The Latino/Western clothing store on Mt Pleasant St called El West, has recently started carrying metal, gas-powered, $600 accessories called "pocket-bikes." Pocket-bikes are one of the newest trends in personal mobility. They are currently unregulated by the Department of Transportation in the District. A recent City Paper article responded to the trend and spoke of upcoming city registrations and regulations for all low-powered cycles. I guess until that happens local dealers like El West are going to sell a whole lot of these pint-sized crotch rockets. As I walked up to the shop another happy customer zoomed off the sidewalk and down the street on his new purchase. I don't think I'd be comfortable riding one, but I like seeing these little motorcycles. They are reminiscent of the partial lawlessness of the old "Wild West."
These guys are replacing the lead water pipes on Kilbourne Pl NW in Mount Pleasant. The construction is a block up Kilbourne from where I live. The DC water authorities were still nice enough to give me a free Brita pitcher even though it wasn't my turn to receive one. Brita filters are suppose to filter out over 99 percent of lead from water. This feature is helpful in DC where all our water is leady.
