[DaveS]

@americancyclo 111024 wrote:

Heading there, Route 7 is the fastest, although you can take the WOD to Shreve (there is a turn out to the right just before the Poplar Heights Tennis Courts) and head up to route7 from there, which saves you a few blocks of traffic if you were getting on at West. You also get a left turn light and the timing works out pretty well to get at least to the light at Idylwood.

going to WF, you can take WOD, Pinecastle, barbour, LEFT on Idylwood, Right on Idyl Ln, Right at Pimmit Drive and avoid riding on Route 7 completely.

coming back to the WOD heading east from WF/TJ I would ride with my daughter on a trail-a-bike. we would often take the south sidewalk from WF, cross Idlywood at the light then take the sidewalk up Idylwood and left on Barbour.

Or if you really wanted to add an extra two miles, you could take Great Falls, Left on Magarity, Left on Pimmit Dr.

Another comment on the Great Falls St route is that you can take a left on Idylwood (instead of going all the way to Magarity). Idylwood was just repaved last year and so the pavement blissfully smooth. When going towards Tysons you can take a left on Redd and left on Reddfield to avoid that corner where the traffic backs up. Once you get to Route 7, you can take the sidewalk the way to TJs. There’s a bit of traffic on Idylwood in that stretch but when returning from Tysons its downhill and you can typically keep the same speed as the cars so they are not minding too much.

[DaveS]

@wheels&wings 111019 wrote:

I’m wondering what’s the best way to get from the WOD to the Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods at Tyson’s Station on Rt 7 in Falls Church?

Last night I got off the WOD at West Street and I followed Broad/Rt 7 ‘til I got to Tyson’s Station. That was NOT my favorite ride. On my return I took Idylwood and then L on Barbour and Pinecastle to get back to the WOD. Is that the best connection?

I’m happy to do more miles if there’s a prettier way that doesn’t involve sucking up exhaust fumes and that won’t land me under a car tire. :+)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Coming from the West on W&OD another way is to pop off at Virginia (left), then right on Hurst, right on Idylwood, left on Idyl Ln, right on Pimmit Dr. Coming from the east, the Pinecastle route is probably the best.

[DaveS]

@eminva 93665 wrote:

I’m finding backtracking via Idylwood tedious and congested.

Dropping down to Great Falls street in McLean may be something to consider. From 7 its all blessedly downhill. You could go Idylwood to Great Fallls to W&OD (Idylwood on that end was just repaved) or Lisle (you don’t need to peddle a single time) to Olney to Magarity to Great Falls to W&OD. I haven’t traveled that length of Great Falls in that direction in the morning but I cross it a lot and it doesn’t look like a lot of traffic is headed south in the morning. Once in McLean you could mix it up some days too: Idylwood-Kirby-Westmoreland-W&OD; Idylwood-Kirby-Powhatan (KOM opportunity)-Sycamore-W&OD.

Dave

[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.

[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

[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

[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]

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

[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]

@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]

@JimF22003 91329 wrote:

Here’s the route I take from Annandale to Tysons, including the extension to Spring Hill Road I sometimes take when I go to the Honda dealership:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5466270

I see a few regulars on this route from time to time, notably Sir Dirt.

A couple of annotations, because some of this is only rideable on a bike, not on a car:

1) About 8.5, cut through the back of the office building instead of staying on Gallows where the bike lane peters out
2) About 8.8, go under the parking structure beside the Olive Garden to get to the frontage road along Rt 7.

This is actually where I work, but sometimes I take the rest of the route to Spring Hill

3) 9.4 crossing Chain Bridge Road. Take the cross walk on the West side of International Drive onto Pinnacle. This is closed to cars, but is perfect for bikes, and keeps you off Int’l

This suggested route is excellent. I’m going to try the part from Spring Hill to Gallows tonight. I work at Spring Hill and Greensboro also but live in McLean. As a variation to JimF’s post, when I’m coming in on Gallows side, sometimes I’ll stay on Boone all the way ’til it turns left on the service road up to Verizon store, take the right across 123 at light and turn right on service road around the Koons dealership, you can then hop on the wide sidewalk all the way down route 7, crossing at light (as pedestrian if you want) at Westpark or Spring Hill but continuing on sidewalk to Springhill. I haven’t done this since metro opened so watch for pedestrians but up until now the sidewalk is sparsely occupied, wide, and downhill in the morning! I’ll do this occasionally when I really don’t feel like dealing with the cars.

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