Laurel to North Arlington (Marymount)

[ebubar]

New commute time! I just moved out to Laurel MD (right near Laurel Lake). I need to commute to Marymount University in North Arlington. Currently I’m taking Van Dusen to Konterra, down 1 on the WIDE sidewalk to reach a nice cutthrough to Rhode Island. Then I go down Rhode Island and the Trolley Trail to Hyattsville where I hop back onto 1 around Shortcake Bakery. I follow 1 until I cut across to get to DC around Hamlin to pass Right Proper Brewing on my way to the Met Branch Trail. I go across DC along R street and meander over to M street through Georgetown and then over the Key Bridge and up the hills of the Custis.

It takes me about 1 hr 45 minutes of moving time, but with stops its at 2 hr 15-20 minutes. Crossing DC REALLY kills my speed! SO much stopping time! I’ve got a Juiced CCS on delivery to try to speed up the commute (and dreams of a Stromer) and make it doable 5 days a week without getting exhausted. I’m curious if anyone has suggestions for a better route to remove some of those starts/stops in cutting through DC? Possibly the Anacostia Riverwalk, but what’s the best way to use that and cut through DC? I also expect an ebike changes the mix as I should be able to easily maintain ~20 mph through the whole route making me think city roads are better than trails where I wouldn’t keep those speeds for safety purposes. Thanks for your collective wisdom!

Topic

[dasgeh]

@ginacico 179509 wrote:

You said this, and I just wanted to highlight it. Still, be prepared for some … er, critique?… from people who hate ebikes blowing by them at 20+ on multi-use trails like CCT, Anacostia Riverwalk, Met Branch, or the Custis. Fair warning.

Oh, this again. As someone whom the roadies FLY by when I’m going 20mph on ebike on the Custis daily, I’ll put in a plug for being responsible trail user — slow when passing others, so that the difference in speed is reasonable, leaving plenty of space when you pass, and not riding faster than you can see/stop. Otherwise, ride where you feel is best for your circumstances.

If you end up averaging 15 on a trail because of the times you slow for others, that still may save you time over a lot of stopping on the roads, but you’ll just have to figure it out.

[ebubar]

@Brett L. 179527 wrote:

Here are three different possible routes:

1) 33 miles, longer but significantly fewer lights
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28047803

2) 30 miles, ART to E Cap
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28047820

3) 32 miles, ART to S Cap
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28047829

I don’t know NoVA very well, so take the route west of the Potomac with a heavy dose of salt.

Thanks a bunch! These all look like viable options. Especially with an ebike propelling me along at a decent average speed if I can avoid lots of stops!

[ebubar]

@closebr 179529 wrote:

These are all very solid routes. Here are some other suggestions:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18131[/ATTACH]

Heat maps FTW! Pondering the Garmin 520 Plus which supposedly has these heat maps built in to recommend good routes based on garmin’s treasure trove of riding data.

[Brett L.]

But in all seriousness, a completed ICC trail and/or a completed Purple Line Trail (that actually continues to at least UMD in PG County, and not just to MoCo boundaries) would make your commute much simpler. Some of Closebr’s route suggestions include riding on Powdermill/Riggs or riding on the sidewalk of 29.

[ebubar]

@closebr 179524 wrote:

I just can’t get myself to do the e-bike thing. It doesn’t really make sense, I know. If I’m willing to drive or metro part of the way on a mega-commute, why am I not willing to e-bike the whole way? I guess I like being able to Strava my rides without an asterisk. Maybe I fear the day that all bike trails just become roads for e-bikes and regular cyclists are shoved off to the shoulder of the trail. Surely that’s already begining to happen in some places around here. Please, e-bike responsibly.

Lucky for me, i’m not hugely competitive and thus couldn’t care less about strava asterisks. I haven’t noticed being shoved anywhere by ebikes yet. If they ride faster than me because they have a motor, it has no effect on my existence and I haven’t felt threatened by them (unlike those evil scooter riders ). The real idiots I see are the roadies in full kit chasing KOMS. They’re the ones blowing stop signs, stop lights and passing me unsafely on trails more than any ebikes that I’ve observed. I’ll just ride like a PAL no matter what I’m riding!

[ebubar]

@dasgeh 179534 wrote:

Oh, this again. As someone whom the roadies FLY by when I’m going 20mph on ebike on the Custis daily, I’ll put in a plug for being responsible trail user — slow when passing others, so that the difference in speed is reasonable, leaving plenty of space when you pass, and not riding faster than you can see/stop. Otherwise, ride where you feel is best for your circumstances.

If you end up averaging 15 on a trail because of the times you slow for others, that still may save you time over a lot of stopping on the roads, but you’ll just have to figure it out.

Be a PAL! Right I’m pretty good at being a considerate rider (I hope!). I wouldn’t expect an ebike to magically make me an inconsiderate idiot!

[ebubar]

@Brett L. 179528 wrote:

If you go through Beltsville, be extra careful of the 4way stop on Rhode Island and Sellman. As stupid as RI and Route 1 in Beltsville is, that intersection North of it is worse

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I’ve noticed that in the few commutes i’ve done so far. Luckily it hasn’t been too crowded when i’ve traveled through.

[Author]

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