New to area and city biking. Suggested starter routes. Help!

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  • May 22, 2015 at 9:46 am #1030683
    dbb
    Participant

    Welcome to the forum!

    Capital BikeShare (Cabi) is a great strategy. You should probably plan on exchanging bikes to stay under the 30 minutes per ride policy (so you avoid the overtime charges). As you get a better idea of the time, you may be able to make the entire ride on one bike.

    Get the Spotcycle app for your phone to get realtime location and status of the Cabi docks.

    Ride from Glebe and Potomac:
    North on Potomac until it changes to Crystal Drive and then north on Crystal Drive to the Water Park at S. 18th Street
    Take the bike path just south of the Water Park through the tunnel under the railroad tracks along the Crystal City Connector to the Mount Vernon Trail (MVT)

    Alternative – head south from the Cabi station to the hairpin turn ramp from the parking lot behind the condo building (400 feet), left at the bottom of the ramp onto the Four Mile Run trail towards the river and then north on the Mount Vernon Trail by the airport parking lots.

    Left (north) on the MVT and past the airport, through Gravelly Point and under the Potomac River Bridges (RR, Metro and I395)
    After crossing under the five bridges, take a left on the ramp up to the bike lane on the 14th Street Bridge
    Cross the bridge and you will be on East Basin Drive in front of the Jefferson Memorial – there is a Cabi dock there where you can switch steeds as you will be at the halfway mark
    Turn right on East Basin Drive (use the sidewalk along the road) and ride past the Jefferson
    Follow the sidewalk around the Tidal Basin to Maine and 15th Street (AKA Raoul Wallenberg Place)
    Cross at the light/crosswalk and take the sidewalk up 15th past the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Holocaust Museum
    Cross Independence and turn right (east) on Jefferson (another Cabi station). Jefferson is a cornerstone of my commute as it is one of the two streets on the Mall, 15 mph speed limit and one way
    Head east on Jefferson towards the Capitol and then up to Union Station

    Mostly trails or roads that are easy/safe cycling and no grades of mention.

    May 22, 2015 at 1:40 pm #1030699
    dasgeh
    Participant

    Dbb gave great routes. 2 notes:
    1) you don’t have to change bikes to “daisy chain”, just check in and out

    2) you may end up wanting to take the Memorial Bridge – from dbb’s first route, don’t turn at the water park to get to the trail – stay straight past long bridge park then turn left at the dead end (the pavement is horrid after you pass the park, but you’re on CaBi). Bike along boundary drive until you see a parking lot on your right. After that parking lot, turn right and ride up to the trail along 27. That will take you to the Memorial Bridge which will allow you to take a more straight shot across the Mall (I’d stay south of the reflecting pool and south of the monument then get on Madison Dr in the morning).

    It’s likely you’ll find that you like different routes in the am and pm because tourists.

    May 22, 2015 at 1:55 pm #1030702
    Steve O
    Participant

    @addxb2 116519 wrote:

    Hey everyone,
    My names Alex. I just moved here for an internship and looking to bike to work.
    Any advice helps! Thanks!

    Be sure to come meet us in person at one of our coffee clubs. Closest one to you is the Hump Day Coffee Club in Shirlington. Friday at Swings in DC is (sort of) on your way to work.

    May 22, 2015 at 2:24 pm #1030705
    Emm
    Participant

    @addxb2 116519 wrote:

    Hey everyone,
    My names Alex. I just moved here for an internship and looking to bike to work. I live in “Arlandia” just south of Four Mile Stretch and work on North Capital Street near Union Station. I couldnt bring my own bike so I will be reliant on bike share. I plan to use the station at S Glebe and Potomac. Since I am new to city biking I’d like to start out with an easier route, even if it makes my commute a tad longer. I’ve used a few resources and had a few suggestions but would appreciate more opinions on roads and that work best, or what you’d suggest.
    Any advice helps! Thanks!

    I live and work close to you. I’d be happy to bike in with you one day if that helps at all. I generally take one of the routes DBB suggested–it’s a great commute.

    May 22, 2015 at 2:47 pm #1030709
    Tania
    Participant

    Definitely take Emm up on the offer if you can. I had seasoned escorts the first two or three times I biked into the city and it made a huge difference in my comfort level.

    May 22, 2015 at 3:53 pm #1030714
    Henry
    Keymaster

    And based on our conversation, I’ll be on the lookout for a beater bike to loan you for a few months. I assume you’re doing the 30-day membership on CaBi, correct?

    May 22, 2015 at 9:23 pm #1030778
    addxb2
    Participant

    @Emm 116549 wrote:

    I live and work close to you. I’d be happy to bike in with you one day if that helps at all. I generally take one of the routes DBB suggested–it’s a great commute.

    Emm, That would be awesome!

    May 22, 2015 at 9:25 pm #1030780
    addxb2
    Participant

    @Henry 116559 wrote:

    And based on our conversation, I’ll be on the lookout for a beater bike to loan you for a few months. I assume you’re doing the 30-day membership on CaBi, correct?

    Yes! I haven’t registered with CaBi yet, but when I do I plan to register for 30-day. Thanks so much Henry!

    May 22, 2015 at 9:27 pm #1030781
    addxb2
    Participant

    @dbb 116525 wrote:

    Welcome to the forum!

    Capital BikeShare (Cabi) is a great strategy. You should probably plan on exchanging bikes to stay under the 30 minutes per ride policy (so you avoid the overtime charges). As you get a better idea of the time, you may be able to make the entire ride on one bike.

    Get the Spotcycle app for your phone to get realtime location and status of the Cabi docks.

    Ride from Glebe and Potomac:
    North on Potomac until it changes to Crystal Drive and then north on Crystal Drive to the Water Park at S. 18th Street
    Take the bike path just south of the Water Park through the tunnel under the railroad tracks along the Crystal City Connector to the Mount Vernon Trail (MVT)

    Alternative – head south from the Cabi station to the hairpin turn ramp from the parking lot behind the condo building (400 feet), left at the bottom of the ramp onto the Four Mile Run trail towards the river and then north on the Mount Vernon Trail by the airport parking lots.

    Left (north) on the MVT and past the airport, through Gravelly Point and under the Potomac River Bridges (RR, Metro and I395)
    After crossing under the five bridges, take a left on the ramp up to the bike lane on the 14th Street Bridge
    Cross the bridge and you will be on East Basin Drive in front of the Jefferson Memorial – there is a Cabi dock there where you can switch steeds as you will be at the halfway mark
    Turn right on East Basin Drive (use the sidewalk along the road) and ride past the Jefferson
    Follow the sidewalk around the Tidal Basin to Maine and 15th Street (AKA Raoul Wallenberg Place)
    Cross at the light/crosswalk and take the sidewalk up 15th past the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Holocaust Museum
    Cross Independence and turn right (east) on Jefferson (another Cabi station). Jefferson is a cornerstone of my commute as it is one of the two streets on the Mall, 15 mph speed limit and one way
    Head east on Jefferson towards the Capitol and then up to Union Station

    Mostly trails or roads that are easy/safe cycling and no grades of mention.

    Both options sound great and easy! Thanks dbb!

    May 22, 2015 at 9:37 pm #1030783
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    Be careful about posting your email address. A spammer might be able to capture it and then start spamming you. It’s better to post it through a Private Message.

    May 22, 2015 at 10:19 pm #1030784
    dbb
    Participant

    you can edit that email address out of your post

    May 24, 2015 at 11:34 pm #1030878
    Emm
    Participant

    @addxb2 116626 wrote:

    Emm, That would be awesome!

    So apparently I no longer have the ability to send private messages…so if you can, send me one. If not, I’ll contact the admins…not sure why the feature got shut off on my end.

    Short story–this week Tues-Thurs work for me, or the following week Tuesday or Wednesday.

    May 25, 2015 at 12:42 am #1030880
    addxb2
    Participant

    @Emm 116709 wrote:

    So apparently I no longer have the ability to send private messages…so if you can, send me one. If not, I’ll contact the admins…not sure why the feature got shut off on my end.

    Short story–this week Tues-Thurs work for me, or the following week Tuesday or Wednesday.

    I dont see an option for PM either. I can do this week. I dont actually start at the internship until the 1st but I’d enjoy riding with you this Tuesday-Thursday.

    May 25, 2015 at 2:16 am #1030884
    KWL
    Participant

    @Emm 116709 wrote:

    So apparently I no longer have the ability to send private messages…so if you can, send me one. If not, I’ll contact the admins…not sure why the feature got shut off on my end.

    Short story–this week Tues-Thurs work for me, or the following week Tuesday or Wednesday.

    Do you and addxb2 have PM turned on? I can PM dbb, PotomacCyclist and Henry, but not you and addxb2.

    May 25, 2015 at 2:30 am #1030885
    KWL
    Participant

    @addxb2 116711 wrote:

    I dont see an option for PM either. I can do this week. I dont actually start at the internship until the 1st but I’d enjoy riding with you this Tuesday-Thursday.

    Let me know if you’d like a third on your morning commute or trial run this week. I usually leave Del Ray around 7:00am and ride by the 14th Street Bridge on my way further upriver. What size frame do you ride? I’ve got an older large Schwinn Speedster 3-speed you can borrow/have if you like. Edited to add: I normally ride a 59cm and the Schwinn fits me fine.

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