Inaugural Subculture Alert! Pedicabs Descending On D.C.
Bobby Lentell and Colette Valery, happy to bike around in this god-awful-freezing weather.
Last Tuesday night, I saw a very odd sight while walking down 18th Street south of Adams Morgan. About ten of those modern day/all-weather rickshaws descended past me, all in a row, pedaling off into the night.
My god, I thought, they'll never find riders if they hang together! What dumbies!
There was more to it, of course. These vehicles are called pedicabs. I learned this, as well as other details about this strange inaugural subculture on Saturday night. In search of Chicagoans, I heads out to the Billy Goat Tavern on Capitol Hill. There, I encountered Bobby Lentell and Colette Valery, two independent pedicab drivers from Chicago and Denver, respectively. They had both arrived in Washington D.C. in the last couple of days, and there were others like them coming from Austin, Chicago, New York, and other cities.
Valery said the line of pedicabs that zipped by me the other day were probably riders from a visiting company training to get used to the weather and hills in D.C. (Washington is pretty hilly compared to other locales, according to Valery. ) For Valery, who is independent, this is the first destination in a grand journey through the American south to Tampa for the Superbowl, then onto Mobile for Mardi Gras, South Padre Island for spring break, and Houston for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
In D.C., the local pedicab culture is still simmering gently. But, according to Lentell, it's "on the up and up."
4:29 am
After hundreds of pedicabs around the country coming to the Houston Live Stock and Rodeo in 2008, Reliant Stadium is now regulated for the 2009 Rodeo. Sorry to burst your bubble Bobby Lewtell and Colette Valery, but The Houston Live Stock and Rodeo is regulated by the officials of Reliant and local law enforcement. You now have to meet the requirements to ride their, one requirement is showing residencies of 6 months in Houston city limits. Also South Padre Island has a number of regulations you must have too. If you have time to waste and money to burn, go for it, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
6:06 am
Ya, I was there last year and didn't really make much money. Will not be going this year. Cops are bad there! Good luck guys!
5:27 pm
would you happen to have a link or something of the sorts for the regulations in south padre island...
5:28 pm
p.s. my last name is spelled wrong
5:37 pm
Well, I fixed it...though I will point out I was reading your handwriting!
6:12 pm
sorry... my hand writing can be rather bad... It wasn't taken personal.. :)