Tysons cycle routes

[eminva]

Excellent post. You have a mixture of heart pumping adrenaline rides and bucolic rides through the woods.

The FABB blog also links to maps with routes to get to the Silver Line stations in both Tysons and Reston:

Bicycling and the Silver Line

Dirt and I mapped out the routes to the Tysons stations and reconnoitered them earlier this year. They are deliberately beginner friendly, so feel free to pass these along to less intrepid commuters who are considering a mixed mode commute using the Silver Line.

How do you find riding on Route 7 across the beltway? My son is starting at Marshall High School next month and we live in Vienna. He can either take the W&OD and work his way to Idylwood and Route 7 or ride to Tysons and then over the bridge on Route 7. Both have their downsides and there is no really great option, of course.

Thanks.

Liz

[Vicegrip]

@eminva 91782 wrote:

Excellent post. You have a mixture of heart pumping adrenaline rides and bucolic rides through the woods.

The FABB blog also links to maps with routes to get to the Silver Line stations in both Tysons and Reston:

Bicycling and the Silver Line

Dirt and I mapped out the routes to the Tysons stations and reconnoitered them earlier this year. They are deliberately beginner friendly, so feel free to pass these along to less intrepid commuters who are considering a mixed mode commute using the Silver Line.

How do you find riding on Route 7 across the beltway? My son is starting at Marshall High School next month and we live in Vienna. He can either take the W&OD and work his way to Idylwood and Route 7 or ride to Tysons and then over the bridge on Route 7. Both have their downsides and there is no really great option, of course.

Thanks.

Liz

I like a good hard frisky crank to and from work now and then but will not ride Rt7. For me too many phone face people. as you said ether it is cross Rt7 or take a long way around loop like trip around in order to stay on trails and light use roads. There needs to be a push to improve cycling in this area.

[n18]

@eminva 91782 wrote:

How do you find riding on Route 7 across the beltway? My son is starting at Marshall High School next month and we live in Vienna. He can either take the W&OD and work his way to Idylwood and Route 7 or ride to Tysons and then over the bridge on Route 7. Both have their downsides and there is no really great option, of course.

I have gone back and forth several times over Route 7 bridge over I-495 without problems. There are sidewalks on both sides now with curb cuts, and wide in some places. The sidewalks extend beyond the bridge so there is no need to walk your bike. The last time I have gone there though maybe 2 or 3 months ago.

[Rockford10]

I’ve done it a couple of times and the Rt. 7 bridge over 495 was terrible. I waited for a very long time at a curb cut to feel safe to cross over the drivers exiting the Beltway. It was so long I was feeling very desperate. Finally a car stopped for me and I could cross.

It was a really unpleasant experience where I didn’t trust myself. I was there so long, I was worried I started to make bad decisions about when I could go. Cars exiting the Beltway are going very fast and aren’t looking for someone to walk/ride right in their path. It wasn’t even a low or questionable lighting situation, it’s that those drivers are looking over two lanes to see if they can merge right away.

[bobco85]

@Rockford10 91808 wrote:

I’ve done it a couple of times and the Rt. 7 bridge over 495 was terrible. I waited for a very long time at a curb cut to feel safe to cross over the drivers exiting the Beltway. It was so long I was feeling very desperate. Finally a car stopped for me and I could cross.

It was a really unpleasant experience where I didn’t trust myself. I was there so long, I was worried I started to make bad decisions about when I could go. Cars exiting the Beltway are going very fast and aren’t looking for someone to walk/ride right in their path. It wasn’t even a low or questionable lighting situation, it’s that those drivers are looking over two lanes to see if they can merge right away.

Is it like the other bridge crossings over I-495 with pedestrian crossings that offer little to no safety for those without large collapsible boxes around them? Do the crossings look like these: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?4396-Crossing-the-Gallows-Road-Bridge-over-I-495 and http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?4378-Crossing-the-Little-River-Turnpike-Bridge-over-I-495

I’m going to jump the gun before your response and assume the answer is: “Yes, Fairfax really screwed up the safety aspects of the pedestrian crossings for all bridges when it did the HOT lanes project!”

[DaveS]

@eminva 91782 wrote:

The FABB blog also links to maps with routes to get to the Silver Line stations in both Tysons and Reston:

Bicycling and the Silver Line

Thanks for these links. There are a couple ideas here I’m going to try on longer rides.

@eminva 91782 wrote:

How do you find riding on Route 7 across the beltway? My son is starting at Marshall High School next month and we live in Vienna. He can either take the W&OD and work his way to Idylwood and Route 7 or ride to Tysons and then over the bridge on Route 7. Both have their downsides and there is no really great option, of course.

There are a number of segments that make me a little nervous in the routes I take but I don’t consider the beltway crossing on 7 one of them, mainly because you’re on a wide sidewalk with curb cuts at the exits. If you stay on the sidewalk, watch the light where the express lanes hit, and work with the drivers coming on and off, you should be fine. I frequently don’t have to drop a foot. For what its worth the north side is probably a little safer/easier because you don’t have to deal with the 2 lane eastbound merge of 7 onto 495 south and there are less lanes to cross at the Express Lane light. I can provide tips for getting back or going to the south side on either end if anyone’s interested. I cross this bridge, I’d say, 4 times a week on average. In the end its how comfortable you feel. Liz, for a high schooler, I don’t know. Maybe you take him out on the ride once. I will say that on occasion when I don’t feel like dealing with riding in traffic, this route 7 / Pimmit hills route is the one I take.

Dave

[DaveS]

@bobco85 91813 wrote:

Is it like the other bridge crossings over I-495 with pedestrian crossings that offer little to no safety for those without large collapsible boxes around them? Do the crossings look like these: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?4396-Crossing-the-Gallows-Road-Bridge-over-I-495 and http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?4378-Crossing-the-Little-River-Turnpike-Bridge-over-I-495

I’m going to jump the gun before your response and assume the answer is: “Yes, Fairfax really screwed up the safety aspects of the pedestrian crossings for all bridges when it did the HOT lanes project!”

Yes, they look like those. The sidewalks on 7 may be wider but it is just sidewalks and curb cuts. There is a traffic light where the Express Lane intersects and for regular 495 traffic it is a clover leaf so there are 4 exit/entries on either side with curb cuts. All the exit/entries are single lane except the eastbound 7 onto 495 south which is 2 lanes.

[DaveS]

Here’s another route I started taking. See link. Magarity instead of Lisle through Pimmit hills, north side of 7 across 495, Pinnacle road which I got as a tip from another forum user. Thanks JimF22003.

http://www.strava.com/activities/173875558

[eminva]

I’m willing to commute with him in the morning as long as necessary. I can detour a bit on my way into DC. We will try different routes, but we won’t repeat anything he’s not comfortable with.

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to the day when Tyson’s is fully bike and pedestrian friendly. But not holding my breath.

Liz

[DaveS]

@eminva 91782 wrote:

Excellent post. You have a mixture of heart pumping adrenaline rides and bucolic rides through the woods.

The FABB blog also links to maps with routes to get to the Silver Line stations in both Tysons and Reston:

Bicycling and the Silver Line

Dirt and I mapped out the routes to the Tysons stations and reconnoitered them earlier this year. They are deliberately beginner friendly, so feel free to pass these along to less intrepid commuters who are considering a mixed mode commute using the Silver Line.

Nice job with this by the way. Let me know if you need anything scoped out in the future. Dave

[DaveS]

The path behind the Tysons Walmart (or in the row house neighborhood behind Walmart) is open again. This path leads into West Vienna and is a good way to work your way to the W&OD from Tysons. It was shut down for repaving but re-opened on August 1st. Dave

[Vicegrip]

@DaveS 92299 wrote:

The path behind the Tysons Walmart (or in the row house neighborhood behind Walmart) is open again. This path leads into West Vienna and is a good way to work your way to the W&OD from Tysons. It was shut down for repaving but re-opened on August 1st. Dave

And they did a great job too!

This little path ends up being kind of a key path as there is almost no other clean non busy road route out of that end of tysons.

[DaveS]

A sidewalk/path has just been completed on the south side of Lewinsville Rd, just west of the beltway bridge. If you ride Lewinsville Road much you’ll think of this area as the “the squeeze” with just single lane traffic and no shoulder and was a little sketchy when heading west up the hill slowly. You can now be on a sidewalk during that short stretch and if you want you can take the sidewalk all the way until the bike lane on the other side, although I don’t think that’s necessary. This short stretch was really the only part of Lewinsville Road I thought a little perilous (except for the light at Spring Hill but that’s for a another time); outside of that the road is fine and when heading east there are long strips where there is car parking which acts as a wide shoulder.

Dave

[Vicegrip]

Was looking for the right place to post this and found your post.

To add The bike path is a bit odd only in that you will need to cross the street near the bridge that crosses over 495. There is now a crosswalk set up there. This makes this route safe for most all riders now.

[DaveS]

@Vicegrip 93400 wrote:

Was looking for the right place to post this and found your post.

To add The bike path is a bit odd only in that you will need to cross the street near the bridge that crosses over 495. There is now a crosswalk set up there. This makes this route safe for most all riders now.

That crosswalk is on the other side (east side) of the beltway bridge, however, so if you are heading west coming from McLean towards Tysons and you want to use the new sidewalk, you would need to use the crosswalk before crossing the bridge, then cross bridge and continue on the new sidewalk. Cheers.

[Author]

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