Living Car Free - Scouting for the car-dependant

I'm sorry that it is the price of gas that seems to be making car people talk to me more about alternatives to car driving. Some are so timid about biking and understandably claim that it is "too dangerous where I live". Saturday I went out in the suburbs and scouted a bike to work route for a timid friend. From a car perspective, and from google earth it looks like there is no safe route. But I found some overgrown paths, some sidwalks and, when I spotted a pedestrian overpass I knew I had it. One thing that helped me was to watch for people who look like immigrants riding cheap bikes and to look for the places where the grass is worn. The route I found has only two sections of single track the rest is on sidewalks or what Norther Virginia calls bike routes. I try to explain about riding on sidewalks being less safe than the road and watch for driveways but with the way traffic is out there I'm pretty sure my friend will stay off the street. The last word from my friend was "Thanks, when I ride the bike to work I'll skip the visit to the gym."

Next week I'm going to ride out to a different suburb and try scouting a route to the subway for a coworker who is paying $75 per week in gas. From the looks of google earth there may not be any safe route unless I find trails connecting dead-end neighborhoods. This isn't totally altruistic, in the end it expands my knowledge of the area. I'm just suggesting that doing this little bit of mentoring can be fun and help out your car-dependant friends.

Finding a good alternative route is often what makes a bike commute practical. Good work!

Awesome -- way to promote!!

Right on the money -- alternatives makes it interesting, and is part of the fun. It's free playtime, and who can't use more of that -- except my kids?

I live 2 miles from work, and I only take the direct route when he weather really sucks, or I'm worn down from the day, or I have an awkward load. Other than that, I have a half-dozen routes laid out, anything from 4-9 miles one way. The niner is the only one I haven't done yet this year, just cuz of park dept. construction blocking about 2 of those miles.

Sounds like you've found a nice little niche service - maybe you could make some money on the side??

I'm sorry that it is the price of gas that seems to be making car people talk to me more about alternatives to car driving. Some are so timid about biking and understandably claim that it is "too dangerous where I live". Saturday I went out in the suburbs and scouted a bike to work route for a timid friend. From a car perspective, and from google earth it looks like there is no safe route. But I found some overgrown paths, some sidwalks and, when I spotted a pedestrian overpass I knew I had it. One thing that helped me was to watch for people who look like immigrants riding cheap bikes and to look for the places where the grass is worn. The route I found has only two sections of single track the rest is on sidewalks or what Norther Virginia calls bike routes. I try to explain about riding on sidewalks being less safe than the road and watch for driveways but with the way traffic is out there I'm pretty sure my friend will stay off the street. The last word from my friend was "Thanks, when I ride the bike to work I'll skip the visit to the gym."

FWIW, Fairfax County just released their own county-wide bike map, that shows a lot of these little tricks and trails. You can get a hardcopy for free from my bike shops in the County, or you can download PDF from here:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/bike/

gwd,

Good for you.

FWIW, Fairfax County just released their own county-wide bike map, that shows a lot of these little tricks and trails. You can get a hardcopy for free from my bike shops in the County, or you can download PDF from here:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/bike/

Thanks for the link I'll look them over. My next scouting trip is DC to the far intersection of 29 & 50. The web site makes
it look like the county cares, or has since 2006. Riding down franconia and backlick road adjacent to 95 makes it look like they could not care less.

I think a lot of people I know are afraid to ride on the roads because they assume they'd have to ride the most direct route to get somewhere. Most of them always take only busy, main roads and highways when driving, so naturally they don't even think about other possibilities. Come to think of it, even when I still drove I would often take the quiet side streets just to get away from the madness.

Thanks for the link I'll look them over. My next scouting trip is DC to the far intersection of 29 & 50. The web site makes
it look like the county cares, or has since 2006. Riding down franconia and backlick road adjacent to 95 makes it look like they could not care less.

Is this 29 & 50 in Fairfax? That's not too far from my office. We are right along Fairfax County Parkway, which works well as a route for me.

The county does, or I guess I should say is starting to care. The problem is that it takes years of planning and development to make an area really bike-friendly. And to be honest, some parts of the county care about this sort of thing a lot more than others. The areas closest in - next to Arlington and along the WO&D, for example, are far more interested. The exurban areas are still far more tied to the status quo car culture.

The map is really just a first step - to identify the routes that cyclists currently use. It helps to identify the shortcomings of what we have today, and helps the County plan for the future.

Is this 29 & 50 in Fairfax? That's not too far from my office. We are right along Fairfax County Parkway, which works well as a route for me.

The county does, or I guess I should say is starting to care. The problem is that it takes years of planning and development to make an area really bike-friendly. And to be honest, some parts of the county care about this sort of thing a lot more than others. The areas closest in - next to Arlington and along the WO&D, for example, are far more interested. The exurban areas are still far more tied to the status quo car culture.

The map is really just a first step - to identify the routes that cyclists currently use. It helps to identify the shortcomings of what we have today, and helps the County plan for the future.
Yes. I'm going to try the routes suggested on the map first and work from there. The parkway is beyond 29 & 50 isn't it? The map seems to show that 50 isn't recommended for biking. I might wimp out and take the bike on the subway to Vienna then work from there. It might be good for a newbie to just have a safe route to the metro as a baby step.

Yes. I'm going to try the routes suggested on the map first and work from there. The parkway is beyond 29 & 50 isn't it? The map seems to show that 50 isn't recommended for biking. I might wimp out and take the bike on the subway to Vienna then work from there. It might be good for a newbie to just have a safe route to the metro as a baby step.

Yes, the parkway is out beyond that intersection. And I wouldn't really recommend 50 for biking either. Jermantown Road kind of gets you close to that intersection if it helps in any way. It isn't great, but it isn't horrible either. There are quiet residential streets that fill in holes in the route of course.

The other thing about the map is that they don't show hills (I gather the next printing will have a way of indicating them however), so you have to just try each road and see how it feels.

Of course it all depends on where your endpoints are, I guess. I live on the North side of Vienna, so I don't ride down in that section of town very often. My ride to work is out the WO&D and then down the parkway.

I think a lot of people I know are afraid to ride on the roads because they assume they'd have to ride the most direct route to get somewhere. Most of them always take only busy, main roads and highways when driving, so naturally they don't even think about other possibilities. Come to think of it, even when I still drove I would often take the quiet side streets just to get away from the madness.

I know exactly what you mean. For example, the Kanawha City area of Charleston's main drag is MacCorkle; riding a bike on most of MacC is downright scary. However, KC is laid out like a grid, so there are quiet streets running parallel to MacC; also, the cross-streets are numbered, so if you are heading for an address on MacC, just keep track of the numbers and you'll get there OK.

Other parts of the city have lots of little alleys, backstreets, and other ways to avoid the most heavily-travelled streets; some even can give you a more direct route than the main drags.