jillian! 🙂 I hope you have fun in D.C.
Mandie says
I live in Washington and see that shop every day~
Helena says
You could have had a “smoothie” on the SMOOTHEST and most comfortable ride!!
🙂
Now I want to ride an e-bike!
Taralynn McNitt says
They’re so so so so fun!!
Nichole Griep says
This trip looks phenomenal! If I ever make it there I will have to do it! I ride a bike at home with my 3 years old in a carrier. Would love more friendly place to ride like that. Thanks for sharing your endeavors with us! Love your inspiration. Is Kona a doodle too? Precious!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks Nichole! You sound like one heck of a power mom!
🙂 & yes Kona is a doodle! just not as big as grumps 🙂 he’s a pup right now and Shaughna said he’s going to be about 50lbs or so!
Claudia says
Hello Taralynn!
I never post anything even though i have been reading your blog for a while now, i just wanted to say that I love that you post more pictures of you recently, it makes everything feel more personal and close and btw you look radiant!
a reader from Barcelona
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks Claudia!
Canice says
I stopped into that bike shop today and bought one of those helmets! They were super duper nice! Love seeing your Georgetown posts.
Cassie says
May I please just steal that dog????
Taralynn McNitt says
Hahaha I don’t think you’ll have much luck with that! He’s a cutie!
ML Bishop says
Awesome post- this makes me want to a)get a dog that looks like Kona and b)ride a bike! I’m so glad you got to have this experience- what a trip you’ve had!
Katy Fabrie says
What a cute dog! I totally have puppy fever so every dog is cute haha. Glad you’re having fun!
Shane says
That place is so cool! Went there today:) I want to see the pup!
alah says
How Fun!
Dezzie says
This looks like so much fun!
Betsy says
I see the shop everyday on my way to school in Georgetown and I always think of you!