Losing my commute

[hozn]

@dasgeh 123317 wrote:

But even if it’s just about fitness, it could be worth it. Say he dagamon can drive the whole way in 45 minutes. Or he could drive to a convenient parking spot in 30 minutes, then bike the rest of the way in 30 minutes. Over the course of the day, he gets in an hour of working out, but only adds 30 minutes to his commute. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Well, he’s also got to park the bike/shower/change and do the reverse for the commute home. But I’m sure there are scenarios where you would save time doing this, especially if traffic is really bad. Driving up to Rockeville w/o traffic is ~30 minutes, but more like 45 with AM traffic, so it might work out faster to split it if you can avoid the slow roads.

[dasgeh]

@hozn 123318 wrote:

Well, he’s also got to park the bike/shower/change and do the reverse for the commute home.

If he’s committed to working out, he’s got to shower and change anyway. I guess I’m assuming bike parking is about the same amount of time as car parking. There’s a minute or two for getting the bike on/off the car, but those sorts of things aren’t worth it. If I were him, the choice would be between wake up-working out-shower-change-drive-work-drive and wake up-drive-work out (bike)-shower-change-work-change-work out(bike)-drive (no shower needed because your family loves you as you are). So the only delta is the difference between just driving and drive/bike.

[hozn]

Yeah, that is fair. I guess the bigger concern for me would be managing the logistical complexity. Most of which is manufactured complexity — need shoes for driving, different shoes for cycling, more shoes at work, packing clothes, etc. For me the allure of cycling is partly the simplifying effect it has. But the OP should definitely consider these options.

Really, though, this new commute is rideable. May need to work up to it, start with a few times a week. Ultimately, if cycling is important, you will keep doing it. If not, you will do things that are more important.

[dagamon]

@hozn 123345 wrote:

Really, though, this new commute is rideable. May need to work up to it, start with a few times a week. Ultimately, if cycling is important, you will keep doing it. If not, you will do things that are more important.

I’m going to definitely try a few of these things. The route is a little complicated by the fact I can’t cross the river at the Beltway, so I’m going to have to go over the Chain Bridge. I also don’t know if there’s shower facilities at the new place, but it is a little more casual than a lot of offices, so if I’m a little ripe, it’s probably fine.

[Steve O]

@dagamon 123395 wrote:

I’m going to definitely try a few of these things. The route is a little complicated by the fact I can’t cross the river at the Beltway, so I’m going to have to go over the Chain Bridge. I also don’t know if there’s shower facilities at the new place, but it is a little more casual than a lot of offices, so if I’m a little ripe, it’s probably fine.

I used to use the Chain Bridge crossing for several years while commuting to Silver Spring and to Kensington. I use the portage footpath through the trees rather than go down to the C&O and backtrack to the CCT.

What worked for me going into DC is ride around the corner to the end of the fence. Then wait for the light to work in your favor and wend your way across to the path. Uphill schlep.

Coming back into VA I wait at the bottom of the path for a break in traffic, then go straight across and lift my bike over the railing onto the sidepath. One-way, rush-hour traffic makes this possible, because the cars coming from the left are only in their right lane, giving you time and room for the lift.

Both of these are harder on weekends and not during rush hour, because traffic is coming from two directions instead of just one.

[Crickey7]

Though much of the commute is contraflow, the American Legion bridge crossing and the 3 or so miles on either side are major choke points regardless of direction of travel. Chain Bridge works fine for bikes, but not for cars. You may find the multimodal option of riding to Bethesda Metro to be fairly time competitive with driving, which in any event in this kind of traffic gradually eats away at your soul.

[hozn]

Yeah, I was just assuming you’d cross at Key Bridge and ride up MacAurthur to Seven Locks and then northward to Rockville. That was what the Google suggested and was a route I’m very familiar with since I ride up MacAurthur early in the AM one or two times a week.

But I’d do Chain Bridge too; I’d probably just ride Canal St. down to Arizona, though I suspect I’m misunderstanding the larger route the hike-a-bike references.

[DismalScientist]

Here’s a reference to the Chain Bridge/CCT “trail”:http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?6000-how-to-get-from-chain-bridge-to-Capital-Crescent-Trail

The trip between Falls Church basically involves Williamsburg to Glebe to Old Glebe to (down Glebe or up 41st) to Chain Bridge to rough “trail” to CCT to Bethesda. It’s about 10 miles one way. I don’t know the way to Rockville, either from Bethesda or Chain Bridge.

[Steve O]

@hozn 123416 wrote:

Yeah, I was just assuming you’d cross at Key Bridge and ride up MacAurthur to Seven Locks and then northward to Rockville. That was what the Google suggested and was a route I’m very familiar with since I ride up MacAurthur early in the AM one or two times a week.

But I’d do Chain Bridge too; I’d probably just ride Canal St. down to Arizona, though I suspect I’m misunderstanding the larger route the hike-a-bike references.

My route is 41st St. to the sidepath on Chain Bridge (which is on the upstream side) rather than riding in the road. I’m not sure I’d like riding in the road during rush hours. Also, using McArthur is a less direct route to Bethesda than the CCT, although you can connect to it near the tunnel I think.

If going all the way to Rockville, that’s a different story.

[Terpfan]

Knowing how bad the American Legion Bridge and basically 270 to Tysons is on the Beltway, if you’re leaving during rush hour, I bet the drive time isn’t all that different than the cycling time.

I kind of know what you mean. When I first started riding to work, I left from north Oldtown to near 15th & M. That ride spoiled me. It was like 8 miles each way, I think I had like 100′ of elevation change (the hill off MVT by power plant was the worst thing I dealt with haha), and it was basically all MUP or protected cycletrack. On the flip side, all of that also made biking seem like a real option to me.

Then we bought a house south of OT in Fairfax portion of Alexandria…and atop a big hill (literally one of the highest points in southern Fairfax). So, yah, that turned that commute from 8 miles to 14/15 and the end of my ride included like 250′ climb (at least split into two along Beacon Hill Rd’s two hills).

Anyway, that seemed alright, but in my continuing infinte wisdom, I took another job in upper NW near the Cathedral. So the hill became a morning and evening joy. At first I went through Rock Creek Park. Yah, uh, that Calvert Street climb is actually killer. Plus that route was almost 19 miles each way. Eventually, I figured out just going through Georgetown, which makes the commute between 16-17 miles (Strava will tell me it’s 16.4 one day and 17.1 the next–Google thinks it’s closer to 17). Anyway, same elevation gains, but it’s more broken out.

The end point here is it’s possible to build up to it. Funny enough when I first started riding, that 8 miles was taking me about 43-47 minutes. Eventually I shaved it to closer to 35 minutes. Now, my commute probably averages about 1hr 12 minutes despite more elevation gain, more traffic lights, and a long distance. One can grow into it. And, I should add, that my commute by car in rush hour during school year averages about 1hr and 5-10 minutes. So the difference in time for me is literally the amount of time I take locking the bike and showering–something I count as a nice big win.

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