When news broke that U.S. forces had killed the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, hundreds of people flocked to the gates of the White House for a spontaneous celebration.
Apparently, many of them used the Capital Bikeshare bike rental service to get there.
John Lisle, a spokesman with the District's Department of Transportation, said between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday night, Capital Bikeshare recorded more than 550 trips.
It may not be surprising, given that President Barack Obama's speech occurred right around the time Metro would have been closing up shop for the night.
In the same time period last Sunday, when there was no bin Laden-related breaking news, that number was more than five times smaller.
A website that maps Bikeshare usage showed that at about 11 p.m., right after news broke of bin Laden's death, all the Capital Bikeshare stations around the White House rapidly filled up.
Membership in this publicly funded bike service has exploded since it started last fall. There are more than 100 Bikeshare rental stations already in D.C. and Arlington, and at least two dozen more are planned.
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