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Brompton National Championship

BNC 2014: Post-BUCDC

OK, it’s not strictly part of the Brompton Championship events, but I’m slipping in this short post about our evening, after the end of the Brompton Urban Challenge.  And those acronyms* in the title?  It’s Washington — there’s an acronym for everything.

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Dr. Diarist and I had pleasant memories of Amsterdam Falafel from several visits to Washington in past years, so we were determined to eat there. We’d been to the one in Adams Morgan previously, but discovered that there was a location closer to our hotel, so we hopped on the Metro to find it.

(That’s terrible, isn’t it?  We left our Bromptons at the hotel; neither Basil nor Argyll have serious night-time lights since we live in an area where night riding would be suicidal.)

Lovely Metro.  It remind us more of the subway system in Budapest than New York’s MTA.  It’s the architectural scope, I think.  And maybe the lack of chewing gum underfoot.

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We walked a few blocks, too.  The Capital Bikeshare (“CaBi”) cycles are a vibrant red; I liked the look of the color against this huge collection of bright blue plastic crates.

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It was a rather nice walk to the 14th Street location; this shady block provided some relief from the heat.

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I loved the cast iron steps, but suspect they might be lethal in use if wet, icy or snowy.

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We wasted no time ordering.  I smothered my crisp and tasty falafel in garlic parsley sauce with a slathering of jalapeño and cilantro.  And cucumbers; crunchy, crunchy cucumbers.

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We got an order of fries, too.  FYI, nobody needs to  order fries with Amsterdam Falafel — but they’re very, very good.

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Sauces come with.  That’s peanut/sesame at the top, Amsterdam mayonnaise in the middle, and catsup/curry below.

I didn’t get a good shot, but the tables are customized for dining convenience.  Everything is served in a paper cone, so it’s helpful to have circular holes cut in the table tops.   The pointy end of the cone fits perfectly, making keeping the cones upright feasible, and allowing easy access to shared potatoes.

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The back side of the wrapper was bicycle-themed, and so was a vintage post card, laminated to the table top.

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There are two child seats on this bicycle, one fore and one aft, along with a pannier rack, a cargo rack, and skirt guards.  The Dutch have been doing utility biking for a long time, it seems.

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Then we walked and Metro’d back to the hotel, stopping to admire the Friendship Archway along the way.

We’d eaten too much.  Not to mention that an unfamiliar diet is probably not the best preparation for a next-day race.   Whatever the digestive cost, it was worth every bite.

*Acronyms (hope I got them right; I can hardly keep them straight):

BNC: Brompton National Championship

BUCDC;  Brompton Urban Challenge, DC

BUSC: Brompton US Championship

4 replies on “BNC 2014: Post-BUCDC”

The DC Metro is so much nicer than NYC’s subways! Although we do have mosaics and Tom Otterness sculptures.

This might get me drummed out of the tribe but I’ve never developed a taste for falafel. I’d fight you and Dr. D. for those fries, however.

Oh, yes, Cathy — the MTA wins hands down for so many wonderful stations, which, if filthy, are still marvelous to pass through.

Dr. Diarist hates falafel, though, admittedly, he’s not a member of the tribe. Not Amsterdam falafel, though!

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