[karencoutts]

We are back home after a wonderful 9 nights in DC! What a fantastic trip we had. As you know, the weather was amazing… like summer with temperatures in the low 70s.

We passed under Crystal City on Saturday night at 7 pm on the Metro from the airport to the hotel, which was too late to enjoy the bicycle fest.

We rented bicycles for 4 days, for a total of $144 plus taxes = $152, using the Entertainment coupon. They work on a scale of decreasing cost per day as your rental lengthens. We had two “comfort” bikes, one trail-a-bike, and one child’s bike.

I highly recommend touring the sites by bicycle for an active family. We headed to the zoo via National Mall and the Rock Creek Trail. If you start out early in the morning 9-10 am-ish, you can avoid the hordes of walkers. Most of the time we had empty sidewalks and gravel paths to navigate. The only vexing aspect of this was the crossing of major roads. If you don’t enjoy curb jumping and try to steer your bicycle over the wheelchair curb cutouts, you will find yourself coming off the corner of both streets and veering back to cross the street. The best place to cross is down the middle on the gravel paths, where there are lights for pedestrians. The problem with those are the very long wait times, despite sometimes a complete lack of traffic. We never crossed against the lights.

The ride to the zoo was very easy. There was only one questionable stretch beside the busy highway where there is nothing between you and the cars. We walked that very short distance. The path was easy to follow and in good condition, except for a few tree roots creating ripples through the pavement in only two spots. We did not even feel the elevation gain, since it was so gradual, save the short steep hills near the turn into the zoo. We were surprised how quickly we reached the zoo. Total trip time is about one hour, which is at a very leisurely pace, about the speed of a runner.

The trip back was faster.

The Cathedral sidetrip was done after arriving at the Zoo and walking in the hot (!) sun for 2 hours. What a mistake. I guess I was emboldened by the easy ride to the zoo. What should have been a quick 20 minute trip dragged into an hour as my 9 year old suddenly refused to ride at all, not happy with the hills. My husband was cycling up these same hills with his trail-a-bike with the 7 year old in back without a problem.

We also had a ride around the monuments on another day. Navigating the criss crossing diagonal paths with long intersection waits and the narrow pedestrian paths was challenging.

We did swim at Rumsey Aquatic Centre. The cost for our family of 4 was $22(!) and we were surprised how empty it was given that admission is free for DC residents.

Thanks again to all for your excellent advice.

[karencoutts]

Lots of great advice here. Thank you very much for taking the time to help us.

I have decided that I should rent bicycles. The only question remains is how many days. The peeps at Bike and Roll have graciously agreed to let me rent individual bicycles and then switch to the trail-a-bike attachment if I need it, but only because it is early in the season, not too busy, and they can use it as a training opportunity.

If available, I would like the mountain bike tires. I wonder why they don’t pave the bicycle paths designated down the National Mall?

We are going to attempt the Zoo, or at least the ride back. We will probably also do the East Potamac and all the monuments.

We will also likely go swimming at the Rumsey Aquatic Centre near Eastern Market.

The weather is looking fantastic until the following weekend. Lucky us and you!

[karencoutts]

Thanks for the help, Eminva. My husband and I are regular cycling commuters (and he’s a competitive cyclist and I’m a triathlete), but the kids are *not* comfortable in traffic yet. I am now thinking trail-a-bike, which would be perhaps a drag for them with the loss of control, but better in the traffic and also in case they simply poop out or throw a fit. Then we would not be stuck somewhere on the trail.

Are DC drivers well behaved around cyclists? In Vancouver proper, they are fairly tolerant, but leave the city and it can be frightening how much motorists hate cyclists.

I became excited when I saw there was a pool in East Potamac, but alas, it is an outdoor pool! The kids will never forgive me for booking a pool-less hotel and I thought for a minute I was saved. Thanks for the suggestion–looks like an ideal and safe place to bring the munchkins.

As for National Cathedral, I am wondering if it is even worth it taking a 7 and 9 year old, when we only have really 8 days of exploration and 12 Smithsonian museums to cover.

It will cost $144 plus taxes to rent 4 bikes for 4 days. Not sure if it is worth it when we are within decent walking distance of the Mall.

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