Do you ride the trails at night – 7:00 pm or later?

[StopMeansStop]

24/7 365. The only thing that keeps me inside is frozen wet stuff

[PotomacCyclist]

I did a few nighttime rides on the trails last year, but not many this year.

Since you’re in the Pentagon City area, you have some other options. You can do loops along the bike lanes from Pentagon City to Crystal Drive. Then head down to Potomac Ave, which rarely has much traffic. Keep going past Potomac Yards to the section that is officially closed to traffic. Can’t get much safer than a road where no cars are allowed.

Potomac Avenue is now fully operational from end to end. All the street lights are in place and the pavement is now smooth. You can ride all the way from Crystal City down to Main Line Blvd. and the Monroe Ave. bridge. Once you cross the bridge, you can make your way over to Slaters Lane. Then turn right onto Abingdon Drive and left on Bashford Lane. Turn right onto Royal St. From there you can make your way through Old Town and head onto the on-road part of the Mt. Vernon Trail on Union St. if you like. You’ll have to make a few turns to get over to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. You can ride over to MD if you want.

I probably wouldn’t ride on the southern part of the MVT at night. Some of those sections can be quite steep, with sharp turns. That’s not really safe in low visibility, not to mention the safety issues.

I managed to do a 3-hr. ride on Monday (on my slower mountain bike), just by riding around Pentagon City, Crystal City, Potomac Yards, Old Town, Woodrow Wilson Bridge, National Harbor and back again, although I did some slow riding while I was looking around National Harbor and Old Town. I didn’t have to deal with much car traffic at all. The busiest section was probably Crystal Drive, and that’s not bad outside of rush hour.

***
You could also extend the ride in the other direction, by heading north. Instead of taking the MVT, go over to the Pentagon parking lots and take the Washington Blvd. trail adjacent to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. (The Memorial is a very somber and inspiring sight at night, with all of the benches lit up from below.) You’ll have to deal with some sub-standard sidewalk sections along Washington Blvd. You will also have to take the infamous grade crossings south of Memorial Bridge. But at night, there’s very little car traffic. It’s much safer than during the day.

Head over to Memorial Bridge and ride into DC. Some of the trails on the western part of the Mall are closed for renovations, and Constitution and Independence Avenues are not for the faint of heart. You could turn south onto Ohio Drive and take that toward West Potomac Park. But I don’t know if I’d recommend riding in the park at night. There are way too many people running and walking around the island loop wearing completely dark clothing. I really don’t get it. It’s unsafe for them, and for you. If you’re going fast and run into one of these people, you’ll probably be hurt more than they will. You’ll go flying off your bike. So unless you have a very high-powered light or you slow down a lot, Hains Point is not the best place to ride after dark.

The 15th St. cycle track is one option. Most of it is safe. You’ll probably hear different opinions about the safety of the areas along the northern part of the cycle track. They’re generally much safer than they were 15 years ago, but you should still exercise caution. Downtown DC is much easier to navigate at night because there are far fewer cars than during the day. The major thoroughfares will still have a few aggressive drivers. But many of the secondary roads are relatively calm.

You can ride for quite a while in either direction, heading south and east to National Harbor, or heading north to Memorial Bridge and DC.

[JustinW]

Perhaps riding with a partner is a good alternative. Who is going to mess with a pair of (or more) cyclists with lights ablaze?

[Dirt]

I’m a huge guy, so I don’t normally get messed with. I do find that runners and walkers with dark clothes, no reflective gear and a lot of anger about anyone that points that out are a fairly big problem. I wouldn’t fitness ride in low visibility situations because people just can’t be seen and avoided.

[Tim Kelley]

@KLizotte 8325 wrote:

So my question is this: for all of you cyclists training for centurys, charity rides, etc this fall, where and when do you train at this time of the year when it is getting dark so early?

Any suggestions for night time fitness rides in the Pentagon City area?

Pop over to Hains Point–that’s where I did the majority of my long night rides last year. On Friday nights, the competitive rollerblading groups come out and love drafting behind cyclists (and can keep up to around 25-27mph!.)

[JimF22003]

I rode a fair amount last fall/winter/spring mostly in the dark. I keep it pretty basic though. I figure since I’m riding in the dark, this is barely a step up from riding a trainer, so I’m not out for sight-seeing.

I basically have two choices from my starting point on Sandburg near Gallows Rd. 1) Down W&OD to the split at Custis, and either turn left or go straight, and then do the Arlington loop. Sometimes I add a loop or two at Hains point, or 2) head the other way out to Smiths Switch or Ashburn.

Booooring as heck, but it’s at least a little better than the trainer.

I’ve never ridden later than about 7:30 or so, so I have always felt pretty safe. I use(d) a Magicshine 900 on the front, and a Radbot on the back. Even on low, the MS is too bright, so I have to keep putting my hand in front of it to keep from blinding people.

[eminva]

Hello Kathy —

I usually get home from work (via Custis and W&OD) around 7 to 7:30, so at certain times of the year I am riding in partial or full darkness. I feel okay on the trail, though in the winter it is not unheard of not to see another living being past East Falls Church. For this reason, I try to avoid coming home too late when it is dark. It feels a little creepy.

Ditto on the ninja joggers, etc. That would probably be your biggest worry on the trails near you.

And competitive roller bladers(?!). I thought I’d heard of everything.

Liz

[BoomBoxing]

That’s crazy. I also headed out for my first true night ride in the area last night since moving to Pentagon City in June. I figure it will be necessary considering when I get home from work and darkness creeping in earlier and earlier. I also followed the same basic route as you but I was a tad bit little earlier.

I currently use a cheapie “be seen” type of headlight but it’s clear I will need something brighter if I am going to be doing any night riding on trails. Any recommendations, preferably around $100?

Also besides the ninja joggers, the scariest part was on the MVT several types going south I was blinded by oncoming traffic on the GW.

[consularrider]

I get in about 30 miles a day year round by extending my five mile East Falls Church to Rosslyn commute to 15 miles each morning and evening. I pretty much use the same set of trails in Arlington and have added on street loops for distance or hill climbs depending on my mood. However, I’m generally not pushing any speed and am on my hybrid commuter, saving my road bike for longer weekend rides. I have a decent head light and use multiple rear lights and reflective add ons. If I was just riding for exercise, I’d ride the Arlington loop counterclockwise (going north on the MVT) in the dark to minimize the car headlight glare issues.

[Dirt]

@consularrider 8352 wrote:

I get in about 30 miles a day year round by extending my five mile East Falls Church to Rosslyn commute to 15 miles each morning and evening. I pretty much use the same set of trails in Arlington and have added on street loops for distance or hill climbs depending on my mood. However, I’m generally not pushing any speed and am on my hybrid commuter, saving my road bike for longer weekend rides.

I’ve used lights from many different manufacturers and none come close to the quality and durability of the lights from Exposure (http://exposurelightsusa.com)

They are not cheap, but they really work. I use a Flare tail light and I have both a MkI and MkII Diablo for headlights. They are pricy, but worth every penny. The Spark is 240Lumen for 2.5 hours, tiny and completely self contained (no external battery). It costs $139. The next step up is the Joystick. It is 300Lumen, a little bigger and has a little more run time. It is in the $250 range if I recall correctly.

My Diablo MkI just had its 3rd birthday a little while back. I use it 250-300 days per year. It has never shown a sign of mortality. The helmet and handlebar mounts are the best I’ve ever seen.

The Flare is now 18 months old and has been used virtually every day of that time. It works perfectly, though I can see that it will need to be replaced in the next year or two. When I compare it to other flashy lights that I’ve used, it has lasted 5 or 6 times as long under extremely harsh conditions. It costs twice as much as other high quality flashy lights if you get the rechargable batteries, and it is worth every penny. It works better and is brighter.

If I were really on a budget, the Flash/Flare combo is extremely good. The flash isn’t quite good enough to see by, but is awesome for being seen. I use that set-up when I ride places like Skyline Drive where I need to be seen in the early mornings.

Hope that helps.

Pete

[Arlingtonrider]

I try to get home before sunset, but am frequently still out past then. Kathy – sent you a message.

[KLizotte]

@JustinW 8334 wrote:

Perhaps riding with a partner is a good alternative. Who is going to mess with a pair of (or more) cyclists with lights ablaze?

If I could I would but it’s hard to find a riding buddy who travels at the same speed (I only average 10-12 miles per hour on my hybrid commuter), lives in the Crystal City/PC area, has a similar schedule, etc. If there are any takers, please send me a private message

[Dirt]

The other thing I’d like to do when I get around to building my new commuting bike is setting up a real generator light set-up. Schmidt is a German company that makes generator hubs and lighting systems that are amazing. They are very bright, roll nicely and never need to be recharged. Someday I’ll get that set up.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

[KLizotte]

@Tim Kelley 8340 wrote:

Pop over to Hains Point–that’s where I did the majority of my long night rides last year. On Friday nights, the competitive rollerblading groups come out and love drafting behind cyclists (and can keep up to around 25-27mph!.)

Good to know. Wasn’t sure if the recreational users would still be out there after dark or if the park is taken over by folks engaged in more illicit activities.

[KLizotte]

@eminva 8349 wrote:

Hello Kathy —

I usually get home from work (via Custis and W&OD) around 7 to 7:30, so at certain times of the year I am riding in partial or full darkness. I feel okay on the trail, though in the winter it is not unheard of not to see another living being past East Falls Church. For this reason, I try to avoid coming home too late when it is dark. It feels a little creepy.

Ditto on the ninja joggers, etc. That would probably be your biggest worry on the trails near you.

Unfortunately, as women, we have more to worry about than the male cyclists which is why I was a little worried being out on the WO&D at night. I’m not too concerned about the ninja joggers because my light is so bright that I can see them well enough and they tend to move/look behind them when they see this big light coming up upon them.

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