New commuter (Vienna to Crystal City)

[HaymarketDan]

Hello All,

I am interested in taking the W&OD to 4MR Trail to the MV trail once or twice a week. Now that I have a 9-to-5 job for the first time in 19 years, I’m trying to make up for some lost road time. I prefer cycling outdoors vs. an indoor stationary bike. I have winter gear and have biked in poor weather. What I am not familar with is biking in the dark and on the route I mentioned above. I’m concerned with the surface conditions and getting a flat tire in the dark earlier morning hours (leaving @ 530am from Vienna), and any tricky crossing points from those familiar with this route. (I did see the post about avoiding the new sidewalk around Beanie Weenie.) The route I created on MapMyRide shows about 14 miles; am curious with darkness and road-crossings, how long do you think the ride will take? All my road cycling experience is based on rolling hills in Fauquier County. Any tips or suggestions from the group would be great.

Thank you ~

Dan from Haymarket

Topic

[HaymarketDan]

This is great stuff. Thx for all the suggestions. I hv purchased better tires and am looking into better lights n reflectors. I have the clothing and will do a test ride this coming weekend. Hope to make it 2-3 times a week starting next week.

Dan

[off2ride]

Abundant info already in here. Invest in good, rugged tires. Specialized Armadillo Elite’s does it for me. Getting a puncture in a dark, cold trail isn’t fun. Start with the tires.

[Terpfan]

@PotomacCyclist 12744 wrote:

There’s an unofficial dirt path from FMR to Potomac Ave. but it’s very steep. I wouldn’t ride a bike on it.

There are long-term plans to remake the waterfront in that area as part of the Potomac Yard development in Alexandria (future Metro station, new urban mixed-use high-rise development). One of the former railroad bridges would be removed and the area turned into a landscaped park, perhaps with a better bike connection (?) from FMR to Potomac Ave. But that probably won’t be built for a couple years at the earliest.

I think I have seen that unofficial dirt path and I’m not sure I would even consider walking it with a bike. But I would love if they adjoined 4MR to Potomac Ave.

To broader thread topic, I think your worst part will be simply the road crossovers on 4MR. The rest is pretty benign. Well, that, ninjas and/or people walking 5 abrest with headphones on who are totally oblivious to you. Which is a reminder that if you’re not going to call out vocally (and pretty loud) than you definitely need a bell.

[HaymarketDan]

Did the test ride last Saturday and commuted first time this morning. Vienna @ 5:45am was 19*f but it wasn’t bad at all. I wore 4/2 this morning and 3/1 on the way back. Thanks for all the tips – everyone’s comments were very encouraging. I enjoyed the heck out of the ride this morning and met riders along the way – Kurt from Frederick and Kent from Vienna. I considered taking Rt 1 to Crystal Drive off of 4MRT, but I decided to stick with MVT. I head to the Sports & Fitness and it would have been maybe 1-2 miles shorter, but w/o the traffic and lights, probably equal time I figured. Terpsfan, yes I need a bell.

[KLizotte]

@HaymarketDan 13321 wrote:

I enjoyed the heck out of the ride this morning and met riders along the way – Kurt from Frederick and Kent from Vienna.

Keep it up as best you can thru the yuckiness of winter coming up. You’ll be amazed what a difference the warm weather makes on the commute as well as the advancing daylight (at least until the yuckiness of summer arrives). You’ve started on what I think may be the coldest days we’ve had so far.

Saw a ton of commuters tonight on the MVT (including a CaBi near the airport without any other lights than that provided by the bike itself – the new CaBi front light is a lot brighter but the rear light still needs a lot of help).

[dbb]

@PotomacCyclist 12744 wrote:

There’s an unofficial dirt path from FMR to Potomac Ave. but it’s very steep. I wouldn’t ride a bike on it.

Late entry – Dredged up a photo to show the wonder of the alternative path

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[PotomacCyclist]

The WashCycle has a post about the development plans for that area. The Alexandria Transportation Commission posted an update on Potomac Yard projects. They briefly mention that one of the old railroad bridges will be demolished (maybe sometime this decade?). One of the maps I’ve seen before, shows a new park on that slope between Rte. 1, Potomac Ave., Four Mile Run and the Eclipse. It looks like there is some sort of new path down the slope in the plans, but I don’t know if it would be suitable for bikes. It wouldn’t go straight down the hill.

But I don’t think this park will be built for at least a few years. I haven’t read about any updates for that plot of land (Landbay E). The Alexandria memo only notes that demolition plans for the bridge have been submitted and reviewed. So maybe the unused bridge gets demolished within two years. (Just my guess.) And then another year or two for redevelopment of the land.

There is already a lot of other construction going on in that area: Potomac Yard Park (on the east side of Potomac Ave. and the bike trail), several townhouse developments, possible office and retail in a few years, maybe a hotel to the south of Target, a planned in-fill Metro station at Potomac Yard, and maybe a redevelopment of the entire shopping center area (with a new high-rise business/retail/residential/hotel district built up near the new Metro station).

[Author]

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