Advice: Riding from Alexandria (Duke and 395) to Memorial Bridge

[lordofthemark]

@Becca 115640 wrote:

Any suggestions on routes? I’m new to the area, so I’m not sure if there are any trails near me (I don’t think so).

If you can get to North Ripley, you can take it to a bridge to the Holmes Run trail, take that east to the multiuse path that runs parallel to Eisenhower, take that to near Old Town – there are quite a few relatively easy routes through Old Town to the bike lanes on Union Street (technically those lanes ARE the MVT there) take them north and you have the MVT to whichever bridge you choose.

There are shorter routes north east across Alexandria, but all will involve a lot more road riding, some of it not the best conditions, and more challenging hills than on the longer route.

If the route I gave is too long, and you just want to get started with bike commuting, you could put your bike on a bus (they all have bike racks) to the Pentagon, and ride in from there – or based on where I think you are, you could use a Dash bus to Old Town, and take the MVT from there.

[scoot]

@Becca 115640 wrote:

Any suggestions on routes? I’m new to the area, so I’m not sure if there are any trails near me (I don’t think so).

Hi Becca,

You did not indicate which side of 395 you are on. This makes a big difference because Duke & 395 is a tough interchange for riding, so I’d recommend crossing the freeway elsewhere if necessary.

In either case, Holmes Run Trail (HRT) is the only off-street trail close to you. And even if you’re totally comfortable with riding hills in traffic, you’ll have to at least cross HRT. So the first step is to find the best place to access it. West of 395, you can access the trail at Chambliss Street or at the intersection of Beauregard and Morgan. East of 395, you can access it from Van Dorn, Ripley, or Pickett. Cameron Station also offers good trail access further downstream; that could be convenient if you follow lordofthemark’s suggested route above.

Note that the trail tunnel under 395 is often wet, and sometimes floods, plus the concrete stream crossing at Ripley can also be submerged at times. Also watch out for the staircase at the Ripley crossing. Sanger Avenue is a useful alternate underpass. The bridges at Pickett and Cameron Station are reliable stream crossings, since they are much higher.

[Author]

Posts