Nauck neighborhood – okay to commute through Army Navy country club every day?

[Judd]

Those houses on S. Barton are cute. I’ve been keeping my eye out for rentals there.

A little bit longer, but you could also take Walter Reed to Kenmore to Shirlington Rd to 4MRT and then either double back on Army-Navy Dr or take the lovely Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway to the MVT.

One thing to consider: There will be no way for you to get home that doesn’t involve a hill.

[EasyRider]

@KLizotte 161550 wrote:

I am loathe to bike on Columbia Pike so the easiest way for me to get into DC would be to use the golf club shortcut to Army Navy Drive.

You might try putting down the sidewalk on the Pike to the Pentagon.

[huskerdont]

[QUOTE=Judd;161564

One thing to consider: There will be no way for you to get home that doesn’t involve a hill.

You say that as if it were a bad thing. I don’t understand.

[Judd]

@EasyRider 161582 wrote:

You might try putting down the sidewalk on the Pike to the Pentagon.

I’ve done this for short stretches, mostly on the way home when traffic is heavy on the Pike. I’ve started taking some back streets to avoid riding on the narrow sections of the sidewalk. The sidewalk is wide from the hotel to just past the bridge. I duck into a side street, cut through an apartment complex parking lot and then cross the Pike. If I’m going further down the Pike, instead of crossing, turn right out of the apartment complex, take the sidewalk for one block and then cut into the Dorchester Towers parking lot to S. Courthouse and then take the 6th Street bike lane.

To get to S. Barton on the Pike during heavy traffic, I’d probably do my sidewalk avoidance routine, take S. Courthouse, turn left on to 8th, turn left on to Wayne St., turn right into the complex with Giant and then cross at the stop light.

So, you can avoid traffic on the Pike with just those 14 easy steps.

In the morning, I just wait for traffic to catch the red light at S. Courthouse and then just take the left lane until I turn left at the Sheraton. Most folks are turning right at the bridge and the road is downhill so I’m close to being at speed with the rest of the traffic. I’ve only had someone yell at me once after doing this for nearly two years.

My typical route home: https://www.strava.com/activities/1033806661

[KLizotte]

Ha! So there is a secret “back way” through apartment bldg lots. Frankly that kind of route and the big climb up the pike would drive me nutty.

Yeah, I really need to ride my bike this week and see what my options are. Esp check out the hills since I’ve only used the club shortcut downhill. Overall the location is great considering my budget but it is a bit of an island bikewise. Arlington really needs to work harder on improving the Pike for nondrivers.

I suppose I could always take the bus home from the Pentagon or PC. I know. Heresy.

[anomad]

I’ve lived in a lot of different places over the years and always carefully considered biking or walking to work. I’ve deeply regretted living somewhere with less than optimal bike or walk commuting. If I were buying I would plan meticulously around this consideration. So, in my opinion, you’re on the right path. You’ll adjust to a climb, but something unsafe or awkward will always bother you if riding to work is a priority.

@KLizotte 161593 wrote:

Ha! So there is a secret “back way” through apartment bldg lots. Frankly that kind of route and the big climb up the pike would drive me nutty.

Yeah, I really need to ride my bike this week and see what my options are. Esp check out the hills since I’ve only used the club shortcut downhill. Overall the location is great considering my budget but it is a bit of an island bikewise. Arlington really needs to work harder on improving the Pike for nondrivers.

I suppose I could always take the bus home from the Pentagon or PC. I know. Heresy.

[dasgeh]

Eventually, there will be a trail from the tunnel under 395 that the Country Club uses up to Hoffman-Boston school, which will be very useful to you. CIP has this in (I think) 2022

Of course, eventually, the land swap should go through and the Pike should be realigned and there may be better facilities on the Pike. Maybe.

[dasgeh]

Oh, and I did commute through there twice in one week, but only in the afternoon. That said, there wasn’t a guard house and the road doesn’t go that close to any buildings, so I’d be pretty surprised if anyone noticed that you were commuting through every day. I do not, however, know the times the road is open.

[KLizotte]

^^I greatly agree (though the real estate agent thinks I’m a bit nuts) but it it is proving very, very difficult to find a place within 45 mins to work on public transportation, less than 60 min bike commute that won’t scare me, walking distance to amenities, preferably on the yellow line (least delayed/crowded), at least 755 sq feet, will not require walking bike up a flight or more of stairs, has parking, quiet/safe neighborhood, won’t require a lot of renovation/upkeep, low condo fees, etc. all for $300K or less.

Augh. Just discovered that the country club hill is an 8% climb. Augh.

[Judd]

@dasgeh 161597 wrote:

Of course, eventually, the land swap should go through and the Pike should be realigned and there may be better facilities on the Pike. Maybe.

It’s good to have dreams…

[Judd]

@huskerdont 161587 wrote:

You say that as if it were a bad thing. I don’t understand.

It used to be an awful thing when I first started riding and was panting a quarter of the way up. It’s no longer awful, but when every single ride back home ends with a climb up a hill, a heavily trafficked highway and crossing two off ramps where 80% of cars run the red light or pull into the crosswalk all without ever even looking for bike/peds, it kinda sucks.

[anomad]

The climb is totally insignificant in comparison to your other concerns. Even if you walk up it or have to put a teeny weeny smallest gear on your bike. I lived at the top of a killer hill once and learned to love it, bottomed out in my triple on the worst winter nights. Mornings were 30+ mph delight.

@KLizotte 161599 wrote:

^^I greatly agree (though the real estate agent thinks I’m a bit nuts) but it it is proving very, very difficult to find a place within 45 mins to work on public transportation, less than 60 min bike commute that won’t scare me, walking distance to amenities, preferably on the yellow line (least delayed/crowded), at least 755 sq feet, will not require walking bike up a flight or more of stairs, has parking, quiet/safe neighborhood, won’t require a lot of renovation/upkeep, low condo fees, etc. all for $300K or less.

Augh. Just discovered that the country club hill is an 8% climb. Augh.

[Judd]

@KLizotte 161593 wrote:

Ha! So there is a secret “back way” through apartment bldg lots. Frankly that kind of route and the big climb up the pike would drive me nutty.

I used to write the whole way up the sidewalk in the evening, which is okay as long as there is nobody else on it. The sidewalk is narrow so it’s hard to pass and there’s also a bus stop that sometimes has people waiting or exiting the bus. The back way is actually kind of nice. There’s a park with a CABI station and I like to see folks out there playing volleyball or tennis. Dorchester Towers also has a nice rose garden out back that I enjoy riding past.

[KLizotte]

I know but losing my two stop metro commute is gonna kill me. I live and work on metro and have had a 25 minute commute for 15 years. I can walk to most everything I need. That’s why I have remained in my rental for so long. It will be a tough adjustment. Plus I’ve just discovered one way commuting on Cabi (my work schedule is weird).

I’m trying to convince myself that the hills will make up for losing the gym in my building.

[Judd]

@anomad 161602 wrote:

The climb is totally insignificant in comparison to your other concerns. Even if you walk up it or have to put a teeny weeny smallest gear on your bike. I lived at the top of a killer hill once and learned to love it, bottomed out in my triple on the worst winter nights. Mornings were 30+ mph delight.

That is the upside. You start the morning off bombing down a hill at 25-30 mph. I’d much rather start the morning with a climb when I’m rested though.

The places on Barton are older have a lot of square footage for the price and pretty much everything that I need is within walking distance.

[Author]

Posts