Commuting - Commuting- Alexandria, VA to Suitland, MD

I may MAY MAY be taking on a new job... but man! I took the train up, and that ride just seemed to go on and on. Does anyone know if there are bike trails or such that are at least semi-direct to cut back on dealing with tons of traffic? Or is there a faster road that is pretty direct into Suitland?

*sigh*

I'm a bit flabbergasted. I like the job, and it has great opportunities, and the people are great, but aack! There's no way I'm gonna ride the train that long distance. I hate to deal with public transportation.

Koffee

Suitland is a tough one.
No bike trails in that part of PG County.
A few months ago some posted that they commuted from Virgina to Suitland using Pennsylvania Avenue. Seemed to work for him at the time. Direct, but I don't know how fast it is.
I've ridden Penn Ave from the Capital to the Sousa Bridge. Not great, but it works. And I expect that most of the traffic would be going the other way. Closer to the DC line you can use Branch Ave or Shadyside to get to Suitland Road, if that's where you need to go.
Does look like a long ride. Hope it's a great job.

Can't help you out with specifics but it seems to me to be a perfect excuse to do a test ride this weekend and see what route looks good. Weather should be great, so hit the road.

I do definitely plan to hit the road on Saturday. Any idea about how long it will be if it takes me about 20 minutes to get to 14th and E Street/Pennsylvania Ave? I'm mostly wondering if I took Penn Ave from there how long (roughly) it may take.

Koffee

I'm looking at the bike map. Of course, it would be SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier if I could head south into Alexandria, then take the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge. That would land me smack into Maryland, and then I could continue cycling to my job. Does that bridge have a bike path going across? Or is there a bridge nearby that one I can take? It seriously bites that I have to go all the way north to go into DC, then flip onto Pennsylvania and head south BACK to my starting point, just on the other side of the river! My commute would be so much easier! *sigh*

Any advice here? Bridges? Bike paths? Ferries? I'm willing to try just about anything rather than backtrack like that.

Koffee

Koffee, I looked up the plans for the Woodrow Wilson memorial Bridge that is being built across the Potomac from the south end of Alexandria and the Mt. Vernon bike trail to the Maryland shore a few miles south of Suitland. The plans call for bicycle and pedestrian access. :D If some short sighted bureaucrat didn't eliminate the bike access that may be your short-cut. You just may have to take a longer route for a while. I could not find any more about it during my quick web search.

I just got finished reading about it- it seems to still be in the works, but for how long are they going to be building that freakin' bridge already? Sounds like this has been going on since 1998.

I guess at this point, I'm more looking for a bus with a bike rack that will just take me across the bridge. I wonder if that's possible right now?

Koffee

Koffee, I looked up the plans for the Woodrow Wilson memorial Bridge that is being built across the Potomac from the south end of Alexandria and the Mt. Vernon bike trail to the Maryland shore a few miles south of Suitland. The plans call for bicycle and pedestrian access. :D If some short sighted bureaucrat didn't eliminate the bike access that may be your short-cut. You just may have to take a longer route for a while. I could not find any more about it during my quick web search.
The side path has been in the plans off and on. With the cost overruns, it still might be eliminated.
The construction is supposed to be on schedule. If they do build the path, and you can hold out until 2010, you may get to use it. :D
Even then, I doubt if it would help you much for Suitland. Most of the major roads in that part of the county go in and out of DC, not cross wise. The bridge path is supposed to serve the park that will be part of the National Harbor project. Whether it ever crosses I-295 and extends into the neighborhoods is up to PG County.

The basic problem is that I-495 is on the Wilson Bridge. Although traffic jams frequently bring everything to a standstill for hours, it is generally illegal to ride on interstates. I'd look for Metro options.

Paul

Koffee,

You like living in the beltway? I was down there for 3 months quite a while back & I was glad to come back to Maine.

I've had one car accident in my life (knock on wood) & it was in DC.

Have you checked with local bike shops or bike clubs?

....I've had one car accident in my life (knock on wood) & it was in DC....
That's 'cause we're good at spotting tourists. :D

That's 'cause we're good at spotting tourists. :D

I wasn't a tourist, I was working in Crystal City (training), living in Alex (I think the apartment complex was on Van Dorn). Jan-Apr '83. Watched Washington win the Super Bowl.

Of course, none of this is helping Koffee!

*sigh*

I just cannot get over how I will have to go eight miles out of the way to turn around and head back to nearly my start point, just on the other side of the river! Uuuugh!

I like the beltway- it's just crazy stuff like that I get crazy over.

Koffee

How about a small boat and oars? Ride to the banks of the river towing the boat. Load the bike and trailer in the boat and row across. It shouldn't take very long to row across at that point in the river. I know there's a thread on the forums somewhere where a guy does just that to go fishing. That way you get an upper body workout to go with your lower body workout. If you don't want to tow a boat, think inflatable.

Koffee,

Sorry but you may be kinda screwed. That is the most unfriendly spot to try and bike. Until they finish the bridge (with a hopeful bike lane) there isn't any other crossing other than the 14th st. bridge. And as others have said, the roads outbound from DC down to suitland are ok, but not what I would call fun at rush hour.

Metro doesn't help either.

-D

Suitland is tough because you have to cross two rivers, no way around it. What about going part way by Metro and the rest by bike? By Metro you would take the yellow line to L'Enfant Plaza and switch to the green line to Suitland. Either half of that is a do-able bike ride, and Metro alleges travel times of 16 and 17 minutes for the two legs (but don't believe them). If you are riding outside of rush hour (7-10AM, 4-7PM), you can take your bike on the Metro -- or you can take a folder anytime!

I probably will NOT be able to do the Metro first. I am thinking at this point, I will probably bike in to L'Enfant and then switch to the Green line from there. It really really REALLY sucks.

I decided to crack that folder out of the suitcase and start riding it next week... just in case. I love the job, but the commute is going to be a killer. I still have two job interviews to go, and both are in DC, so maybe I might not end up with that job in Suitland, though that club was REALLY great to work at! :cry:

I believe nothing about the Metro. If you have to transfer, the times are shot to hell and you're standing around on the platform. Or you get behind some ****** clunking their way down the stairs and you miss the train by seconds and have to wait 15 min for the next train, which means you miss your connection too. There's no win-win here.

There is a park n' ride over at the Memorial Bridge. I'm going to contact them and see if there's a way I can just get a ride across the bridge into Suitland with my bike, then ride the rest of the way. That's a possibility. I'm trying to be creative, really.

Koffee

:D On the lighter side is there any chance of trailering a kayak behind the folder and paddling across the river? :rolleyes:

If I could get a canoe on my bike trailer, I'd do it too. I wish they at least had a ferry of some sort. That would solve just about everything.

Koffee

I wasn't a tourist, I was working in Crystal City (training), living in Alex (I think the apartment complex was on Van Dorn). Jan-Apr '83. Watched Washington win the Super Bowl.
Apologies. My mistake. You didn't sound like a local :D



How about a small boat and oars? Ride to the banks of the river towing the boat. Load the bike and trailer in the boat and row across. It shouldn't take very long to row across at that point in the river. I know there's a thread on the forums somewhere where a guy does just that to go fishing. That way you get an upper body workout to go with your lower body workout. If you don't want to tow a boat, think inflatable.
Interesting idea. Problem is, where to land? Bolling AFB and the Navy Labs take up the entire DC bank below the Anacostia. Very high security, they'll probably shoot if you get too close to the shore.
If you go far enough south to find a decent landing, you might as well have biked instead.

Metro with a folder sounds best.

Sigh...

The more we talk about it, the more I wonder if the job is worth it. It's a fantastic job with great opportunities, but I just left a message with them and let them know I need to discuss my plans with them. I've got two interviews to go in DC, and if they're anywhere as good as the position in Suitland, I'll have to say no to the Suitland thing... or at least until 2010! :eek:

Koffee

I may MAY MAY be taking on a new job... but man! I took the train up, and that ride just seemed to go on and on. Does anyone know if there are bike trails or such that are at least semi-direct to cut back on dealing with tons of traffic? Or is there a faster road that is pretty direct into Suitland?

*sigh*

I'm a bit flabbergasted. I like the job, and it has great opportunities, and the people are great, but aack! There's no way I'm gonna ride the train that long distance. I hate to deal with public transportation.

Koffee



You could use one of these:

http://www.gen-corp.jp/Sozai/photo/Sun_n_fun01/Default.wmv

Koffee,

I have no clue if this helps at all, but I googled, "Washington DC water taxi". One of the results was this web site. (http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=water+taxi&near=Washington,+DC&sa=X&oi=localr) I hope this helps.

Koffee-
look on the f\bright side... by going an extra 8 miles, you are doing 16 more miles a day. That will equate to an additional 80 miles a week, or close to 4000 miles a year. Add that to your current milage and think how much better shape you'll be in. As a bonus, you will become acard-carrying member of the extreme commuter club!

What's negative about that???

seriously, hope you find a solution that works for you--

train safe-

I will check into the water taxi, but I don't feel optimistic.

I don't mind the extra commute, except to get to work by 5am, I'm going to have to leave awefully early in the morning. I just wonder how safe some of the neighborhoods I'll be riding through are, and I am just not familiar with the area, which doesn't do well by me either. My problem is mostly the time issue, not actually the fact that there's extra mileage involved. I am thinking that getting up at 3am just doesn't sound really appetizing to me.

Koffee