Nationals Park Advice

This is the route that we take: http://goo.gl/maps/AM1Bi

Cycling to NATs games is outstanding. Easiest way there and back – and cheapest. Bike Valet is most excellent. I always tip them a little.

1. Yes there are bike lanes on Eye Street SE-SW. Note they are door zone bike lanes, and lots of parked cars, so be careful. OTOH speeds on Eye are usually slow, so pulling from the lanes into the general travel lanes should be doable if you find the dooring potentials too hairy. I don’t do that, but I am not that fast or fearless a rider, and the hours I go I don’t see too many people getting out of their parked cars.

2. Water street is an utter mess. The usual good way was down Water Street from the fish market to 7th. That block of Water from 9th to 7th is now closed for construction, as is the sidewalk on the SW side of Maine. Your alternatives are to ride the sidewalk on the northeast side of Maine (I do that, but a faster rider may find it uncomfortable) take the lane on Maine, or bypass the whole thing by going via the Mall to 4th Street SW.

3. Note well, a lot of people who drive to Nats games are NOT familiar with city driving, and are facing high congestion, and behave rather worse than the usual commuter traffic in the area. When commuting home from the area, I am extra careful on day ball game days. I have noted that in particular on NJ Avenue which does not have bike lanes or marked sharrows. If you are taking the bike lanes down 1st street SE it may be better.

Agree with rcannon – biking to Nats games is a great way to go, and the bike valet is awesome. I usually tip the two guys $1-2/bike. The valet is on the east side of the ballpark, near N St. and 1st St. SE.

Maine Ave/Water St. from the Fish Market to about 7th is kind of a mess right now due to construction. If you’re brave you can take the lane on Maine, but I’d recommend avoiding it Maine and M St altogether on a game day. Here are a few ways I’d do it:

Carefully take the sidewalk on Maine, then hang a left on 7th to the I St. bike lanes.

Or, take the Case Bridge switchback-y path from the Hains Point Park Service lot. Ride on the sidewalk for a couple blocks to get to I.

Avoid the whole mess by taking the long scenic route via the Mall.

The Valet system is a little thin. They give you a piece of paper claim check. You come back, get your bike, and on the way back hand them the claim check which they do not look at. It would be pretty easy to walk in their and walk out with someone else’s bike.

In other words, as good as it is (and its great), lock your bike. It takes 5 seconds and it makes Bryce Harper happy.

BTW if you can, use stubhub. Last time we went, we got tix four rows up from first base for $19 (they had predicted rain all day). Tonite we got our normal 300 tix for more than 50% off. Paying retail is a sin, I tell ya.

I normally just loop our helmets through the lock and leave them there with the bikes.

Speaking of which, time to go to the game!

Yes. After Sept. 1, teams are allowed to expand their rosters. I hear that they are considering several people from the BikeArlington forum…