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That’s one hell of an effort in any conditions, let alone cold/wet!

It is doable in two – I have a friend who, in his words, “just” made it to DC in 2 days on “two cool, bone dry days in late summer.” That said, this was before Amtrak roll-on. He spent the night in Pittsburgh the night before and got plenty of sleep before heading out at 4am or so. Went Pittsburgh>Hancock, as you had planned, then started around 7am the next day.

If you, or anybody else, ever wants to try it with a support vehicle, feel free to hit me up if you need some suggested stops for drivers. I organized a charity ride from Pittsburgh>DC that went off in ’13 and ’14 (but sadly not this year) and have cue sheets for rest stops spaced about every 12-18 miles all done up and the corresponding driving directions done as well. With only a couple of riders going at a good pace, you’d probably only want to do every other stop. With some of the crazy backroads the support vehicles have to use, it’s pretty easy to beat the support to a rest area that’s 15 miles down the trail.

Love that ride…the GAP particularly, but I love the towpath as well.

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@DaveK 125524 wrote:

Gandy was terrible to ride on, actually even worse on the Tampa side. At least the St Pete side had a wide shoulder and the redneck riviera, assuming you didn’t get hit by someone drag racing. You can get there through the neighborhood though and just come in at Westshore to avoid the awfulness east of there. I’m sorry to hear about the old bridge, that was such a great amenity. They closed it just before I moved here (2009) because of structural issues and rising maintenance costs but I didn’t know it had finally been axed rather than repaired.

I don’t know the route through the neighborhoods, so the two times I’ve done it (both from St Pete > Tampa), I’ve continued down Gandy to Bayshore. Definitely a brutal ride for that stretch.

I was really impressed with St Pete, though. Some really nice infrastructure in that city, at least in the sections I rode. I took the 1st Ave South bike lane all the way West>East from the Treasure Island Causeway, then linked up with 1st St North for the majority of the South>North ride. That was particularly nice. One way car traffic (N>S) with a S>N bike lane (and a N>S) one running adjacent for a few miles, then a bike lane the rest of the way with the two lane traffic.

The demo of the old bridge started the week I was down there (19th>25th). Years of battles over it and a few private groups trying to raise the funds for repair (somewhere around 15-17 million) finally ended. Major, major bummer.

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@DaveK 125182 wrote:

The Tampa side of the Courtney Campbell used to be awful for cycling, but with the airport interchange project a few years ago they built a trail that connects down to Cypress St and from there into South Tampa and downtown. Should be a fun ride.

Just did that ride two weeks ago while on a business trip. From downtown down Cypress, over the causeway, and to Clearwater, down Clearwater and the other barrier islands to Treasure Island, and back across St Pete to the Gandy Bridge to get back to downtown.

Great ride. Nice mix of trail, bike lanes, and open road. The completed Causeway is awesome. It’s just a shame that the old Friendship Bridge next to the Gandy is being demolished. Hopefully when they have to build a new vehicle span (within 6 or 7 years, I think), they can convert the closed one to a trail again. The Gandy isn’t horrible for riding (wide shoulder), but it’s definitely not great either. And the lead-up to it has you on a shoulder/bike lane right next to 60+ mph traffic for a mile or two.

Two shots from the Causeway:

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Tree has been cut up and removed.

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Tree down on W&OD between Gallows and Cedar. You can get past on the westbound lane shoulder.

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Cross-Country Trail – late morning:

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Took advantage of the string of non-rainy days and enjoyed the Cross-County Trail for my morning commute. What a great ride through woods. So much more peaceful than the WOD.

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I’ve done that ride going this way. It’s a pretty good haul – ~27 miles – but pretty decent in terms of available trails/sidepaths/bike lanes.

123, cutting over to FFX County Parkway Trail at Burke Lake
Right on Hooes
Left on Newington Forest
Right on South Run Valley Trail shortly after Summer Breeze Lane (Note: You can turn onto the trail earlier, but then have to deal with two stream crossings)
Left at 2nd Folk in Trail, follow to Magic Leaf Road
Right on Magic Leaf
Right on Pohick, follow across 95
Left on Whernside Street
Left on Telegraph
Left on Beulah
Right on Manchester
Left on Kingstown Village Pkwy
Left on Van Dorn
Right on Castlewellan, road changes name to Ballycastle, follow to bike path (on right)
Bike Path to Celtic Drive
Left on Rose Hill, follow across Franconia, road becomes Bush Hill Drive (slightly to left at light at Franconia)
Right on Ninian
Left on Jane
Right on Larno
Left on Upland
Left on Clermont, follow to dead end and go down Z-trail
Cross under 495
Right on Eisenhower

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One who realized that riding to/from work greatly increases the amount of beer that can be consumed during the week without getting (too much) fatter.

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I’m glad the rain held off – turned out to be a perfect day for a W&OD/C&O Loop

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I rode the Parkway from Fair Lakes to the WOD fairly regularly the last couple of years – it’s a nice long way home for me (adds about 7 miles to my trip to Falls Church) and perfect for spring and summer nights when I bug out of the office a bit early.

I left out the word “trail” intentionally. I’ll take the trail for the first couple of miles – enough to get across 50 and maybe as far as Franklin Farm. But the shoulder of the Parkway is a much better and safer ride between there and the WOD. Haven’t been on the trail since late November, but I had pretty much given up on it at that point between construction and poor maintenance. I hop back onto the trail at the Sunset Hills ramp crossing. Need to take the lane for a brief stretch after Sunrise Valley, but that’s way better than dealing with the awful crossing.

With kids, though….no way I’d be on the shoulder.

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A few from this evening:

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Stopped at Old Ox on a ride two weekends ago and got a sampler flight.

I thought their Rye Porter was extremely good. I also really enjoyed the Mexican Hot Chocolate Porter – took home a half growler of that. Great after-dinner sipper.

The two IPAs I tried – the session and the West Coast – were decent, but nothing special. Both extremely quaffable, but nothing I’d rush to get.

They’re about to introduce a Jalapeno Pale Ale. I’m very much looking forward to trying that one once they tap it.

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@KWL 112088 wrote:

When you do start checking out Kingstowne commuting routes, I’ll be looking for your recommendations. My son, who is also a contractor, just picked up a new assignment in Kingstowne. He lives in Del Ray and had bike commuted to Metro for his former, (cushy, it seemed to me) job in DC. I’d like to see him push himself to riding to his new Kingstowne job a few days a week.

I’ve ridden to my brother’s place in Kingstowne a few times (from Falls Church). Can’t recommend a route from Del Ray, but once you get to Eisenhower Avenue, I’d take a left on Clermont and follow that under the Beltway and up the zig-zag trail (big climb once off the zig-zag) to the neighborhood streets. From there, it’s easy enough to stay in the neighborhoods and cross Franconia at a light at Rose Hill Shopping Center. Cut back behind Edison High School on Celtic/Ballycastle/Castlewellen, come out on Van Dorn, make a left and bomb downhill, and you’re at the Village Center.

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A friend did a little photoshop work on another shot from that set above. This one might go on the wall.

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