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I have ridden RT7 area many times, usually on the sidewalk. The only area with no sidewalk from 7-Corner to Tysons Corner is on the South/West just before and after I-66 intersection, from Dale Dr to Idylwood RD. The North/East side always have a sidewalk. There used to be no sidewalk when approaching I-495 on the North side, but they built this sidewalk ramp to a service road, then sidewalks with curb cuts all the way to Gallows RD/International Dr intersection. The South/West side around I-495 has sidewalks and curb cuts too. There used to be no sidewalk west of I-495 intersection, but they built it around the same time they improved the bridge as shown in this StreetView.

Here is the shortest option, but it involves using the sidewalk in some places, particularly on RT7. I have not used Barbour Rd/Idylwood part, but it’s a climb up Barbour Rd, and downhill on Idylwood Rd.

Here is another option that involves sidewalk use that uses part of Shreve RD as a shortcut. There is a rough paved path now mostly gravel on the south side of Shreve RD. You don’t see it from W&OD intersection, but there is an access to it at this spot where people sit on some chairs.

The only problem with using the sidewalk around I-66 area is that people walk from/to West Falls Church Metro where there is only one side with sidewalk, on the North/East area until Idylwood intersection.

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This page says that Italian bottom brackets are 70 mm wide:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_i-k.html#italian

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Why don’t you get the whole bottom bracket? Here is one I bought from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Square-Bottom-Bracket-68x113mm/dp/B005DTIKQE

The size to order consist of two numbers. The first number is the bottom bracket housing length, to measure it, turn the bike over, and measure the frame width at the BB. For example, if the frame color is blue, only measure the blue area and not whatever extends beyond it. The second number is the overall bottom bracket length, which includes the square piece that the cranks fit on. This means that you have to take off your current bottom bracket to measure it.

The special tools needed cost $30, or take it to LBS which usually charge $20 for bottom bracket replacement, and they sell it for $30 to $40. Here are the special tools that you need to replace square taper bottom brackets:

1 – Crank puller:

Park Tool CCP-22 Crank Puller for Square Taper Cranks:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1064837_-1___000000

Spin Doctor Crank Puller:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1030376_-1___000000

2 – Bottom Bracket Tool:

Park Tool BBT-22 Bottom Bracket Tool
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1030506_-1_400136__400136

Spin Doctor Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1030396_-1_400136__400136

There is a third tool needed to remove the locking ring(only if present, an extra $15), but I found that I wasted my money because I could have removed it with a flat blade screw driver edge and a hammer. The new bottom bracket as shown above doesn’t require that tool for installation.

[n18]

@mcfarton 93328 wrote:

Remember as a cyclist we ask that cars take a moment and slow down for us. We can do the same for joggers.

I would tell them they are considered pedestrians, and if they were hit, then they end up having to pay their own medical bills.

[n18]

A jogger is always a pedestrian in the eyes of law. A bike on cycletrack/bike lane is a vehicle.

[n18]

@Overtone 93222 wrote:

Yesterday my wife and I decided to head out to Fairfax city center from our home in Alexandria. We followed the google bicycling directions: W&OD to Vienna then down along Nutley over I-66 then picked up the CC trail to Lee Highway. Over all it was fine but the section of Nutley over I-66 was deeply unpleasant and felt unsafe. Heavy gravel and big level changes (almost stair steps) on the sidewalk, high speed traffic on the road. This was marked as a bike path but it sure didn’t feel like it. We were on the west side of Nutley (heading south, going with traffic). I’m wondering, is it better on the east side? Or should we have gone into the metro station and walked our (tandem) across the pedestrian overpass?

(For the ride home, we did a quick search on the forums and found a recommendation to cross I-66 on Cedar Lane. That worked much better since there’s no freeway interchange there.)

Thanks,
John

The east side of Nutley over I-66 has less gravel, and in better shape than the west side.

Last year I went once from Fair City Mall to Annandale using only Little River Turnpike/RT236. There was no sidewalk east of Woodburn Rd till I-495 intersection, but the road has a wide shoulder that turns into a right turn lane sometimes(See this StreetView). The bridge over I-495 was very easy to cross as it has wide sidewalks and curb cuts. However, I am not sure if Annandale area is easy to cross with a Tandem.

From Annandale to Fairfax Circle is easier as there is a bike path, but it has gravel. That path feels flat all the way, and sort of heavily shaded.

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@Steve O 93196 wrote:

Correct. Does anyone know the story on this? How long it’s been closed, and if there are any plans to ever reopen it?

I am not sure if this is a factor, but there is a homeless center nearby, and they may wander around the Fairfax Circle area. Most the people I see there are good people, but they get the occasional bad apple. I have not had problems though in the trails nearby.

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@Powerful Pete 92878 wrote:

This is crazy, but what to do? I bought one roadbike secondhand via ebay a good few years ago (a Specialized S-Works). I have no proof of ownership and I am the second owner. If someone stole it I would have a heck of a time proving it was mine…

What to do beyond registering with Arlington County Police and hoping for the best? Not that a sticker on a frame is going to dissuade a bad guy, no?

Obviously the police can’t just cut a lock, and handover a bike to someone claiming that it’s his bike based on a serial number on a hand written note. Anyone could flip a bike and write down the serial number.

In your case, one suggestion is to take pictures of your bike and go to a notary public office to notarize it. There are also “digital notary” or eNotray on the Internet that lets you upload pictures or ZIP files, and sign them. These cost pennies and would be time-stamped based on the eNotary server date and time, regardless of what the user set their date and time to, so it proofs that the file or picture was taken on or prior to that date. This could proof that you had the bike for a long time. This stands better in court than mailing something to yourself as I have read.

Another option is to register it with the National Bike Registry, but if it turns out that it was stolen, the police could take it from your hands and give it to the original owner, or you can make a deal with the original owner.

Because of the above, I wouldn’t buy from eBay, unless the seller is local. If I buy from Craigslist, I would ask for the bike documentation, or at the very least insist on meeting the seller inside his home or garage to make sure I have his correct address at least. Meeting someone in a public place is okay if the owner have receipt or documentation.

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@A.C. 92725 wrote:

What did you lock up your bike with when it got stolen? I don’t have a u-lock so I’ll have to get one.

I wasn’t planning on leaving my bike for an extended period of time so getting a bike locker isn’t something I want to do.

I used a cable lock with 4 numbers combination, and it was stolen in the span of 20 minutes. I learned later that thieves could break into any combinations lock without tools, and this includes U-Locks with numbers. This video shows someone breaking into combinations cable lock in 65 seconds without tools:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m32HP5E8Ak8

They are mechanical, and that’s what make them “easily” defeatable.

This video shows various cable and U-lock and how to break them with a big tool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYUf4h0Lv_8

This video shows cutting a “big” cable lock with small hand tool within 2 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMbNOYtiEg

Finally, this video shows why it’s pointless to rely on people to notice that a bike is being stolen. The guy in the video used various methods to steal his own bike in a busy place without anyone calling the cops, until he used a power tool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGttmR2DTY8

If you don’t like the weight of a U-Lock, then get any reasonably strong lock and a GPS tracker.

[n18]

Here are the directions per Google Maps.

[n18]

This Google Street View shows that it had bike lane marking before. As for “Ride with traffic” sign, it means “It’s okay to ride with traffic” from what I understand from this VDOT PDF file. I think it’s there because the lane is not marked clearly, and the sidewalk is too narrow, blocked, or under construction(or will be). The sign would stay up until they finish marking the lane.

[n18]

In my inexpert opinion, when you start a physical activity, the body resists it at first until you break a certain threshold. The stronger you are, the higher the threshold. You need to ramp up your physical activity slowly until you break that threshold. When you break that threshold, the heart rate goes up, the body releases natural pain killers(Adrenaline), and the joints become more flexible, and you would feel physically hot.

If the path you take initially is mostly flat or downhill, then try to go faster rather than cycling at leisurely pace. This gets you warmed up faster, so if you encounter hilly areas later, you are already pumped-up, and can tackle them easier. When I go to W&OD, it’s about 2 miles of mostly flat and downhill from my home to Vienna intersection. Going North/West is downhill till Hunter Mill Rd, then steady uphill till Reston. If I bike easily in the downhill areas, then the steady uphill after Hunter Mill Rd becomes hard and I fell like quitting. If I go faster on downhill areas, uphill areas don’t seem so hard. This all assumes that you are fully rested and don’t have any muscle or joint pain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warming_up

[n18]

If you are using a cable lock, then it doesn’t matter how many people are around the bike, they wouldn’t notice a thing. My bike was stolen in a busy area around lunch hour and the people close to the bike rack didn’t notice anything unusual. Get a U-Lock if you don’t have one.

[n18]

Stolen bike found in a dumpster with missing front wheel and other components:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/4581293543.html

[n18]

I think exercise in general would make one a better writer.

[Author]

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