Cutting across southern DC

@creadinger 29345 wrote:

On my ride home yesterday I saw a guy riding across the PA Ave bridge over the Anacostia. It got me thinking about trying out another option for my commute.

My usual ride is from the 395 bridge over the Potomac I ride down past the fish market, National Defense U. and then across to the Nats Stadium and over the Douglass bridge. Then I have to ride back north along the Anacostia to PA Ave.

This morning I stayed on Maine Ave and continued onto M Street all the way across southern DC to the bridge over the train tracks and then up to the north side of the PA Ave bridge. There wasn’t much traffic today and as I expected this route was a teeny bit shorter. It actually took much longer though because I hit EVERY SINGLE FRICKIN STOP LIGHT on M Street!

Is there a better bike alternative for cutting through DC from the Jefferson Mem. to PA Ave bridge over the Anacostia? Thanks.

I live at 11th and Independence SE and do most of my riding in VA, so I am very sympathetic to your situation…when coming east from 14th, one option I kinda like is to take 15th up to Jefferson Drive and take that across the mall and up Capitol Hill. Jefferson Drive is mostly traffic free and there are only two or three stoplights for the distance from 15th to 3rd. Once I get up the Hill, I head down East Cap, but you could hop on Penn at 2nd SE and ride it all the way down to the bridge. Traffic on Penn in the morning usually isn’t bad until you get down toward Barney Circle, and even then it’s not really a big deal.

A slightly easier option is to just take I St SW from Maine/Water to New Jersey, instead of using M (turn from Maine/Water onto 7th SW to get onto I St.)…the lights are much more favorable, there’s a bike lane, and hardly any traffic. At New Jersey, you can drop back down to M, since you’ll be clear of most of the lights. Once you hit 11th, you’d either need to cross the river there, or make your way up to Penn, since I don’t think you can ride down M to the ART and still get on the Sousa Bridge, but maybe I’m mistaken on that.