How to bike across the Key bridge?

[birddog]

So I took the eastern sidepath and made it in 1:16 behind a guy with a bikearlington jersey: http://app.strava.com/activities/74865097#1486609502

6 seconds difference isn’t too bad – AND I got to look over and see the sun rising over the city. I might just have to stick with the sidepath.

[mikoglaces]

I always ride on the sidewalk there, except sometimes on weekends at a time when traffic is very light. The car lands on the bridge are just too narrow and car speeds too fast, and drivers are particularly impatient during rush hour. I tend to ride a bit slower on the bridge. Heck, it’s the nicest part of the ride scenery-wise. I use east side coming into DC and west side going to VA.

[vvill]

I ride the eastern shared use path in the mornings and sometimes the eastern or western one on the way back. The western one is definitely more clear, but also harder to connect to M St. There are typically lots of pedestrians and often clueless ones so I just go as slow as necessary. There are plenty of other places on my commute I can go hard and make up time if I want.

I wouldn’t enjoy riding on Key Bridge with traffic around peak hour. If I did I would take the lane.

[DismalScientist]

@birddog 60988 wrote:

So I took the eastern sidepath and made it in 1:16 behind a guy with a bikearlington jersey: http://app.strava.com/activities/74865097#1486609502

The solution is obvious. Reclassify this as a run and take Tim’s KOM.:rolleyes:

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Since I have an over-sized irrational fear of doing an endo over the railings and plummeting into the Potomac, I prefer the roadway. In a.m. rush if I see cars are thick all the way to the Virginia shore, I’ll take the roadway. If cars are moving at speed I’ll take the separate bike/ped lane and putter along.

Splitting the lanes on Key is no different than any other road and the lower frequency of intersections means fewer cars jockeying between lanes. By taking the roadway I avoid the potential right hook where Key Bridge cars exit for EB Whitehurst. I also don’t have to navigate passing pedestrians simultaneously with on-coming bikes. Splitting the lanes on the turn onto M is a little tight and you really have to take one lane or the other, but once past that I’m all set on M and I feel safer doing that than making the limited sight line turn around the Francis Scott Key park and threading a curb cut at 34th Street to get onto M.

Taking the roadway in the p.m. rush to Virginia is a rarer thing since traffic isn’t often backed up going that way, but I’ll take that opportunity too when it exists. Once you crest the center of the bridge you can really get a good speed going by the time you pass the ramp to GW Parkway.

[americancyclo]

@Brendan von Buckingham 61055 wrote:

I have an over-sized irrational fear of doing an endo over the railings and plummeting into the Potomac

Don’t take the TR bridge too often then, huh?

[Tim Kelley]

@Brendan von Buckingham 61055 wrote:

Since I have an over-sized irrational fear of doing an endo over the railings and plummeting into the Potomac, I prefer the roadway.

You’ll be fine:

[KWL]

@Brendan von Buckingham 61055 wrote:

Since I have an over-sized irrational fear of doing an endo over the railings and plummeting into the Potomac, I prefer the roadway.

I’m more concerned about getting whacked by someone who doesn’t use their turn signal going onto the Whitehurst ramp, tossing me to the roadway below and my getting run over multiple times.

[Author]

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