Wormhole pointless prize

[obscurerichard]

The #wormhole is here

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[bikesnick]

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Includes a narrow sidewalk.

[bikesnick]

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Includes about 16 steps.

[bikesnick]

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The entrance from Idylwood requires a curb hop and some gravel.
A sign at the entrance from Haycock says “No Outlet”.

[bikesnick]

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The entry going North looks like a private driveway.
There is dirt, mud, puddles, and then around the gate post
there is gravel.

[Steve O]

@bikesnick 197790 wrote:

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There are 3 connections to this wormhole: E Street SW (at the corner of 2nd SW), G Street SW (at the corner of 2nd SW) and S Capitol Street (under the Southwest Freeway, 695).
Between E and G there is a staircase, down and up, to portage your bike. The exit to S Capitol Street is through a parking lot.

After bikesnick posted this, I had to go see it for myself. I think this wormhole should be nominated as the top badassiest wormhole of all time. It has everything: hidden stairs, challenging to find entrances, doom-like setting, half-open gates, abandoned MoBikes, secret underpasses, electric escape buttons. What more could you want?!?!

Here’s the not-obvious entrance at 2nd & E SW. Note the arrow in the first photo pointing to my bike that you can see in the 2nd one.
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The stairs and passageway to the doomy under-freeway section
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Here’s where you come out looking from the other side. Lower photo shows the same wall looking to the right as you emerge. You can see the half-opened gate at the end of the wall.

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And here’s the half-opened gate that takes you into the parking lot of an apartment complex. To get out of the parking lot, you have to find the exit gate and press a button to unlock it to get free. That makes this a 1-way wormhole for this exit point.
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[Steve O]

@Steve O 198484 wrote:

After bikesnick posted this, I had to go see it for myself. I think this wormhole should be nominated as the top badassiest wormhole of all time.

CONTINUED
Here’s the doomy view from the stairs/passageway

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You traverse this parking lot under the freeway, which takes you to an underpass that takes you beside a park and out to S Capitol St.
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An abandoned MoBike spotted down there.
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[Steve O]

This wormhole was shown to me by the group riding to the Anacostia glass cleanup. Some commuters along the ART know of it as a way to avoid the glass. It also cuts off about a mile.

Entrance to the wormhole – guarded by Jersey barriers
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Then there’s this section of sometimes muddy, sometimes dirt
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Then an abandoned, potholed road
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Through another set of Jersey barriers
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Then along another rutted section and reconnect to the ART

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[Steve O]

@Steve O 198571 wrote:

This wormhole was shown to me by the group riding to the Anacostia glass cleanup. Some commuters along the ART know of it as a way to avoid the glass. It also cuts off about a mile.

Here’s a map of the wormhole. The route to the right is the usual ART; the circled section is the wormhole.
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[LuisFilipe]

@Steve O 198572 wrote:

Here’s a map of the wormhole. The route to the right is the usual ART; the circled section is the wormhole.
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I knew it was there but never explored it. So it’s either glass or dirt. Is it faster than going the normal route?

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[Tania]

@bentbike33 197898 wrote:

Sandburg St. sidewalk (Wormhole #3) isn’t really a shortcut, but takes you between Merrifield and the W&OD while avoiding the ridiculously narrow bike lanes on Gallows Rd.

Love this one. Dkel told me about it a few years ago and now I don’t have to ride the gallows bike lanes at all!

(But watch for kamikaze deer)

[Steve O]

@LuisFilipe 198574 wrote:

I knew it was there but never explored it. So it’s either glass or dirt. Is it faster than going the normal route?

It took me a lot longer, because I was taking photos. But I imagine it cuts off at least 2-3 minutes.
Also, no glass for now on the usual ART, since we swept it all up.

[LhasaCM]

@Steve O 198580 wrote:

It took me a lot longer, because I was taking photos. But I imagine it cuts off at least 2-3 minutes.
Also, no glass for now on the usual ART, since we swept it all up.

For a slower rider like me, it probably saves 4-5 minutes in cutting off that mile; I don’t lose too much speed with the off-road bits. Besides avoiding the grass, this route also offers a bit more protection against the wind on days where such a thing is important.

Within a couple of years (if everything stays on track), at least part of this path will be replaced with an actual trail nearby, connecting to the “to be constructed” bridge to the Arboretum. (The map for that connection is, I believe, still a work in progress, but appears to be running closer to the river)

[LhasaCM]

Belatedly adding here a couple of very “specific to me” wormholes. Not sure how useful they would be to most, but here goes.

1. The St. Paul’s wormhole (https://www.strava.com/activities/3083628809) – this shortcut connects 7th NE with 4th NE while avoiding Franklin and Monroe. Coming from the east, from 7th NE, go west on Jackson.

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Ignore the “No Outlet” sign and continue west as the street becomes Regent. Go up the hill, and then sneak between the parked cars and planters to get to the parking lot. At the other end of the parking lot is a stone path. Go on that, turn right, down the paved path/hill, and exit the fence on 4th. This is the “upper” path on the map; you also could follow the driveway to exit 4th a bit further south and with a curb cut as shown on the “lower” path on the map.

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2. The Brentwood Giant wormhole (https://www.strava.com/activities/3083048324) – this series of shortcuts/paths connects the MBT with Brentwood Road, cutting off a little bit of distance between Edgewood/RIA and Ivy City/Union Market and also avoiding Franklin and the crazy part of the 12th/Brentwood transition, as well as some of the Home Depot/Giant parking lot madness and elevation changes. This one is a rather obvious “wormhole” in that Google Maps now has it in its arsenal but that wasn’t always the case.

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From the MBT, take the pedestrian/bike bridge over the train tracks at the Rhode Island Avenue Metro. Turn right towards the garage, and then get on the sidewalk to find the ramp up to the shopping center parking lot. From the top of the ramp, go to the right behind the stores to cut through to Brentwood NE.

[LuisFilipe]

@LhasaCM 198585 wrote:

Belatedly adding here a couple of very “specific to me” wormholes. Not sure how useful they would be to most, but here goes.

1. The St. Paul’s wormhole (https://www.strava.com/activities/3083628809) – this shortcut connects 7th NE with 4th NE while avoiding Franklin and Monroe. Coming from the east, from 7th NE, go west on Jackson.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21260[/ATTACH]

Ignore the “No Outlet” sign and continue west as the street becomes Regent. Go up the hill, and then sneak between the parked cars and planters to get to the parking lot. At the other end of the parking lot is a stone path. Go on that, turn right, down the paved path/hill, and exit the fence on 4th. This is the “upper” path on the map; you also could follow the driveway to exit 4th a bit further south and with a curb cut as shown on the “lower” path on the map.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21261[/ATTACH]

2. The Brentwood Giant wormhole (https://www.strava.com/activities/3083048324) – this series of shortcuts/paths connects the MBT with Brentwood Road, cutting off a little bit of distance between Edgewood/RIA and Ivy City/Union Market and also avoiding Franklin and the crazy part of the 12th/Brentwood transition, as well as some of the Home Depot/Giant parking lot madness and elevation changes. This one is a rather obvious “wormhole” in that Google Maps now has it in its arsenal but that wasn’t always the case.

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From the MBT, take the pedestrian/bike bridge over the train tracks at the Rhode Island Avenue Metro. Turn right towards the garage, and then get on the sidewalk to find the ramp up to the shopping center parking lot. From the top of the ramp, go to the right behind the stores to cut through to Brentwood NE.

Great ones!!!

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