Crammed two bikes and three people into my brother’s Mini Cooper, waiting to leave the Lifeline 100 back to DC. Image by the author.

Howdy y’all, I’m Zach Adams, a second-term Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (2B08 - North Dupont Circle), condo board president, and writer for 730dc (I love community infrastructure, what can I say). For my day job, I’m a healthcare statistician. I’m a cat parent to two beautiful daughters (living separately).

In the free time I am graciously afforded outside those things, I am an extremely dedicated hobbyist, including cycling (you’ll read more on this in a bit), photography (digital and film), bird watching, mechanical keyboards (I am one of the DC area meetup organizers), internet fashion stuff (if you’ve ever heard of MaleFashionAdvice, now MFAD on Discord, hi), meticulous interior decoration work on my apartment, and a lot of reading (mostly contemporary speculative literature).

I am also an avid walker. I own two bikes and zero cars. I use Metro and Bus frequently, but time-wise and trip-wise, I mostly walk. I’m writing this diary as part of my participation in the National Week Without Driving. Let’s get into it.

Day 1: Monday, September 29

In-office day. I start the day at my partner’s and walk to the Van Ness station, metro to Dupont, and walk from there to work. I walk from work to Pro Photo and then dinner with my brother and cousin, then walk home. We pick our dinner based on something walkable in the rough centroid of our three locations (Bandoola Bowl in Western Market).

**Total distance traveled: **5 miles

• Walking: 2.5 miles
• Metro: 2.5 miles

Stocking up on film for my October biking trip to Slovenia and Croatia. Image by the author.

Day 2: Tuesday, September 30

In-office day. I walk from home to work. I walk from work to my vaccine appointment across the street, and grab a Banana Bread Matcha Boba at Spot of Tea on the way home to reward myself for getting hella vaxxed. My friend who used to live in Arlington (and now lives in Boston) lets me know he’s in town and we make plans. We walk to Andy’s to get slices, then to Seki Nikai for wine and snacks, and then Home.

**Total distance traveled: **3.5 miles

• Walking: 3.5 miles

Walking to work on a beautiful morning. Image by the author.

Day 3: Wednesday, October 1

Sick day. My smart ring lets me know I’m not gaslighting myself and I am actually doing as poorly as I feel, so I should rest. I sleep most of the day, then get up and amble to the Metro so I can go to Dunn Loring and pick up my mechanical keyboard from repair. My friend wisely convinces me to get Rice Culture there and I scarf down three taiyaki as the first meal of my day. I decide it’s also wise to stretch out a bit, so when I come home, I grab my mat and hit up Yoga District for some slow, stretching-focused yoga.

**Total distance traveled: **27.25 miles

• Walking: 2.25 miles
• Metro: 25 miles

Cat nap with Kugel in the afternoon. Image by the author.

Day 4: Thursday, October 2

In-office day. I’m feeling a lot better and walk to work. I mostly forget to eat all day, even though I’m not a particularly fast-observing Jew. I head straight to my partner’s place after work to go to a break fast party after her parents get back from services. We drive (even though it’s longer than walking) so her parents can get their car home afterwards and so we have extra time to talk, it’s my first time meeting them (they’re lovely). We walk home from the party without the car.

**Total distance traveled: **5.5 miles

• Walking: 2.5 miles
• Metro: 2.5 miles
• Driving: 0.5 mile

Impressive (ominous?) looking clouds on view from the office. Image by the author.

Day 5: Friday, October 3

Work-from-home day. I walk to metro at the crack of dawn, metro to Dupont, then walk home, and walk to and from my weekly sunrise class at Yoga District. After work, I pick up Roaming Rooster on the way to my friend’s house so I can see my other cat, Tina (my favorite tbh).

**Total distance traveled: **5.75 miles

• Walking: 3.25 miles
• Metro: 2.5 miles

Walking over to visit and take care of Tina while Mom’s out of town. Image by the author.

Day 6: Saturday, October 4

Weekend. My partner drives me to Union Station on her way to the Hirshhorn. I’d have walked, but I wanted to spend more time with her, and she was already going to drive. I take the MARC to Penn Station, and my dad picks me up. We grab coffee at Sophomore, lunch at R Haus, and then stop at the Trek Store to grab some supplies for his C&O ride. We pick up dinner on the way out to the edge of the county to see my uncle I haven’t seen in ages. We wander around my uncle’s massive landscape in the woods for a bit and chat before heading home. Sure there’s public transit in Baltimore, and even Towson, but it’s just not viable (it’s not safely walkable from my parents’ house in any reasonable amount of time) - the NIMBYs killed the plan for a Ruxton Light Rail Station that would have transformed the neighborhood for the better (and my parents never let my brother or I forget that).

**Total distance traveled: **80.5 miles

• Driving: 49 miles
• Train: 31 miles
• Walking: 0.5 mile

Visiting my aunt and uncle, and their cats in the deep woods of rural Baltimore County. Image by the author.

Day 7: Sunday, October 5

Weekend. I wake up at the crack of dawn with my dad and we drive to Kinder Farms for the Lifeline 100, my first century. I even have to bike from the parking lot from the ride start. It’s brutal. We all make it.

**Total distance traveled: **168.5 miles

• Biking: 103.5 miles
• Driving: 65 miles

The beautiful waters of Galesville at a satisfying rest stop during the Lifeline 100. Image by the author.

Final tally: 32 trips, 300.5 miles

Mode	Number of trips	Percent of trips	Number of miles	Percent of miles
Walking	19	59%	14	5%
Biking	1	3%	103.5	34%
Metro	4	13%	37.5	13%
Train	1	3%	31	10%
Driving	7	22%	114.5	38%
Total	32	100%	**300.5 **	100%

It’s funny, I feel like WWD falls during riding season every year (when it’s nicest outside and the big organized rides are being held), and, coincidentally, riding season requires a lot of driving. Why? A lot of the big rides are not reachable except by car, unless you are truly dedicated and willing to risk your life riding ridiculous distances on sorta-kinda-highways or take absurd public transit and shuttle routes not always highlighted on mapping software, cobbled together from searches and sites and willpower. Last week is the better example: Am I going to bike 17 hours (an underestimate, I suspect), take 10 hours of public transit (also an underestimate), or drive two hours in the car with the bikes hitched to the back?

The same thing at a slightly better scale happened this week, but I also had family to see, and it’s just not gonna happen where I even ride 40 miles round trip in the dark backroads of Maryland over taking a car ride. Last week I at least learned that when the light rail is down, and I can’t shorten my journey, I can just ride the nine miles to my parents’ from the station.

As it seems like I learn every year, despite my best efforts to walk everywhere and drive (or be driven) less, I end up riding in cars with other people to (mostly) places public transit (and my legs) can’t easily carry me to. I can walk, bike, and use public transit to an extraordinary range around the city, but once I’m in the deep burbs (or country), all bets are off.