New Year’s Day has come and gone (and I still bet a lot of you are writing 2013!) So let’s find something else to celebrate: upcoming events in DC! The next few weeks are chock full of fantastic things to do out and about in our lovely, albeit chilly, capital!

1. Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week
Rev your engines and your appetites! Restaurant Week (Jan 13-19) is back with a bang in DC, and boy are we hungry just scanning this list of delish eateries! Reserve now for lunch and dinner (at very affordable prices) before all of these top restaurants are booked up.

2. NBC’s Health and Fitness Expo
Get in shape before we break your calorie bank with entries 1 and 3 on this list! NBC’s annual health and fitness expo will be held at the Convention Center this weekend (Jan 11-12) from 9am-5pm each day. Stop by to take part in a variety of activities (including an indoor skating rink and a curling area,) demonstrations, or just to educate you and your family on how to lead healthier lifestyles!

3. Alexandria Restaurant Week
As if one wasn’t enough! The DC area’s second restaurant week of 2014 will be held in Alexandria, VA from Jan 17-26. With over 45 restaurants participating, the only trouble you’ll have is figuring out how many restaurants you can squeeze into one week! View participating establishments here.

4. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday
Such a lovely holiday to celebrate in our nation’s capital! Rachel Cooper, official guide to About.com Washington DC, prepared this wonderful list of all of the birthday celebrations to consider in 2014.

5. Polar Bear Plunge
It wouldn’t be winter in the US without some crazy folks stripping down and jumping into freezing cold water while spectators looked on… right? The 18th Annual MSP Polar Plunge(dubbed “PlungeFest”) will take place in Annapolis, MD on January 25th. Take a quick dip in the Chesapeake Bay to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland!

Yes, yes, we know it’s only December 19th! But the district never sleeps, and planning for New Year’s celebrations is very much in full-swing around these parts.

No plans yet? No problem! Here is a roundup of New Year’s events in Washington that wethink you should know about.

1. Freedom Eve at Lincoln’s Cottage
What better way to ring in the New Year than at President Lincoln’s Cottage? Part New Year’s Eve party, part celebration of the 151st anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, this gathering is sure to be 100% fun!

2. Noon Year’s Eve at the National Children’s Museum
Fun for the whole family! Take your brood down to the National Harbor between 10am-4pm on New Year’s Eve for a seriously un-serious good time!

3. Elf the Musical at Kennedy Center
“Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” This uber-quotable tale of an orphaned “elf” is sure to delight the inner child in all of you! Visit the Kennedy Center between now and January 5th to get your Buddy fix.

4. First Night Alexandria
Looking to venture outside of DC for some NYE fun? Head down to Old Town Alexandria for a full day (really, a whole day!) of music, food, and entertainment ending in a midnight fireworks display over the river.

No matter what holiday you do or don’t celebrate, this time of year is perfect for slowing down and appreciating those around us. We hope you and yours have the very best holiday season!

Happy Holidays, from the Bike and Roll Family!

Hello, 2014!

What better way to kick off this brand new year than by publicly declaring some new year’s resolutions? (We thought you’d concur.)

Okay, so these aren’t exactly company resolutions but rather a mix of resolutions for DC locals or visitors this year!

1. Commute by bike
So, we know this is a big commitment, and the writer of this blog (that’s me!) needs to try this out herself as well… so let’s all do it together! We can start small and do it once or twice a week. Here are some tips to get you (and me) started. Bonus: this also counts as exercise, so you can thank us later for helping you kill two birds with one stone!

2. Visit one Smithsonian a month
The choices are endless! Pick from this vast array of fantastic museums that are sure to wow you.

3. Dine at one new or favorite restaurant a month
If you haven’t been yet, we suggest: Ted’s Bulletin (shout out to cheesy grits and adult milkshakes!); Le Diplomate (we haven’t been but are dying to make it an office outing); and Birch and Barley (try the curried goat!) Those will certainly get you started off nicely!

4. Bike the Blossoms
If you’re visiting DC during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, make a mini-resolution out of your trip and see the blossoms by bike with Bike and Roll DC this year! We can honestly say you won’t regret it.

Have a very happy (and safe!) New Year’s Eve, everybody!

Many of you have heard, read, speculated, and asked about the future of our Alexandria presence. We are elated to share that yes, we will absolutely still be operational in Old Town next season (and for seasons to come!)

More details will follow regarding the specifics about our Alexandria bike tours, but this much we know: we are just as excited as you all have been about our Mount Vernon by Bike and Boat and Bike to Mount Vernon products! Bike and Roll is, as always, looking forward to continuing our partnerships with the lovely Mount Vernon Estate and Potomac Riverboat Company.

Extraordinary Alexandria has a very special place in our hearts, and we couldn’t be happier to stay active in such a lovely (and not to mention bike-friendly!) community.

As some of you know, this Saturday, December 7th will be our last day of operation at the Old Post Office Pavilion. The 2013 season was a quite a wonderful adventure, and we want to thank all of our customers yet again for making it so great! We are thrilled about opening new locations, and can’t wait to be able to reveal them to all of you.

As a reminder, our Union Station locale will continue to stay open through the winter months, weather permitting. And, as a last hoorah, our final bike sale of the season will take place tomorrow from 11am-3pm at the Old Post Office location, so don’t miss out on these “farewell” deals!

See you next Spring!

With December already in full swing, it’s about time we play catch up by highlighting some quintessential twelfth-month activities in DC. Grab your mittens, hot cocoa, and tackiest holiday sweater as you dive into our top 5 favorite things about December in our nation’s capital.

1. Newseum’s Anchorman Exhibit
Well, cat’s outta the bag! It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Anchorman (and the Newseum, and Will Ferrell, and Ron Burgundy…) So go and peruse the fantastically kitschy exhibitdevoted to your (and our) very favorite fictional news anchorman! Oh, and stay classy while you’re at it.

2. Downtown DC Holiday Market
Located on F street, directly in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, this whimsical holiday market will be open through December 23rd. Outdoor shopping becomes all the more charming with 180 rotating exhibitors and artisans offering a huge variety of distinctive handmade holiday gifts.

3. Ice Skating in the Sculpture Garden
What’s better than taking in the magnificient sculptures outside of the National Gallery of Art? Doing the former… on ice skates! Music serenades you as you skate around the open air rinkin true winter fashion!

4. Our December 7th Bike Sale
If you haven’t already (shame on you!) seen our 15 second film detailing the before and after effects of owning a bike, you really need to. After viewing, please pencil in our wonderfully fantastic end of the year bike sale on December 7th from 11am-3pm. You (and all of your bicycle gift recipients) won’t be sorry!

5. New Year’s Eve in DC
Crazy (slash terrifying) to think it will be 2014 in just a few short weeks… but we might as well find reasons to celebrate! New Year’s Eve in the District is truly a glittering fete to behold. Here’s a great list of the vast celebratory options for the grand 2013 send-off.

The countdown has officially begun–we’re just 10 days out from America’s day of giving thanks, and my, are us Washingtonians getting pumped! Something about this particular (delicious) holiday has the jolly citizens of our nation’s capital brimming with turkey-tinged excitement over the abundance of Thanksgiving-themed food, activities, and volunteer opportunities we can take part in. To help focus your holiday-hyper brains, we’ve nailed down our list of favorite Thanksgiving events in the DC area.

Presidential Turkey Pardon

Without thinking too far into the gory details, we still love us a good old fashioned Turkey Pardon! This famous event is said to date all the way back to 1947, but the first official “pardon” was doled out by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. Every year since, a lucky turkey is presidentially pardoned, and from 2005-2009, were flown to Disneyland to serve as Grand Marshal of their Thanksgiving parade. For the past three years, the birds have been sent to the beautiful Mount Vernon Estate to live out the remainder of their years in true presidential fashion. (Fun fact: our feathered friends have also been put up in the Presidential Suite at the W Hotel the night before their big day.)

Turkey Trots

There are a plethora of fun run/walk trots to take part in this year, so grab a family member/friend/co-worker/stranger to join you in a quest for some fun, charity-centric exercise! DC’s Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot for Hunger is sponsored by SOME (So Others Might Eat),Bethesda’s Turkey Chase supports the local YMCA and Rotary Club, and Arlington’s Turkey Trot raises money for the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless, Doorways for Women and Families and Arlington Food Assistance Center.

Small Business Saturday

This day is all about fueling the local economy, supporting small businesses nearby, and knocking some items off your holiday shopping list. Sure, everyone likes a good Black Friday deal, but there’s something to be said for supporting all of the wonderful small business shopping destinations the DC area offers (ya know, think Adams Morgan, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, H Street, Arlington, Old Town Alexandria, Union Market, etc.)

Thanksgiving Meals to Go

Another way to support local businesses and keep yourself from slaving away in the kitchen all day long is to order take-out! (No, seriously!) Here’s a great list of DC area restaurants who’ll be prepping Thanksgiving Day meals for the non-culinary inclined: Acadiana, BlackSalt,Blue Duck Tavern, Del Campo, and Hill Country to name just a few!

Volunteer Opportunities

Lest we forget one of our very favorite Thanksgiving activities! With so many wonderful opportunities to take part in (and give you a serious case of the warm fuzzies,) the tricky part is deciding not IF but HOW you’ll help out! Learn more about DC area charitable organizations and events you can participate in on our near Thanksgiving here.