Custis Trail Alternative

[WillStewart]

There’s always Wilson Blvd from Rosslyn through Ballston, hopping over to the Bluemont Junction Trail then to W&OD. Or other variations via the Memorial Bridge.

http://www.bikearlington.com/tasks/sites/bike/assets/File/Bikemap_front.pdf

Edit: Switch over to Fairfax Dr after passing through Clarendon.

[JeffC]

Posted about the same thing last summer and got some great suggestions. Headed west to Falls Church (see you are there too) I do up hill to Rosslyn but then rather than turn right to go next to 66, I keep going straight up Lee Hwy then make a left turn and follow some back roads. Probably an extra mile or so but much more enjoyable. Read about it here.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?828-Alternate-Route-to-West-Bound-Custis-Trail

[pfunkallstar]

jeff – many thanks for the link. I’m going to try out a new route today. I’m not a huge fan of Lee Highway, but I’d rather contend with the cars than aggressive stroller joggers!

[slowtriguy]

Last summer, I often rode Washington Blvd from Ballston to Lee Highway, then rode Lee Highway southbound to the back streets of Falls Church City. Sure, there are cars, but most of Washington is decent for bike commuting: a reasonable shoulder west of ~Buchanan, and rarely did I run into anyone aggressive (often traffic is slow enough to limit that anyway). And if you like rolling hills (I know, acc…), it’s actually more fun than the Custis going WB from Ballston. It works the other way pretty much as well.

From Rosslyn, I fairly regularly ride up Lee Highway from the Lynn Street Corner of Doom (not up the trail — on Lee Highway itself) all the way to Old Dominion, turn right on Old Dominion and ride to Williamsburg, and thence on to West in Falls Church City. It’s another hilly route, and obviously has plenty of cars on Lee Highway (and to a lesser degree Old Dominion), but I found it not bad overall and it gave some extra miles.

Just my $0.02

[baiskeli]

I often go straight over the Memorial Bridge and turn right to go around the cemetery and through the Iwo Jima memorial, then weave my way along the roads next to Rt. 50 until I turn off onto Fairfax Drive, which drops me into Clarendon.

[baiskeli]

@JeffC 15462 wrote:

Posted about the same thing last summer and got some great suggestions. Headed west to Falls Church (see you are there too) I do up hill to Rosslyn but then rather than turn right to go next to 66, I keep going straight up Lee Hwy then make a left turn and follow some back roads. Probably an extra mile or so but much more enjoyable. Read about it here.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?828-Alternate-Route-to-West-Bound-Custis-Trail

This is basically my way home too. I cut over to Key Blvd.

[vvill]

If you don’t mind hills and going off course for a bit:

http://g.co/maps/rkpk6

Lots of bike lanes, puts you back on the W&OD at Little Falls Rd (or you could continue to West St). The only part without a bike lane is a short uphill stretch of 29, but there are three lanes there, and one dedicated for right turners coming from Lorcom. Yorktown has a few big potholes in the bike lanes to watch out for.

The first 2/3rds of this route is part of my regular commute home, although I’ve actually been taking the Custis lately for a change of scenery!

[baiskeli]

@vvill 15477 wrote:

If you don’t mind hills and going off course for a bit:

http://g.co/maps/rkpk6

Lots of bike lanes, puts you back on the W&OD at Little Falls Rd (or you could continue to West St). The only part without a bike lane is a short uphill stretch of 29, but there are three lanes there, and one dedicated for right turners coming from Lorcom. Yorktown has a few big potholes in the bike lanes to watch out for.

The first 2/3rds of this route is part of my regular commute home, although I’ve actually been taking the Custis lately for a change of scenery!

Very nice route – except for the hills, as previously mentioned.

[consularrider]

I guess my recommendation would depend on which section of the Custis you find most annoying and where you are ending up. Here’s an almost all on street route from Rosslyn (Key Bridge Marriott) to the intersection of Columbia and Little Falls in Falls Church. It’s just under a mile longer than the more direct Custis/W&OD combination with a couple hills. The one section that I don’t like is the “trail” from Scott back to Key Blvd alongside Colonial Village.

[JeffC]

@consularrider 15487 wrote:

I guess my recommendation would depend on which section of the Custis you find most annoying and where you are ending up. Here’s an almost all on street route from Rosslyn (Key Bridge Marriot) to the intersection of Columbia and Little Falls in Falls Church:

This is very close to what I have done. I just take the Custis up hill though through Rosslyn (rather than Lee Hwy) and then ride the sidewalk for a block or so up to Veitch after the Custis Veers off to the right. Then I take this route identically until Westover. Once I am at Westover, there are a couple of ways to go for me. If you feel like bailing back to the Custis, there is a spot near Glebe Road where you can see the trail about a block away. This takes me about 10 minutes longer to get back to Falls Church City. Taking this, I have to ask myself why all the Arlingtonians would want to take the Custis and walk next to a Freeway, seriously it boggles my mind, the residential streets are safer and prettier. This is a topic for the “Stuff White People Like” blog as I am clueless why the Custis Trail is so popular for walkers/joggers. In contrast, I understand the popularlity of the MVT although next to the GW Parkway for awhile it actually has scenery unlike the Custis.

[OneEighth]

Pfunk, we are starting out from about the same general area in DC. Wonder if I’ve seen you or ridden with you. You don’t happen to have a Redline CX bike with fenders, do you?
Anyway, I have one cautionary note regarding alternate routes—you’ve got the setting sun in your eyes going home on Washington Blvd and on part of Lee Hwy. What’s worse is that so do the drivers behind you.
But, Lee from Lynn until Kirkwood or N. Cleveland (with a right on Bryant and then a right on Wilson) is definitely a decent alternative. Personally, I like taking the hill from the Marriott on the road rather than on the trail.

[pfunkallstar]

@OneEighth 15491 wrote:

Pfunk, we are starting out from about the same general area in DC. Wonder if I’ve seen you or ridden with you. You don’t happen to have a Redline CX bike with fenders, do you?
Anyway, I have one cautionary note regarding alternate routes—you’ve got the setting sun in your eyes going home on Washington Blvd and on part of Lee Hwy. What’s worse is that so do the drivers behind you.
But, Lee from Lynn until Kirkwood or N. Cleveland (with a right on Bryant and then a right on Wilson) is definitely a decent alternative. Personally, I like taking the hill from the Marriott on the road rather than on the trail.

No, but I think I have seen that Redline CX guy. I’m riding an unbranded Ebay-special carbon with some old rolf wheels on it. I wear the same thing everyday (Orange coat, black shorts, blue bag) – so I’m pretty recognizable. I also hit the road from the Marriott 90% of the time, it can be terrifying going around random bus stop people.

[dasgeh]

I’ll put in my normal plug for the through-Fort Myer option (and through the cemetery in the mornings). That will get you to Pershing and 50 (4pm-6pm) from which you could take Pershing WSW, get to Washington Blvd to head WNW, take the neighborhood stuff more directly W… whatever your fancy. Security at the base can be annoying, but I still think it’s faster point to point from the Memorial Bridge to Pershing/50, and the roads are calm and smooth with few drivers.

[pfunkallstar]

Well I tried the Veitch/Key/13/16 option yesterday and it wasn’t that bad. 16th street has some AMAZINGLY bad potholes that are just the right size for a 700c wheel. Thanks for the heads up! If it is Tuesday-Thursday and between 65-85 degrees, I will be making use of this new route!

[baiskeli]

@pfunkallstar 15550 wrote:

Well I tried the Veitch/Key/13/16 option yesterday and it wasn’t that bad. 16th street has some AMAZINGLY bad potholes that are just the right size for a 700c wheel. Thanks for the heads up! If it is Tuesday-Thursday and between 65-85 degrees, I will be making use of this new route!

Veitch/Key/Fairfax/Utah?

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