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One of my favorite rides is the 50+ mile loop called Kill Bill from the Potomac Pedophiles cue sheet list. I modified it to include the path coming up from Chain Bridge. The only thing it really misses is Walter Reed coming up from 4-Mile Run.

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It would seem that Mr. Cook got more than a few e-mails about his comments. I send him a polite note every week or so.

Here’s his response to FABB: http://www.fabb-bikes.org/blog/2010/03/supervisor-cook-responds.html

I encourage you all to drop him an e-mail at the address listed above. Keep it polite. That was not always easy for me. It helps to keep in mind that Fairfax County is facing a rough financial situation and their budget is not looking good. At least now the supervisor acknowledges that bikes are more than just recreation. That is progress… even if the whole bike program still gets canned. At least it gets canned based on arguments that are closer to reality.

I know this is an Arlington forum. But if you live in Fairfax County, please drop your county board rep an e-mail on the topic. Remind them that we’d love to live in a community that is safer for bicycles.

Pete

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Welcome to the area.

Crystal City is extremely accessible via bike path with a few connections on easily traveled roads. One of the great benefits of living in the DC area is that the bike commuting is, for the most part, quite easy. The Bike Arlington Maps page gives you not only the Arlington County maps, but those of other local jurisdictions.

Consularrider mentioned a few of the mainstays of riding in the area. The Mount Vernon Trail heads from Rosslyn Virginia (a few miles North of Crystal City) south all the way to (of all places) Mount Vernon. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Tow Path (C&O) heads Northwest into Maryland along the Potomac river. The Capitol Crescent trail heads up around the North side of town. The Washington and Old Dominion Trail heads for 40 miles West of town. The Custis Trail connects things together in North Arlington. 4-Mile Run trail connects some things in the central/southern part of Arlington.

Those main trails can help pick a neighborhood. If you find something nearby the trail, you can use the maps linked above to find some back-street ways to get from home to the trails. Arlington, unlike Fairfax and parts of Alexandria, has relatively few… possibly no “dead zones” where it is really hard to find a safe route to one of the main bicycle arteries.

Picking a neighborhood is a very personal thing. You kinda have to get a feel for it yourself. We can help with identifying how to get from where you want to live to where you’re going to be working.

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I was planning on it, but I’m not able to. Other stuff came up for the weekend. I’ll catch it next year.

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@Tim Kelley 195 wrote:

Hey Pete–do you happen to have Mr. Cook’s email address handy in case other forum users would like to invite Mr. Cook out for a bike ride?

Indeed I do.

braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov

That address will get you a polite, but automated response.

doorknob@fairfaxcounty.gov did not work for me. It was worth a try.

My most sincere apologies for my sarcasm. Bad habit I have when I encounter things that annoy me this much.

Have a nice day.

Pete

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@Tim Kelley 191 wrote:

PICS or it didn’t happen!! Can’t wait to see how it turns out…

It isn’t built yet. The trike hasn’t arrived yet either. Unfortunately it is likely 3 weeks out. I have a pile of parts awaiting installation. I went with SRAM Red stuff for the most part. I thought DI2 would be overkill. LOL

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@jabberwocky 189 wrote:

One thing the GF found with her trike is that you at least don’t have to worry about going down (you just slide if you hit ice). The downside is that its bumpy as hell and the wide track makes dodging ice hard to do.

With my luck over the last year I’ll find a way to fall off the damn thing.

One reason that I picked the trike that I did was that I can build a second set of wheels with slightly smaller diameter wheels and fatter tires to get almost identical outside wheel diameter. Schwalbe makes studded winter tires in the 16 and 20″ sizes that I’d be building. If I build this thing, it will likely be the only SRAM Red equipped tricycle with studded snow tires in existence. Yes. I’m a moron.

Love,

Pete

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Used a messenger bag for years. (Timbuk2 is my current one, though I have a Green Guru that I use now and then.) I’m switching back to panniers. I need a more secure way to carry laptops.

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I work in the same building as EPA. They’re kind enough to let us Private Sector boffins use their bike facility. It is truly amazing. Secure bike room with racks, locker room and showers make it very nice for commuting. We don’t actually get lockers, but my employer is kind enough to give me locker space in my office.

We don’t get the bike benefit. I organize events with co-workers…. if you can call what I do “organize”. There’s a core group of 12 of us that ride regularly when the weather is good. Out of an office of 45 people, that’s pretty good. There are only 3 or 4 of us that ride through the winter. I’m the only freak that rides every day…. though I’m out with an injury right now.

@Jabberwocky: Dude

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Second the call for a folding bike. The Bike Friday Tikit models are designed for fast folding. When I say fast folding, we’re talking less than 30 seconds. They’re small, light and very fun to ride. You can get them in a minimalist form (fixie) up to a multi-speed bike. They’re funny to look at, but anyone who sees you fold it down and walk away with it will be truly amazed.

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I’m a tribe tramp for sure. I start in Falls Church and I end near the White House.

My winter tribe is usually fairly direct, Back streets –> WOD –> Custis –> Roosevelt.

Spring summer and fall routes can involve anything from the C&O to Cap Croissant to Rock Creek, to Mount Vernon, to National Harbor, etc. I get bored with the same stuff day in/ day out.

Last year I did 3 commutes that used White’s Ferry and one that went through Occoquan and came up the Fairfax Cross County trail.

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@Unregistered 147 wrote:

I was horrified to see that all the snow from the road had been dumped onto the trail and it is now under a giant, dirty 6 foot snow bank! Can’t a cyclist get any respect around here? I fear it will be June before that huge pile melts!

This has been the norm around here for years. I normally install the studded tires and ride through it all…. hiking when I need to. The most recent storm was big enough that I’m really not that upset that all the snow got dumped onto the trails. Hopefully someone will come along and clear off some access for us.

I did notice that in the last storm (end of January) that Falls Church shoveled the entry and exit of the W&OD at each street crossing. They got flack for piling up the snow in front of the trail during previous storms. It was cool to see improvement there.

Image from Feb 2, 2010 commute on the W&OD in Falls Church.

I fear that conditions will be what I call “Pedestrian Ice” for a few more weeks as this stuff melts. That is particularly not good for me since I’m going to be riding a trike while my recently dislocated shoulder rehabs. GRRRrrrr.

Enjoy.

Pete

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