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@bobco85 106318 wrote:

I have not been able to find any other details, but I learned that this afternoon around 3:30 pm a teenage cyclist had a serious accident on the steep hill on Walter Reed Drive heading down toward the W&OD/4MR in Arlington and was taken to the trauma center at INOVA Fairfax:

http://www.arlnow.com/2015/01/22/teen-critically-injured-in-bike-accident/

Sorry to hear this. That hill presents challenges going either direction!

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@mstone 106322 wrote:

In general, a crappy trail is better than no trail. At least there’s the possibility of improvement–if you don’t preserve a right of way, it’s much harder to do anything.

That is certainly true. My post was more of an observation than a complaint, since there are good alternatives. Plus any kind of pedestrian connectivity, even if it’s unrideable, is good for cyclists too, since most of us can quickly convert to pedestrians on the fly if necessary.

I am concerned though that such a trail might lure unsuspecting newbies into trouble. For instance, it looks very appealing on the official Arlington County Bike Map, where it shows up as an off-street trail, colored identically to the WOD, Custis, MVT, etc. The reality is that this one should be considered a pedestrian, not bicycle, facility. Cyclists should be permitted but encouraged to ride elsewhere. Admittedly maps quickly get very complicated if they attempt to convey too much info about the differences from one trail or street to the next.

I am definitely curious to see how VDOT plans to push a trail through the Fairview Park / 495 / Gallows Road gauntlet along Arlington Blvd (project 34B). I’ve ridden across the beltway at Lee Highway and at Gallows Road before, each of which is a little scary but manageable. Crossing at route 50, however, just looks frightening.

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@chris_s 106186 wrote:

Project 34.A – Arlington Boulevard Trail (Glebe to Beltway)
This project will create a trail along Arlington Boulevard through a combination of constructing
an off-road sidepath, on-street infrastructure, and signage. The project will continue the
existing Arlington Boulevard sidepath west from Glebe Road to the I-495 interchange. The trail
will enable bicyclists to travel from western Arlington County, and eastern/central portions of
Fairfax County to locations in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, Crystal City, and east into the
District of Columbia. The improvements will enhance bicyclist comfort through either a separated
bicycle facility, or an on-road bicycle facility on a relatively low-speed, low-volume frontage
road. Alternative alignments will need to be explored around challenging areas, such as
Seven Corners.

I recently walked the existing trail on the north side of 50 from Glebe eastbound to Jackson, over that green bridge, and then the trail on the south side of 50 from Jackson to Fillmore. It was a wet but not icy day. I had never cycled this trail before and I doubt I ever will, at least not faster than about 7mph. Tree roots frequently compromise the pavement. The curve about 400 feet west of the cemetery entrance could easily throw a westbound rider into the roadway, especially if it’s at all slippery. Sediment had been deposited in large clumps on the path at the drain west of Irving. Also nearly got right-hooked (does that term apply to peds?) by a driver who took a right turn off 50 way too fast directly in front of me onto S Hudson.

So I sure hope this project is executed better than the existing sidepath. Because while there are bike-friendly street alternatives to the portion I walked (N Pershing, 2nd St S), that’s not the case further out in Fairfax County.

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I too would recommend dasgeh’s route as it is the most ice-free option. Everything controlled by NPS is a mess. This includes MVT as well as the trail along Route 27 (from Mem Bridge to the north edge of the Pentagon Reservation). I can confirm that the Fort Myer roads, 2nd St S, and Walter Reed are all in excellent condition.

The disadvantage is the entry process for the base itself. You will need photo ID. You must enter Wright Gate before 6pm if it is not a DoD ID (or 11pm if you have DoD ID). As for the return trip, I know that Hatfield Gate is manned 24/7, but I don’t know whether visitors are permitted to enter here at all hours. If so, the Wright Gate exit is probably barricaded after 11pm.

Notice that I am not mentioning the hill as a disadvantage.

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@worktheweb 104106 wrote:

Any thoughts on an alternate? Has anyone gone across the Memorial Bridge today? If so, are the walkways plowed? If not, is it legal to bike on the plowed lanes? Also, is there a good way to get to the Pentagon so I can ride through Crystal City and Alexandria on plowed streets?

Although I’ve never done it myself, I’m pretty sure that it is legal to ride in the roadway across Memorial Bridge. Sounds like it’s unnecessary today though with the downstream sidewalk cleared.

The usual routes to Pentagon are through LBJ Grove (from 14th Street Bridge) or the Route 27 trail (from Memorial Bridge), but I can’t speak to the current condition of either of those trails.

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@Orestes Munn 104119 wrote:

Milloy’s maunderings aside, I thought the really bad cycling news in today’s WaPo was this, on heads-up displays for cars: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/heads-up-technology-puts-data-on-car-windshields-at-ces/2015/01/06/036afdf6-95e5-11e4-927a-4fa2638cd1b0_story.html

Agree. Most of the Milloy sympathizers are just bitter folks with windshield perspective looking for convenient scapegoats to blame for their frustration with traffic. The vast majority of those people maintain enough sanity to refrain from turning that frustration into actively hostile road behavior.

On the other hand, the number of distracted, inattentive, and otherwise negligent motorists is truly frightening. And this problem is getting worse.

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You can also reduce brake usage by maximizing air resistance on downhills. This means standing on the pedals to increase the total area you present to the wind. Caveat: Use with caution: it’s much harder to safely panic-brake and stop from a standing position while flying down a hill. Throw your weight down and back first!

Brake wear is a concern of mine when seeking out good routes for hill workouts. I prefer a ride that safely allows for unbraked descents without requiring stops at the bottom. Military Road in north Arlington is the best local example I can think of.

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@bobco85 100823 wrote:

If the following is true, I can understand that the cyclist found it annoying if your light was much brighter than his. Your light would then be casting a shadow of his body on the trail in front of him; in his view, he could see everything on the sides but nothing directly in front of him. It’s a weird idea that someone can be blinded from behind, but due to the contrast of the lighting it can happen.

I’ve noticed this effect also when driving dark country roads. Tailing drivers who forget to turn off their high-beams (or anyone with those HIDeous xenon lamps) can cast enough light for me to see a significant darkening in the center of my FOV due to my own shadow. As this somewhat compromises my visibility, I slow down a bit. If you want me to drive faster, don’t blind me!

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Supermau,

YMMV, but I find it easier to climb that hill on Glenwood rather than Clermont. It’s probably just mental, though. On Glenwood, the steepest part is the lower half, so you get it out of the way first and then it gets flatter from there.

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@mstone 100619 wrote:

at least for the foreseeable future, those roads are going to be at capacity, and if some people shift to transit that just makes room for others to drive.

As always… induced demand FTW.

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Agree with cyclingfool, but there is one big caveat. Make sure there is CaBi coverage in the areas you want to visit. There are still large CaBi deserts in the District and in Arlington/Alexandria. Most of these are not tourist areas, of course, and you can easily find plenty of stuff to do that is CaBi-accessible, but FYI nonetheless.

You can chain as many rides together as you wish. As long as you dock each bike somewhere within 30 minutes of unlocking it, you won’t face any extra charges. I’m pretty sure the bikes are available 24/7 as well. (Yet another reason to choose CaBi over Metro!)

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@PotomacCyclist 100344 wrote:

Sample comment text:

“I want to express my concern that no consideration has been given for the inclusion of a greenway in the proposed High Speed Rail from Richmond to Washington, DC and ask that a parallel greenway be included in the Tier II EIS Study.

A greenway was included in the Richmond to Raleigh EIS and a northern extension is a logical addition to that facility.

I’m confused. My understanding is as follows: The Tier I studies are too high-level to include any details such as greenway feasibility. So that doesn’t happen until Tier II anyway. The only reason that a greenway has been considered for Richmond-Raleigh and not Washington-Richmond is that the Tier II study has been completed for Richmond-Raleigh but not for Washington-Richmond. Is that right? Do you have additional intel that the greenway will not be considered for the northern segment in Tier II, in spite of its inclusion in the southern study? That’s what the sample comment implies…

I haven’t read the studies. Do they consider potential future trails along these rail ROWs, or are they only concerned with impacts to existing trails? If the latter, then ECG effectively would be ignored because so little of it exists presently.

The rail corridors do offer the best hope for long-distance commuter or touring cycling infrastructure.

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Just wanted to add: my experience with CaBi has been entirely positive thus far. For what it’s worth though, I have not needed to use the touchscreens at all. I took a leap of faith and bought an annual membership without any test riding, shortly after a station was installed near me.

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@tour guide 99045 wrote:

Alternatively, can someone suggest a safe enough bike route from downtown DC to Prince Williams Forest?

I grew up in PW County and am extremely familiar with that area. I now live in Arlington. The difference between these two places is night and day regarding bicycling conditions. Although my recent visits to PW have been entirely by car, I’ll offer some suggestions for cycling from Occoquan to the PWFP back entrance off 234.

US Bike Route 1 follows Minnieville Road all the way, but I would highly recommend avoiding most of that road. It has a good sidepath from Old Bridge to Fowke. There is also a sidepath from Cardinal to Spriggs, although that requires more attention due to numerous driveway crossings. Both sidepaths are along the north (i.e. westbound) side of the road. But the real problem is the 3.5-mile stretch from Fowke to Cardinal. Utterly abysmal: 6 lanes of heavy motor traffic through a commercial district with frequent driveways and intersections. There are narrow sidewalks very close to the road (contiguous on both sides, I think) which are somewhat rideable due to the scarcity of pedestrians, but needless to say it is unpleasant at best.

My recommendation would be to add miles and ride through residential neighborhoods instead. Here are two such suggestions:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/577895006
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/577902652

I can vouch for the first one. It consists entirely of 25MPH residential roads, full-width MUPs along high-speed arterials, plus a couple of bike/ped connections that Google doesn’t seem to know about yet (Devils Reach to Brooke Farm, Beaver Ford to Chinn Library). Note that there are no wayfinding signs along the trails between Chinn/Trowbridge/Beaver Ford. I believe Chinn is the first cutoff to the right from that trail when heading westbound. Once widening is completed, PW Parkway will have a parallel MUP from Minnieville to Old Bridge (so one will be able to alternately ride up to Trowbridge then over to Chinn along the Parkway), but right now the situation is dicey with the construction, and I’ve seen people walking and riding dangerously close to 45MPH+ traffic at times…

Not very familiar with the second route, but I believe it would be a decent option also. (As long as you are comfortable with on-road cycling. The Occoquan Rd and Blackburn Rd parts are definitely not noob-friendly! I believe the Rippon Blvd MUP is complete now, but I haven’t been back there in years.)

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@dasgeh 96931 wrote:

Quick poll: do people think a sign, such as the digital traffic sign below, instructing drivers to look for peds/bikes would be helpful in the interim?(reply)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]6813[/ATTACH]

A single sign: marginally useful. But if you install three such signs, one blocking each lane of the I-66 offramp, then you might be onto something…

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