14th Street Bridge to Potomac Center North… is this the best route?

[Rod Smith]

Once you’ve made Banneker Circle, you could take L’Enfant to D to 12th.

[BobK]

I thought the cirlcle/promenade was elevated above D street? Is there a ramp that goes to street level near D?

[dbb]

Here is the link to the discussion of a route for you

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?1949-Getting-to-the-Case-Bridge-%28SW-Freeway%29-over-the-Fish-Market&highlight=l%27enfant

Once you hit Banneker Circle, turn left rather than right and take the ramps down.

I generally come in around the Tidal Basin, up 15th Street, east on Jefferson (one way, generally polite motorists), south on 7th and then west on D. When the tourist traffic is heavy or I want to do Hains Point, I do the Case Bridge route.

I don’t think I would recommend riding on Maine in the roadway.

Welcome back to the cycling community!

[BobK]

Thanks for the information, and great link! I missed that post. I will give you route a try as well. I little variety with the route will be good!

[Rod Smith]

@dbb 30041 wrote:

…I generally come in around the Tidal Basin, up 15th Street, east on Jefferson (one way, generally polite motorists), south on 7th and then west on D. When the tourist traffic is heavy or I want to do Hains Point, I do the Case Bridge route.

I don’t think I would recommend riding on Maine in the roadway.

Welcome back to the cycling community!

Since OP is shooting for 500 12th (old BCBS building) he could turn off Jefferson onto 12th.

[BobK]

@Rod Smith 30043 wrote:

Since OP is shooting for 500 12th (old BCBS building) he could turn off Jefferson onto 12th.

For some reason I had it in my head that 12th Street didn’t extend between Jefferson and Independence. But if so, even better.

What about my evening commute home, since Jefferson is one-way? 12th to Madision west to 15th?

[dbb]

I’ve never tried 12th south from Jefferson so it might work.

In the afternoon, I take Madison west to 15th but I doubt the ride across the Mall would be pleasant as the Smithsonian Metro exit would be along your route (way too many peds). Although I have seen cyclists salmoning (wrong way riding) west on Jefferson, the cycling collective doesn’t think much of that behavior. I take 7th across the Mall to Madison and then west to 15th. I gave up riding on Independence and have been pretty happy with that decision.

[vtben]

I commute to L’Enfant (from Pentagon City) and usually take 15th to Independence, then a right on L’Enfant Promenade to my office (at the glass pyramid). 12th St. is the turn right before the promenade. Independence certainly has some traffic, but it’s a short distance and drivers don’t seem to mind (more than usual anyway).

[BobK]

@benbhsu 30050 wrote:

I commute to L’Enfant (from Pentagon City) and usually take 15th to Independence, then a right on L’Enfant Promenade to my office (at the glass pyramid). 12th St. is the turn right before the promenade. Independence certainly has some traffic, but it’s a short distance and drivers don’t seem to mind (more than usual anyway).

Thanks for posting. Where do you get on 15th Street, and are you riding to the east of the Jefferson Memorial and taking the sidewalk along Maine?

[vtben]

@BobK 30051 wrote:

Thanks for posting. Where do you get on 15th Street, and are you riding to the east of the Jefferson Memorial and taking the sidewalk along Maine?

Coming off the 14th St bridge, I take the sidewalk in front of the Jefferson Memorial (alongside Ohio Dr), traveling east and then eventually north as the road curves. If you then bear right and then cross at the light, you’ll be on 15th St, which will take you north to Independence.

Sorry if my description is less than awesome. It might help to look at my last Strava record: http://app.strava.com/rides/20140119

[Rod Smith]

@BobK 30044 wrote:

For some reason I had it in my head that 12th Street didn’t extend between Jefferson and Independence. But if so, even better.

What about my evening commute home, since Jefferson is one-way? 12th to Madision west to 15th?

12th northbound goes under the Mall, so you can’t get to Madison from there.

[BobK]

@benbhsu 30054 wrote:

Sorry if my description is less than awesome. It might help to look at my last Strava record: http://app.strava.com/rides/20140119

Thanks for the clarification. No need to apologize. My ingorance of the area more than anything, tethered to the yellow line like I’ve been for the last two and a half years.

And thanks to everyone for all the pointers. I’l be doing one more test ride next weekend before I start the commute for real, and will be spending some time scouting out the suggested routes for sure.

[cephas]

@dbb 30041 wrote:

I don’t think I would recommend riding on Maine in the roadway.

Welcome back to the cycling community!

Depending when you come in, Maine isn’t too bad for that short stretch. Then there’s a bridge over Maine right before the Mandarin Hotel, with a footpath. 15th to Maine to said footpath would probably be one of the most direct routes, but I believe it also involves stairs. I’ve only tried it once, and I don’t remember well. At any rate, it puts you out at Maryland and what would be 13th SW.

[BobK]

@cephas 30077 wrote:

Depending when you come in, Maine isn’t too bad for that short stretch. Then there’s a bridge over Maine right before the Mandarin Hotel, with a footpath. 15th to Maine to said footpath would probably be one of the most direct routes, but I believe it also involves stairs. I’ve only tried it once, and I don’t remember well. At any rate, it puts you out at Maryland and what would be 13th SW.

Well, I will be coming in fairly early. I usually am at the office by 7:00am. So good point on the traffic, which does seem pretty light that time of day.

I was wondering about the bike route google maps keeps showing up to the circle at the end of Maryland, and per the Bing map birdseye view below, it does look like a good option even with the stairs at both ends:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1676[/ATTACH]

Another good choice I will reverse engineer from the office on one of my Starbuck’s runs next week.

Thanks!

[dbb]

I’ve walked the ped bridge over Maine and doubt I would take my bike. The sidewalks around the Mandarin are not really bike friendly and then you have the stairs. Why carry when you can ride (unless you are training for a cyclocross)?

Because you will be riding one of the most efficient means of transport, my recommendation is to look for ways to use that efficiency. As you get more comfortable, you will likely be looking for ways to add miles to your route.

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