24 February 2005  The Everyday of a bicycle commute.  Start with
the best thing about a bicycle commute: you aren't stuck in
jams. Now the worst: automobiles don't really acknowledge you.
Autos rolling blissfully unaware through red lights in Dupont
Circle are so commonplace, I'm not sure why the District doesn't
set up a few red light cameras there.  At seven a.m. there
really aren't any jams to speak of, and the light snow isn't
even making the ground slick. When there's a nice snow, Dupont
Circle looks ghostly beautiful as you round it, but now it just
looks wet. I can make the ride from Adams Morgan to Foggy Bottom
in ten minutes, even with a child seat thumping empty on the
back. Since late November there have been fewer bicyclists out
here, but the spring will bring them back.  My son is almost too
big for the child seat that's carried him around for nearly four
years. The seat itself is worse for wear: what little foam
padding it had has long since rubbed thin and the leg straps,
which were always usel