Photo by Mr. T in DC

Last week President Obama announced that he was appointing a new chief of staff: Denis McDonough, his former deputy National Security Adviser. And while the post is among the most important in Washington, there’s one thing McDonough probably won’t be doing: biking to work. Reports USA Today:

McDonough currently lives in Maryland with wife Kari and their three children.

Obama apologized to McDonough’s children for how their father’s life is about to change — particularly in one respect.

“Dad will probably have to stop riding his bike to work as chief of staff,” Obama said. “I don’t think that’s allowed.”

As we recently wrote, McDonough often rode his bike to the White House, but said he recently cut back after a few run-ins with motorists. He also admitted to using the long bike rides as a chance to call and berate journalists for things they had said about Obama.

But this new prohibition on two-wheeled commuting isn’t sitting well with the League of American Bicyclists or Washington Area Bicyclist Association, both of which have started listing the reasons why McDonough should be allowed to ride to work, among them: the fitness of his security detail will set a new standard for the entire White House, he’ll never get stuck in traffic in times of emergency and there’s always plenty of bike parking space on the White House railings. They’ve even started a Twitter hashtag for those that want to add their own reasons as to why McDonough should be able to ride to work: #LetDenisRide.

The Secret Service would not comment on any security detail McDonough would or would not receive, though former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and others who have held the post have received protection.