My Morning Commute

[Certifried]

sucked I drove today, despite knowing the weather would be nice. I ate at the “Original Pancake House” in Bethesda yesterday, and by afternoon was feeling pretty nauseous. I’m not sure it was the food, nor do I really have any idea what the issue was really. Still feeling a little “blech” today, and woke up way too late to ride.

Just another manic Monday.

Topic

[jrenaut]

@MattAune 58561 wrote:

… i could not figure out the best way to navigate 7 corners…

Helicopter or police escort.

[napes]

From Annandale to Fort Myer/the Pentagon, you might also try this route. This takes the McWhorter Place cut through in Annandale to avoid much of Little River Turnpike pain, then a northern bypass to Columbia Pike to avoid most of the Columbia Pike pain. There are few hairy spots going, but returning isn’t as much fun on Little River Turnpike, since VDOT has never paved a shoulder on the north side of Little River Turnpike near the George Mason library.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Wakefield+Park&daddr=38.8290091,-77.1902862+to:38.8252841,-77.1741601+to:38.8559703,-77.1307313+to:38.8632907,-77.1065079+to:38.8638012,-77.1043231+to:38.8639128,-77.1038598+to:38.8690008,-77.086987+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&ll=38.849334,-77.149086&spn=0.131818,0.209427&sll=38.869735,-77.085142&sspn=0.008236,0.013089&geocode=FRRRUAIdCK1l-w%3BFdF7UAIdcitm-ylNPTT9LLO3iTEbb0makI3hMQ%3BFURtUAIdcGpm-ynLk4q1I7O3iTFehuw_pNFS0g%3BFSLlUAIdFRRn-ynjgjz9dbS3iTGvLtMFv-Prjg%3BFboBUQIdtXJn-ynDLEqtHLS3iTFFJQLBFrEJ-A%3BFbkDUQIdPXtn-ylxtSA9HbS3iTET7QPhsv5Log%3BFSgEUQIdDX1n-ymPBShrHbS3iTFd2RGyw6WYKA%3BFQgYUQId9b5n-yl7ihK6vba3iTEIkMqMQnBQHQ%3BFa0kUQId3dpn-w&t=m&dirflg=b&mra=dpe&mrsp=7&sz=16&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7&z=12&lci=bike

@Rogburt 58559 wrote:

Matt

I ride from North Springfield to Arlington via Hummer/Annandale Rd to WO&D to Custis/end at Glebe (12.1 mi)… after taking that you could continue on the WO&D to Army Navy Drive or Custis to Lady Bird Johnson park….just a thought.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@MattAune 58561 wrote:

This was my original plan, but i could not figure out the best way to navigate 7 corners. Any tips on what to do when you hit Rte. 50 on Annandale Rd? I would love to figure this out for weekend recreational riding routes headed west on the W&OD.

Make a right on the service road on either side of Arlington Blvd. Then make a left on Cherry (the first light east of Annandale), right on Columbia, and left on Van Buren. That puts you on the W&OD at Banneker Park.

[DismalScientist]

@MattAune 58561 wrote:

This was my original plan, but i could not figure out the best way to navigate 7 corners. Any tips on what to do when you hit Rte. 50 on Annandale Rd? I would love to figure this out for weekend recreational riding routes headed west on the W&OD.

I’m sure Shawn Dread would recommend turning right on the frontage road to 50 and left on Cherry St to the WOD at Banneker Park.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=little+river+turnpike+and+hummer+road&daddr=Washington+and+Old+Dominion+Trail,+Arlington,+VA&hl=en&sll=38.841981,-77.149343&sspn=0.112177,0.070295&geocode=FbmKUAIdY9tl-ylLpgdP20y2iTEkQnXE9GqWeg%3BFeYQUQIdJSpn-yld4f15ODi2iTHJ8S_S9BdzOA&oq=washington+and+old+&dirflg=b&mra=ls&t=m&z=13&lci=bike

[DismalScientist]

@ShawnoftheDread 58564 wrote:

Make a right on the service road on either side of Arlington Blvd. Then make a left on Cherry (the first light east of Annandale), right on Columbia, and left on Van Buren. That puts you on the W&OD at Banneker Park.

Yea… What he said.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Good lord, are there four Annandale commuters on one thread? Where’s lordofthemark?

I take the Hummer/Annandale Rd to Cherry to W&OD route outlined above to go to DC. I’ve tried various routes cutting through Lincolnia, Dora Kelly Nature Preserve, and NVCC-Alexandria, but I’ve found that they only save a couple of miles and actually add time and aggravation.

[lordofthemark]

@ShawnoftheDread 58567 wrote:

Good lord, are there four Annandale commuters on one thread? Where’s lordofthemark?

I take the Hummer/Annandale Rd to Cherry to W&OD route outlined above to go to DC. I’ve tried various routes cutting through Lincolnia, Dora Kelly Nature Preserve, and NVCC-Alexandria, but I’ve found that they only save a couple of miles and actually add time and aggravation.

Lord of the mark has a fitness center form he needs to fill out sitting on his desk (this was not the week to bike commute with no shower) and also needs to follow up with the parking office. So he isn’t yet quite a bike commuter beyond the one day – and since he intends to ride only from the Pentagon bus station to the near SouthEast, his input here will not be useful. I will look at the routes, but I don’t think they will entice me away from the express bus and its bike rack, just yet.

[dasgeh]

Whether you take Napes suggestion straight through S Arlington, or the Dismal/Shawn suggestion to get to the W&OD, why don’t you cut over to Fort Myer (from the W&OD, get off at 7th St S and work your way over to 2nd St S, which will put you on base)? From there, head to Henderson Hall, which will put you on Southgate Road. That will take you to the Washington Blvd trail and either straight into the Pentagon South parking lot or on the 27 trail, which I know goes to the Boundary Channel.

(I would give you a map, but I can’t find the “link” option in new google maps. Any thoughts? )

[Bilsko]

@dasgeh 58581 wrote:

(I would give you a map, but I can’t find the “link” option in new google maps. Any thoughts? )

If you’re using the new Google Maps, then you just take the link from address bar and send that – they’ve embedded all the info into the webpage address

[dasgeh]

@Bilsko 58582 wrote:

If you’re using the new Google Maps, then you just take the link from address bar and send that – they’ve embedded all the info into the webpage address

I tried that, but it linked to the default route for that start and end, not the adjusted route… Grr….

[ShawnoftheDread]

@lordofthemark 58580 wrote:

Lord of the mark has a fitness center form he needs to fill out sitting on his desk (this was not the week to bike commute with no shower) and also needs to follow up with the parking office. So he isn’t yet quite a bike commuter beyond the one day – and since he intends to ride only from the Pentagon bus station to the near SouthEast, his input here will not be useful. I will look at the routes, but I don’t think they will entice me away from the express bus and its bike rack, just yet.

We’ll get you off that bus soon, I’m sure of it.

[KayakCyndi]

@ShawnoftheDread 58564 wrote:

Make a right on the service road on either side of Arlington Blvd. Then make a left on Cherry (the first light east of Annandale), right on Columbia, and left on Van Buren. That puts you on the W&OD at Banneker Park.

Yep, what he said. It is by far the easiest way across Route 50. Do that enough times and your bound to run into me and Shawn eventually.

[dbb]

@MattAune 58550 wrote:

The plan was Braddock -> 236 -> N. Beauregard -> 4MRT -> Jeff Davis -> Crystal Drive -> long Branch -> Pentagon. Long Bridge was bad, and the Rte. 1 to Crystal drive was probably worth bypassing as well. I could take Eads from the trail and go all the way to the south side of the pentagon, or I could go a mile extra and take the MVT.

I would turn off the FMR Trail on Eads (between the wastewater plant and the bus parking lot. Most of Eads has either marked bike lanes or sharrows. Eads takes you right into the Pentagon South lot. I presume there is a clean route from the south lot to the north. If you don’t want to do Eads, come one block west to Fern when you get to the McDonalds.

For Long Bridge, I think the paving will be a godsend but the southern end of Boundary Channel under 395 is likely to still be a bit dicey. Not very smooth and the darkness makes it hard to spot the debris.

You hit on a potentially good alternative, going up the MVT and through the LBJ Memorial to the north lot. Good route if you need more miles.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@KayakCyndi 58599 wrote:

Do that enough times and your bound to run into me and Shawn eventually.

But don’t let that deter you.

[americancyclo]

@DismalScientist 58565 wrote:

I’m sure Shawn Dread would recommend turning right on the frontage road to 50 and left on Cherry St to the WOD at Banneker Park.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=little+river+turnpike+and+hummer+road&daddr=Washington+and+Old+Dominion+Trail,+Arlington,+VA&hl=en&sll=38.841981,-77.149343&sspn=0.112177,0.070295&geocode=FbmKUAIdY9tl-ylLpgdP20y2iTEkQnXE9GqWeg%3BFeYQUQIdJSpn-yld4f15ODi2iTHJ8S_S9BdzOA&oq=washington+and+old+&dirflg=b&mra=ls&t=m&z=13&lci=bike

He’s a smart man, since that’s the same route that the BTWD convoy follows…

[Author]

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