[Kolohe]

That’s going to be a long slow trip with pedicab gearing. (but maybe I have the wrong impression of pedicab gearing?)

http://goo.gl/maps/MPj8K : One option is Thomas Street from the cathedral up to Ballston and Custis. It’s traffic calmed for the most part and is more or less all on the same elevation.

http://goo.gl/maps/5rjd5: Sticking along a mostly Arlington Blvd path to W&OD, I would still do two diversions from the absolute shortest path
a) the first diversion is to nontheless go up Thomas to Pershing then to Henderson and back to Rt 50 – it avoids the dip near the Red Cross and the rise to the George Mason Bridge (w/ haphazardly merging traffic)

b) After I pass Lubber Run, I would continue past the Greenbrier/Granada W&OD entrance (as this hill is way steep*) to Carlin Springs, hang a right and enter the W&OD/4MR via the parking lot near the bottom of the hill.

*fun fact – I wrecked my first ever Montgomery Ward bought 10 speed on that curve back in 198x.

I think you’re going to have a hill somewhere anyway to get from central Arlington to downtown Falls Church, and the Brandywine Castle one is actually the easiest one, imo. Literally the highest points in Arlington county separate the two locales, and the 4 mile run creek bed – and later the railroad – were exactly the ways to get from point A to point B at minimum energy.

Good luck.

[Kolohe]

@creadinger 66060 wrote:

Be safe out there if you need to ride in the next 6 hours or so.

I got my kit for this ride:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3796[/ATTACH]

[Kolohe]

@JimK – so I would imagine they would have to close the Rock Creek and George Washington Parkways too, right? (Though it does explain the condition of the Suitland Parkway trail – they must have forgtten to re-open it after the last shutdown 17 years ago).

But seriously, they did say on the news (and this makes sense) that the trail through the zoo would be closed (if the shutdown goes through)

[Kolohe]

(tldr: The signage is a bit better than it used to be, and now I’ve done it enough so I know the way, but the first few times I did get turned around. If you have some sort of map with you, either with a phone thingey or old fashioned paper, I don’t think one has to worry about getting too lost for too long)

With all the construction on First St NE, it’s better imo to be on the east side of Union station when hitting the southern MBT trail head. Going up 2nd street is inuitive, then turn left on M, go under the bridge, and the ramp to the trail is then immediately on the left (across from the Metro entrance)

The trail goes up as a MUP to Franklin St where it ends and you turn right onto 8th (I just had to look up the Franklin street name, so I think it doesn’t really matter to remember that detail, the signage for 8th street is visible and this intersection has always been well labelled)

The construction where 8th street meets Monroe and Michigan (and Catholic University) is finally coming to a point where the trail in more apparent (and actually exists now) Go directly across Monroe from 8th (no traffic light there, but there is a cross walk – there’s also a light one block down in either direction) when you cross the street there’s a brand new path that curves around the new apt/commerical complex between the building and the metro station & tracks. The path continues under Michigan to the Catholic University entrance of the Brookland metro stop (watch out for throngs of pedestrians, you’re kinda still on the sidewalk here)

The trail then parallels John McCormack Drive parallel to Catholic U. The road curves to the left at the dump where then you climb up to Ft Totten Drive. Ft Totten is narrow with erattic traffic, but you’re only on it for about 4 blocks until intersection with Gallatin St a four way stop where you make the left. (there’s a school on the right back corner of this intersection)

Then you’re looking for 3rd after you cross New Hampshire on Gallatin, make a right on 3rd and follow it all the way to Van Buren. Right on Van Buren, under the tracks, then immediately left on Sandy Spring which curves around to Maple, then a left at Carrol, the first signalled intersection.

There is an MBT directing one left at Carroll now. But that’s the one I missed the other day, so I wound up going all the way up to Philadephia. So I haven’t done the rest up the connection on that side – Carroll to Cedar to Eastern to connect to the trails that parallel the tracks. The other way I have connected to the trails that parallel Takoma Ave is using Piney Branch Road.

There are signs that start to direct you to the Georgetown Branch Trail around Fenton street and Philadelphia Ave, but their placement around Silver Spring itself I find uneven. If one goes all the way up Fenton, one will eventually come across the Green Trail on Wayne Ave, then one can take to 2nd Ave and the nominal start of the (interim) Georgetown Branch Trail. (there’s also shorcuts through some of the other streets before that, but I’m not familiar with those)

The last thing is, the last time I did this trip about a week ago, I didn’t see a sign from 2nd Ave after you cross 16th St that directs you to the left you need to make on either Hanover or Grace Chapel Road to connect to the Talbot bridge and mile 0.0 of the labelled GBT. (I’ve always done this loop in a clockwise direction until last week, so I’ve never looked for the left turn)

[Kolohe]

Another option, (particularly if you’re already east at Anacostia) is MBT to Silver Spring http://goo.gl/maps/8dJ9B (or this, which I have also done http://goo.gl/maps/9avna)

The other day, I did a route that went up 15/14th to Columbia Heights, then a turn on Spring Street to Kansas Avenue – then Kansas all the way to the DC border. (Though the way I went after that was probably the worst way possible through Takoma park)

[Kolohe]

Going southbound all the way on South Cap from the Douglas Bridge to Overlook is possible (and legal), but requires a bit of a steady nerve. (there’s a narrow shoulder until just before the Malcolm X Ave entrance to Bolling, then a far right lane out of three that you can take entirely and most people will pass you unmolested.) I would not under any circumstances try to salmon here.

Alternatively if you’re going to NRL, I presume you can get on military bases? Enter the base at the Firth Stirling entrance (it’s open all through the day on weekdays), then go all the way on the base bike lanes/ sharrows (nearly completely flat the whole way) or the path on the riverfront back to this entrance http://goo.gl/maps/RNJQa which dumps you right on Overlook. (you can also go through housing – on a bike but not a car – to the next gate, across from Chesapeake St, but I don’t think that saves you much).

Alternatively alternatively, start from Alexandria, go over the Wilson Bridge, go up Oxon Hill and back down to the Oxon Run trail, then Shepards Parkway to the end, go under the freeway and you’re at the NRL entrance. http://goo.gl/maps/zd6CG Oxon hill is a longer and steeper hill than you hit going over and through the Congress Heights neighborhood, but zero traffic (and it’s all at one time).

ETA: If you’re coming from the north on the Green Line, and intend to end your commute by biking, I think it’s just as well that you end the Metro ride in downtown (somewhere between Mt Vernon Sq & L’Enfant Plaza) as it is to go across the river, because the Green line takes kinda a circuitous route after it leaves L’Enfant.

[Kolohe]

There’s a loop that starts on the Georgetown waterfront (under the Whitehurst freeway) goes up the Capital Crescent Trail to Bethesda (a good destination to stop), then over the Georgetown Branch Trail to Rock Creek park, then back down Beach Drive (closed to motor traffic on weekends until military road) then through the lower park of Rock Creek park back to Georgetown – it’s about 20 miles

http://goo.gl/maps/dmzoi

Things that are at somewhat variance with your specs

1) It’s uphill for about 2 and half miles strait all the way from Georgetown to the Mont county line. (then a more or less flat grade to Bethesda – then slightly downhill to Jones Bridge Road crossing, then a steeper downhill into the Rock Creek basin, but can be mitigating depending on which path you take)

2) The last part of the Rock Creek Trail between Military Road through the zoo and onward to the Penn Ave / M Street is fairly atrocious. Narrow with a few short but steep inclines and curves, and roots in somewhat abundance. (I myself normally just climb up to the old Walter Reed and take 14th street bike lanes all the way back – but that’s more hills and traffic)

3) It’s obviously short of 25 miles. One could add a counter loop though, going along the Potomac down past the Lincoln & Jefferson memorial’s to Haines point http://goo.gl/maps/R1mX4 or along the SW waterfront to the Anacostia trails (the South Capital Street bridge is a bit of a pain, but not a really big obstacle – just stay on the narrow sidepath on the east side of the bridge) and then back through the bike lanes (very ok for beginners) that run through Capitol Hill and Penn Ave. http://goo.gl/maps/QszfV. Or you can add a bit of out and back when you get to Rock Creek http://goo.gl/maps/kIEMb but I’m not personally familiar with anything north of the Mormon temple on this last route.

[Kolohe]

@hoffsquared 63971 wrote:

I have tried this a few times. There is one spot that goes under one of the roads that is quite slippery. I also almost ran over some very tiny dogs a few times when their owners weren’t really paying attention to where they were on the trail near the dog park. So I’ve opted for W&OD the whole way.

And I think someone already pointed out on this thread, somebody literally died in a cyclist / ped collision on the steep embankment that comes out from under the Columbia pike bridge. It’s a very technical decent compared to just about any other trail in northern Virginia.

(Going under George Mason requires a bit of crouch too, iirc)

[Kolohe]

were there any of unusual size?

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