kokomo61

Hey! That's my commute!

I go from the Franklin Farm area, to Ballston. It's 21.5Mi each way, and I only do it 1-2X a week. I get on the W&OD at Sunrise Valley, and follow it to the Custis, then bail @ Ballston. Getting to the trail, I take the FFax county parkway to Sunrise Valley (I take the shoulder for the first part because of a dangerous hill/bridge crossing on the MUP). Switch to the MUP until Sunrise Valley, then stay on the sidewalk to the first intersection. I'm on the road on SVD until the turn-off to the W&OD.

On the return trip, I turn back on to SVD, then left on South Lakes to Reston Parkway, then R on Franklin Farm. All the roads are divided 4-laners with a hard curb instead of a shoulder, but the cars are (most times) fairly generous in passing.

W&OD is fine, and most peds are fairly attentive. I still slow when approaching, and give plenty of warning. There's a detour at Piney Branch (just after Hunter Mill), that's pretty dicey if you're using skinny road tires.

Need to watch out for:

Walkers w/headphones
Dogs on retractable leashes (or no leash at all)
Guys on XMart bikes (no helmet, no sense of any kind of a lane)
Afternoon track teams (they'll take up the whole trail and then some)
Road crossings - people don't look at all. If you're crossing a street, make sure you look for vehicles approaching for the 'no-stop' right turn. Also, even with a red light, I've seen drivers blow right through the Vienna/Maple street intersection....same goes for Gallows Road.