Route from Rosslyn to SW DC?

[Geoff]

@dasgeh 79452 wrote:

I HATE that downhill because it just means I have to go that much more uphill to get to the top of the climb.

Don’t you know, hills are God’s way of making sure we get a good workout?

[dasgeh]

@Terpfan 79459 wrote:

Without adding much, you definitely want to take the 14th St bridge of those two choices. You could do TR and even Key to lesser extent, but if it were me, I would be doing 14th. Folks at my job ask why I cross that way in route from south of OT to job in upper NW. Everyone is convinced Memorial is faster. I said, quite possibly, presuming vehicles stop and don’t hit me (or each other in trying to stop for me). I already cross the GWMP down south of OT and that’s plenty of excite for me.

But if you’re coming from the North, you can get to Memorial via the 110 Trail, and you only have 1 crossing of the exit-ramp-from-27-to-the-Memorial Bridge, which is not bad.

And how bad the tourists are definitely depends on timing. I find they start clogging things up around 9:30am (which is SUPER late for many here).

[Emm]

Just throwing this out there in case anyone in the future comes by this post and has the same question I did. I’ve been biking for a few weeks now, and thanks to everyone’s help I sorted my routes out.

From home, I go this route: Iwo Jima Memorial to 110, then the Memorial bridge and to the mall. I stay on the paths until after the Washington monument, then take Jefferson Dr SW. Around 8 am this route is awesome. The paths are mostly empty and it’s really pretty. Plus Jefferson Dr is empty this time of day so I can go fast (which in an upright hybrid is probably very slow compared to a road biker )

On the way home, I take this route: Madison Dr to 15th, then E. Basin to 14th St bridge onto to MVT to Rosslyn. Madison Ave is a little like frogger in the evening with all the pedestrians and buses, but it’s not too bad. I just go slow and ride extra cautious.

I don’t like taking the Memorial bridge route home at night–too many pedestrians. I could easily take the 14th St bridge route to work, but I am always running late in the morning so I take the shorter route. I considered the Maine Ave route many of you recommended, but with the imminent construction on Water Street I didn’t feel like trying to figure it out, only to have to change my route later.

It looks like I’m moving to Del Ray in Alexandria this summer, which will extend my route by another 2-3 miles (depending on when they finish the 4MR construction). I already do that route a few times a week though. It’s also a really nice ride.

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