Bike to Annapolis

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  • #909542
    cohnma
    Participant

    Anyone know of a *safe* route from NoVa to Annapolis, MD? I’m thinking of just heading out Independence to East Capitol to Central Ave. Any advice would be appreciated.

    #923801
    Arlingtonrider
    Participant

    That used to be my car commuting route, and I can’t really recommend it as a good bike ride, although it might get better once you get into the Davidsonville area. The traffic on Central Ave. can be heavy and it takes you through some not too great areas for bicycling. If you’re not wedded to bicycling the whole way, you could make the trip a little easier by taking the metro to the Addison Road station and biking on Central Ave/214 from there. I’m not sure I would try it, though, unless things have changed a lot in recent years. I’m not aware of any existing bike maps that cover that area. Maybe someone else will have a better idea.

    #923802
    RideTheWomble
    Participant

    The biggest expert on this route who I know is Jim the “Unholy Rouleur.” He has given permission for me to both refer you to his blog, and post his suggested route here. His blog has many tales of commuting that route, along with other great reading.

    Here’s what he thinks:

    If there’s no traffic, take K street East past Gallaudet and turn left on West Virginia Ave.
    Cross NY Ave and take Montana Ave under the railroad bridge. Fork right onto (I think) 18th Street. – Doesn’t matter because if you keep heading up and North, you eventually hit Rhode Island.
    – First Alternate – take Rhode Island out of downtown, though the first 2-3 miles are a bit hectic with traffic and you may find yourself going up the big hills on the sidewalk due to rush hour traffic.
    – Second alternate – take the Metro Branch trail from near Union Station, turn right at the end, then go straight through Brentwood and Mt. Ranier until you hit Rhode Island, then turn left onto Rhode Island)

    Follow Rhode Island down through the traffic circle and toward Hyattsville.

    Turn right on Ch. Armentrout Road, at the traffic light.

    About 200 yards later, turn right across the sidewalk onto the Northeast Branch Trail. You go down a little hill right away, and fork left onto the trail.

    Take the NE Branch Trail 2.5 miles Northeast, to Paint Branch Parkway. (You have to turn left off the trail before it goes under Paint Branch, and then turn right to exit the park, *then* turn right on Paint Branch. It sounds complicated but isn’t.)

    Paint Branch Pkwy turns into Good Luck Road when it crosses Rt. 201. Take the sidewalk up the hill. It’s steep and you don’t want to be doing 10 MPH as cars whiz past going 40.

    Though there’s no shoulder, you can ride in the road when you pass Parkdale High School. Stay on Good Luck Road for quite a while.

    After you cross Rt. 193 (Greenbelt Road) you’ll go past two apartment complexes and up a little hill. Turn right at the light onto Good Luck Road (if you go straight it turns into Soil Conservation Road).

    At the end of Good Luck Road, turn right on Springfield Road

    In about 300 yards, take the first left, Duckettstown Road.

    Take that to near the end, turn right on Chestnut Ave.

    Turn left at the T on Lanham/Severn Road /Rt. 564

    Turn left at the next T to stay on Lanham/Severn Road / Rt. 564

    Take this across Rt. 197, where L/S Road/564 turns into Racetrack Road

    Follow Racetrack Road all the way down to the T junction at Rt. 450.

    Left on 450. CAREFUL – no shoulder, and a lot of crazy/bad drivers on this stretch).

    Left at the T on Rt. 3/301 North

    Right at the next light onto 450.

    Take 450 all the way into Nap Town.

    It sounds complicated but it’s actually a pretty simple route that I added some clarifying details to – Rhode Island to Armentrout to NE Branch to Good Luck to Duckettstown to Chestnut to LanhamSevern/Racetrack to 450 to 3 to 450.

    #923803
    Allen Muchnick
    Participant

    BikeWashington.org shows two routes to Annapolis from Metrorail stations in Prince George’s County:

    from Greenbelt: [ http://www.bikewashington.org/routes/greentobay/index.htm ]

    from New Carrollton: [ http://www.bikewashington.org/routes/chesapeake/index.html ]

    A more direct route is to simply take Route 450 between Bladensburg to Annapolis, although a few interchanges, such as the crossing of the Capital Beltway, are intimidating for less experienced cyclists. Bladensburg Rd is a direct and reasonably bikeable road between near downtown/Capitol Hill and Bladensburg.

    #923810
    Brcire
    Participant

    I’ve done the route from New Carrollton.

    Biggest challenge was getting from Arlington to New Carrollton. I avoided 450 and the other major roads since they were not very bike friendly. I wanted to avoid the combination of heavy traffic, no shoulder, and riding against a curb.

    The link is my vague recollection of the route – http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/dc/washington%20dc/741128406287322728 It isn’t a scenic route but I did it twice and never had any problems. It ends with you picking up Ardwick Ardmore the start of the BikeWash cue sheet. If I find the cue sheet at home, I’ll repost (but I’m not optimistic it exists anymore).

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