Routing assistance – Adams Morgan to Ballston

[Alcova cyclist]

Would like advice on cycle commutes between Adams Morgan in DC to Ballston.

I’d like to be off-street as much as possible, so I was planning to take MVT to Custis for the Virginia part of the commute, but not sure of the best way to handle the DC portion. Would Rock Creek Park trail work? Which bridge would be the best crossing? Google maps seems to want me to go through Georgetown on M street, but this seems likely to be trafficky and unpleasant.

In general, my main priority would be for a safer route – off road trails would be preferred, otherwise looking for PBL, quieter streets, etc. (I’m not totally uncomfortable mixing in traffic, I’d just generally prefer not to).

Thanks in advance!

[viennabiker]

@Alcova cyclist 225814 wrote:

Would like advice on cycle commutes between Adams Morgan in DC to Ballston.

I’d like to be off-street as much as possible, so I was planning to take MVT to Custis for the Virginia part of the commute, but not sure of the best way to handle the DC portion. Would Rock Creek Park trail work? Which bridge would be the best crossing? Google maps seems to want me to go through Georgetown on M street, but this seems likely to be trafficky and unpleasant.

In general, my main priority would be for a safer route – off road trails would be preferred, otherwise looking for PBL, quieter streets, etc. (I’m not totally uncomfortable mixing in traffic, I’d just generally prefer not to).

Thanks in advance!

I used to do that in reverse, but some years back, so my advice might be dated. Rock creek would be a great place to start–entering at Harvard Street or Calvert might be best depending on where you are starting in Adams Morgan. I was coming from or going to Vienna in which case the TR bridge made the most sense; to get there from Rock Creek, you take a left on Virginia Avenue (there is now a protected bike line there), hanging a right after the Watergate and joining the path along 25th street that leads the way over the TR Bridge, going north past Roosevelt Island and coming up at the Intersection of Doom, joining the Custis there.

This route would meet all your criteria, though the TR bridge path is very narrow (I got used to it).

The Google maps route through Georgetown would put you over the Key Bridge; you don’t need to use M Street but could instead use one of the parallel ones (like P) and then come down 34th (where there is a quite unprotected bike lane).

Memorial Bridge is a bit out of your way but is better for biking (though I have not crossed it since the construction project completed a couple years ago, I think. You could then take the MVT to Custis as you describe.

[Alcova cyclist]

Thanks – I was hoping something like that might work. I’ve ridden TR past Watergate onto Rock Creek before, but it was a while ago.

Agree that Memorial Bridge is a nice crossing (used to do that on commute with two completely different end-points that finished its DC leg down near the Wharf after cruising down the national mall), but would be a bit out of the way – and then I’d have to decide whether to stick to trails and go MVT to Custis or cut through Rosslyn on streets and come up into Ballston via Fairfax Dr.

Are the exit/entrance ramp crossings on Rock Creek trail crazy during rush hours?

[viennabiker]

@Alcova cyclist 225818 wrote:

Thanks – I was hoping something like that might work. I’ve ridden TR past Watergate onto Rock Creek before, but it was a while ago.

Agree that Memorial Bridge is a nice crossing (used to do that on commute with two completely different end-points that finished its DC leg down near the Wharf after cruising down the national mall), but would be a bit out of the way – and then I’d have to decide whether to stick to trails and go MVT to Custis or cut through Rosslyn on streets and come up into Ballston via Fairfax Dr.

Are the exit/entrance ramp crossings on Rock Creek trail crazy during rush hours?

I do Rock Creek daily and there’s rarely a problem. If you get on at Harvard, the zoo gate is closed so you have to cross Beach Drive but there is a user-activated light and cars usually stop even without out. If you get on at Calvert, the hill is steep and there are lots of joggers/runners.

Rock Creek Trail was repaved north of P Street and it is very smooth. Between P Street and Virginia Ave, the trail is narrow so you have to slow if there’s anybody coming the other way–moderate number of joggers but in rush hour most people seem very aware it’s a multi-use trail. I have found them most plentiful south of Virginia Avenue in front of the Kennedy Center (if you go down to the Memorial Bridge). The K Street crossing needs a bit of care and sometimes P Street too–most drivers yield but occasionally someone just doesn’t see bicycles. The crossing at Virginia Ave is often full, but there’s a light. The only spot that consistently needs a bit of awareness is the bike lane on Virginia Ave–drivers pulling out of the Watergate often are looking the wrong way.

[Alcova cyclist]

I’ve moved and have now done this commute a few times. I’ll resurrect my own dormant thread to pass along my thanks and share what I have learned and what works for me:

Short version is that I come close to the route suggested by viennabiker, but with some differences east of Rock Creek depending which direction I am going.

I didn’t find that taking Rock Creek park down to the I-66/TR bridge is worth it – it’s a longer trip, and I find the TR bridge to be the worst of all of the downtown river crossings (it’s the narrowest, traffic moves faster than other bridges, and the “barrier” is so laughably low that it would only serve to launch a rider who hits it into the middle of the travel lane). Also, I didn’t find the sometimes crowded Rock Creek Park MUP all that much preferable to staying on surface roads.

From Adams Morgan to Ballston, I take Florida down the hill to P street. It sucks that there’s no bike lane, but the downhill means you can generally stay at traffic speed, and in the mornings traffic is not crazy; I’ve never felt uncomfortable on that stretch. I cross Rock Creek on P, then follow the trail for a couple of blocks through Rose park to “O” street and then pick my way sort of at random along the neighborhood streets north of “M” until I pick up Prospect St at Wisconsin. This takes me to 34th ST and down to “M” just a half block east of the Key bridge — then Custis Trail to Ballston.

Ballston to Adams Morgan: Custis to Key Bridge (upstream side) and then walk or ride the sidewalk (depending on pedestrian traffic) on the north side of M to “Bank Alley” up to Prospect to Wisconsin. A half-block on Wisconsin to “N” and then pick my way back to Rose Park to P and across Rock Creek. This time I stay on P a couple of blocks almost to Dupont Circle — taking 20th to Q -it’s all bike lanes from here- and then New Hampshire to 17th into Adams Morgan. Sometimes I skip New Hampshire and just take Q all the way to 17th. Of note, the bike lane on 17th is designated as an “upstream” corridor opposite to the one-way car traffic, so you have to be careful and assume neither drivers nor pedestrians are expecting you to come from that direction. But it’s a quiet enough street that it feels fine.

Thanks again for the advice. I may start a separate thread looking for some good, low-stress leisure rides that pass through this part of DC.

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