Looking for safe bike commute to Pentagon

[Anonymous]

To keep the bike ride under 20 minutes, I wouldn’t want to go any further west into NoVA than Virginia Square. I’d think any place east of there down towards Rosslyn and the neighborhoods south down towards Crystal City would put you where you want to be. Rosslyn is the connection point to the blue line which will take you to the Pentagon. He’d have the option to bike there using side streets or hopping on Custis to the Mount Vernon Trail.

[dasgeh]

Welcome!

You have lots of options for a safe bike commute within 15-20 miles of the Pentagon (most of DC proper, all of Arlington, Alexandria City… probably even some places in Maryland). What else do you need: house/apartment/yard/etc? Budget? Do you like more urban or less urban?

[Crickey7]

Is bike parking at the Pentagon status-driven like the car parking, with the top brass getting the choice close-in spots and the rank and file having to trudge through acres of parking?

[Emm]

@Natalya Murphy 148304 wrote:

My husband will begin working at the Pentagon in January and we would love to have recommendations of good places to look for a house that would offer a safe bike commute to the Pentagon. He is comfortable with up to a 15-20 mile ride into work, but we’d prefer something closer than that in case weather doesn’t cooperate and he needs to take mass transit instead. Ideally it would be somewhere near the blue or yellow metro line or near a bus route that goes to the Pentagon.

It really depends your priorities–budget, house/condo/town home, walk able to shops, do schools matter, do you want a yard, how big of a place do you need, etc.

We just bought a house this past summer in South Alexandria by the Mount Vernon Trail (Fort Hunt/Hybla Valley area). It’s by the yellow line, although we bought a place you’d need to drive and park at the Huntington Station since it’s not walking distance (plenty of parking there). It’s a great and very safe commute along the MVT to work. Lots of my neighbors commute by bike to the Pentagon, Crystal City, and DC. It’d also be under 15 miles likely, depending on where you found a house. I’m 14 miles from my house to SW DC. We landed there because of budget, schools, wanting a yard and a house of a certain size, and the recommendations of a bunch of friends who live in the neighborhood.

Depending on your price range, Del Ray and Old Town Alexandria would also be nice, as would Arlington. Even parts of Falls Church would be close enough.

[Natalya Murphy]

@dasgeh 148318 wrote:

Welcome!
What else do you need: house/apartment/yard/etc? Budget? Do you like more urban or less urban?

Our perfect home would have at least 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and some sort of additional room (4th bedroom, den, basement, etc.) to use as an office/guest area. Covered parking (garage, preferably), dog friendly and with a yard. Ideally with lots of kids in the neighborhood. School district doesn’t matter since we homeschool, but having a park, YMCA-type facility and library nearby would be awesome. We prefer to rent since we may only be there for a few years.

[EasyRider]

Most parts of Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church meet those criteria. This is a high-cost area, so I think you might find budget is the constraining factor, not proximity to parks and libraries, of which there are many.

For example, if you search Redfin for 3+ bedroom homes in Arlington with 2+ baths, the least expensive one is listed at $500,000, and the kitchen and baths are decades old. No garage.

[Steve O]

@Natalya Murphy 148335 wrote:

Our perfect home would have at least 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and some sort of additional room (4th bedroom, den, basement, etc.) to use as an office/guest area. Covered parking (garage, preferably), dog friendly and with a yard. Ideally with lots of kids in the neighborhood. School district doesn’t matter since we homeschool, but having a park, YMCA-type facility and library nearby would be awesome. We prefer to rent since we may only be there for a few years.

Add “near a Metro” to that and you’ll only need $1.1 million. Well, you’ll be renting, so no worries.

[vern]

To the west, Vienna would fall within the 15 mile perimeter. You might be able to find the sort of house you are looking for out in that direction. For the commute, it’s trail all the way in (W&OD), with proximity to the Orange Line for Metro commutes.

[ginacico]

Echo the reality check. Generally in the DC area you can have 1) convenience, or 2) the house of your dreams. But unless you come with $$$ you won’t get both.

After owning the house of my dreams for 7 years, I gave it up for convenience. Commuting is probably the #1 reason people hate this area, and for good reason, traffic sucks. Strategic thinking around how you’ll get to work and beyond is the key to enjoying it. Location should be your top 3 priorities.

I live in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood between Shirlington and Crystal City, in south Arlington. I have a 10-minute bus ride to the Pentagon (where I pick up Metro blue/yellow lines), and I can bike just about anywhere. My driving anymore is minimal. In my area a 2-3 bedroom duplex from 1941 can cost you $375-$425k depending on how much renovation it needs; more than half the residents are renters – also not cheap. I’m too old to be a millennial, but I consciously chose what they all want — the “lifestyle” in a bikeable, walkable, livable neighborhood with shops, restaurants, libraries, theaters, parks and more easily accessible without driving. It meant downsizing, but you couldn’t pay me to live in suburbia/exurbia anymore.

If you only plan to stay a few years, my suggestion is to maximize your enjoyment and go for convenience. To spend that time getting frustrated in traffic would be a shame. If you live close in, where biking and public transit are easy options, you’ll be able to take advantage of all that DC offers. Get on Zillow and do some research — happy house hunting!

[dasgeh]

@Natalya Murphy 148335 wrote:

Our perfect home would have at least 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and some sort of additional room (4th bedroom, den, basement, etc.) to use as an office/guest area. Covered parking (garage, preferably), dog friendly and with a yard. Ideally with lots of kids in the neighborhood. School district doesn’t matter since we homeschool, but having a park, YMCA-type facility and library nearby would be awesome. We prefer to rent since we may only be there for a few years.

If you want a detached, single-family house, I’d focus on Virginia (DC and MD that fit you needs are even more expensive). A few years ago, I was told that rule of thumb was $1000/bedroom/month within walking distance to the Metro in Arlington. If you’re cool with that, our neighborhood, Cherrydale, is awesome. It’s a bit of a walk to the Metro, but right on bus lines, and on the bike trail. Our neighbor works on the Pentagon and bikes, runs, or drives, depending on the day.

[Alcova cyclist]

I live quite close to the pentagon (central Arlington) and bike commuted there semi-regularly as a reservist.

A couple of other things to consider:
– The Pentagon Athletic Club is a really nice fitness facility, with a lap pool, indoor track, weights, basketball and racquetball courts — but you do have to pay for membership (cost based on rank). So if he’s planning to shower after arrival, factor that in.
– If you choose to live to the west of the pentagon, it is easy to cut through Fort Myer (at least with a military/DOD CAC card). If route planning on Google or similar, it might not auto-populate this option but it will save 2-3 miles coming from the west. Coming in from Falls Church for example you could come in on the W&OD trail, then cut straight across Arlington taking a mix of 8th/7th and ultimately back up to 2nd into the base. Way shorter than keeping on the W&OD to 4 mile run trail and up Eads or the Mount Vernon Trail. This puts Dunn Loring and Vienna in range (all of those are on the orange line for alternate commuting).
– Fort Myer has fantastic snow clearance, as does the Pentagon reservation.
– There’s plenty of bike parking at the Pentagon (and it’s all way closer than car parking, unless your husband is a general or something), but it is all uncovered.

If you’ll be here in early January, consider signing up #FreezingSaddles (see http://bikearlingtonforum.com/forumdisplay.php?41-Freezing-Saddles-Winter-Riding-Competition). It would be a good way to meet a lot of complete wackos who will be riding all winter long — but who will also have tons of good advice on riding in general, riding in all weather, good routes in the area, etc. FS two winters ago turned me from a 50/50 rider to an every day all year bike commuter.

[Author]

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