Originally Posted by
jpescatore
College Park to Rockville is an impressive bike commute. In the late 80s/early 90s I would occasionally bike commute from home in Ashton to work on Research Blvd. in Rockville - 12 miles. We had showers at work, so I could leave clothes at work and shower when I got there.
Well, I was in my 20s in the 90s so it didn't seem like a big deal to me then. It would kill me now.
I do envision getting in mileage like that when I retire in a few years although it'll be much slower than back then... We also had showers and I had an office with a door/lock so I would get cleaned up then change in my office (carried tshirt/shorts on the bike).
Originally Posted by
jpescatore
Back then, not a pleasant commute - much sharing of roads with car commuters vs. good shoulders, let alone paths. The Intercounty connector was being planned, which promised a contiguous bike path along its length and it would siphon off truck and car traffic from the E/W roads between 95 and 270
I had a lot of options on the route that I worked out over time. I could largely avoid heavy traffic except on cherry hill rd and new hampshire ave. There are a lot of neighborhoods that I would use. It was in this period of time that I started writing local reps (for things like keeping or increasing the shoulder on roads like 650).
Now I live a mile from the C&O and a couple miles from the nice roads in Loudoun County and my riding is just recreational. I do miss the satisfaction of bike commuting but I was dumb and moved really, really far from work (work is on 650 north of the beltway).