Trail Blazer: Worth the Wait

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WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED earlier this year that D.C. would become the first city in the country to institute a bike-sharing plan, SmartBike, Washingtonians rejoiced and Mayor Adrian Fenty struck a proud pose astride one of the cherry-red cruisers for Bicycling Magazine. That was May. June came and went: no bikes. So, how's July looking?

"It's going slowly," says the District Department of Transportation's Jim Sebastian. Supplying electricity to the seven rack locations installed so far is one reason for the delay: "It took three months." You'll start seeing bikes in racks (see Smartbikedc.com for locations) next week, but while you can look, you can't touch — DDOT employees will be testing membership-card readers, bike-rack releases and cycling routes for about a month.

In the meantime, creative D.C. bike lovers can enter the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' artistic bike-rack competition, in which area artists can win a $1,500 honorarium to design unique racks for the city (contact Deirdre.Ehlen@dc.gov, 202-724-5613, for info). The deadline is July 11 at 5:30 p.m. and, unlike the SmartBike launch date, it won't change.

Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images