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Vienna PS swag: Friends of W&OD slap-bracelet/safety wrap, Tysons commuter bike map on a soft microfiber square; they also had coffee, bottles of water, breakfast bars, and bananas. The Friends of W&OD also had bronze/brown water bottles, but I have too many already so I left them for the later folks.

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Tysons PS swag: drawstring bag, Access Tysons card-sized map, couple Access Tysons blinkers, green bar light (Bike Fairfax maybe?), Tysons commuter bike map on a soft microfiber square.

Bike raffle, Atleta raffle. No refreshments.

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Spoke to a lot of folks in my office – having a bike and helmet next to the desk is a conversation starter in Tysons apparently. Many of them were open to bike commutes and know people who commute btw Alexandria, Arlington, DC, etc, but they were uniform in their response that Tysons is too dangerous. I happen to agree with that, which is why I rode in before 7:00 and will be riding home in my wife’s car.

I think this area is in true “if you build it, they will come” mode, if the bike lanes along Gallows were connected across the Towers Crescent bridge or another non-route 7 (which is reality Frogger) crossing, and there were bike lanes along Westpark or International that loops through most offices, then I think a lot more people would give it a go. Although it would still be dangerous in the evenings, especially in the dark, just due to sheer volume (and road rage) of Tysons commuters.

Would love to see the “Tysons of tomorrow” vision of more walk/bike friendly infrastructure come true, but from living in the heart of Tysons from 2000-2004, I don’t see it working out for a long time based on the current construction and culture of the area.

But it was indeed awesome to roll along the W&OD with a bunch of other people this morning. So many folks were out and early at that.

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Rolling out of Tysons PS, cutting the attendance there in half at the time.

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Vienna PS in full swing at 6:45 or so.

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@JimF22003 52523 wrote:

(maybe one was you?)

Possibly. I was in black jersey, black slacks, blue helmet. On a white road bike.

Given that La Sandia and California Pizza Kitchen were sponsors and the site said “refreshments,” I was expecting something to munch on. But the two restaurants didn’t even have a table or representatives out there. Can a biker get a Cali pizza and a shot of tequila from Sandia? 😎

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@eminva 52465 wrote:

…take the W&OD to Gallows. Turn right on Gallows (or left if you are coming from the west). There are bike lanes. Turn right on Gallows Branch Road and then left on Kidwell Drive. That turns into Towers Crescent Drive and has an overpass over Route 7. Turn right onto Shoptysons Boulevard. Turn left on Fashion Boulevard, which will take you right to LL Bean.

If you come by the Vienna pit stop, say hello! I’ll be there for the duration.

That was my exact route. Stated at Vienna pit stop, which was hopping at 6:45ish, a lot of folks were out and more were showing up. From the Vienna to the Tysons pit stop was 16 minutes, then around Westpark to my office, door-to-door in 26:30 (not counting pit stop time).

Commute was fairly easy, other than starting on a few hills on Gallows or Westpark stoplights, and the kindly fellow who smashed some glass on the bike lane near Tysons. After pulling off on Gallows Branch, didn’t see much traffic after that until Westpark (near Rt 7), but I started in Vienna at 6:45 and got in early. Wouldn’t want to roll through Tysons after 8:00a.

The Tysons pit stop was abandoned at 7:00-7:10 or so when I was there. When I showed up, I was the only person. Another biker joined just after that and left about the same time I was, and it looked like a third bike was just rolling in. Hope it picked up as the morning wore on. Kinda disappointed the Tysons stop didn’t have any food, coffee, or water. Skipped the coffee in Vienna figuring I’d get a cup closer to work.

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@mstone 52363 wrote:

Note that even with padded shorts, riding a bike will hurt your bottom if you’re not used to it. The only solution is to ramp up slowly and just keep at it.

The only solution is to get out of that saddle, and ATTACK! between stoplights for the entire commute.

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@dasgeh 52276 wrote:

You should come to Kidical Mass on Sunday (and if you can’t make this month, June, July and September await). You can bring the kid and it will be awesome!

I’ll keep in on the radar for later this summer. According to my reading, my little girl is still a bit too young for me to take out in the trailer. But she’s getting close to being included on runs and rides.

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Tomorrow is my first time biking to “work-work;” in past years, I’ve done a ceremonial ride, stopping at the pit stop and putting in 5-10 miles in business casual before rolling home and working there. Just never felt safe enough trying to enter Tysons on bike. I’m going to go for it tomorrow morning, getting in pretty early, and then having my wife pick me up in the PM since afternoon rush hour is insane. Unfortunately my office is in one of the worst spots in the middle of Tysons, so it’ll be an adventure after getting off the trail and bike lanes.

Sadly can’t make this a regular thing since I have to drop my child off at daycare every Mon-Thurs and can’t make it there with a bike trailer. I’m really exited to roll into work tomorrow and really jealous of you daily commuters who can abandon the car.

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Why does it seem at times that the more metal, the more road rage and inflated tough guy attitude….drivers > cyclists > runners/walkers?

Sadly there is a subset of cyclists that give the whole of us a really bad name on the W&OD. And it isn’t just the people bombing through stop signs and red lights. I’m a runner on the W&OD almost daily, far more often than I’m a cyclist, and defensive running has become a necessity due to riders going 2+ abreast or passing, over the center line, and assuming that I’m going to move. Though I certainly don’t want to play chicken with an oncoming cyclist and know I’d take the worst of a collision, it’s tempting to just hold my line. Why should I be required to seek shelter on the shoulder because you can’t ride single file or pass appropriately? Thank god for the bridle trail west of Vienna being a safe haven (although have been chased there by an off-leash dog).

Folks should really put themselves in each others shoes and understand the issues. As a runner and cyclist on the W&OD, and a driver on roads that intersect the W&OD a couple times a day, all three groups can be more alert, more courteous, and more forgiving.

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@Vicegrip 51729 wrote:

I go from W&OD into and out of Tysons every day but don’t use Gallows. Where is the Tysons pitstop? there are a couple of back ways in from the W&OD that don’t involve busy roads.

Pit stop is at LL Bean this year. I’m probably going to hit Vienna (my official pit) on way towards Tysons. What back roads do you generally take? My main concern is cutting across Rt 7 somewhere; other than that, there are some back roads within Tysons that I feel I can comfortably take to my site this week.

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