Well today was a great day for commuting, 70 degrees and at 5pm, everyone... EVERYONE seemed to be on a bicycle on the CCT trail. I was going slow, but there were so many bikes and its nice to see everyone out.
I do a hybrid commute most of the time. park in rockcreek and ride down from silver spring to arlington. Great commute, wish i lived in bethesda. that would work out really well!

I had some problems with my bike, and at jones mill road a fellow bicyclist helped me diagnose the problem, he was riding a very wicked bike, that was extended. It had a huge rack on the back that was made of wood, and it looked very useful. So whoever he is, thank you! My brake and frame started hitting the tire, and i just couldnt get it. But he twisted some knobs here and there and i made it home. I got to get my wheel trued.

So who here uses the CCT trail to commute?

I don't commute on it, but I ride it once in awhile for fun and variety. A bit too crowded for me except in the wintertime, or during the daytime in the middle of the week. Otherwise, it's a very nice ride.

Try out the C&O towpath too, if you haven't already, and if you have the bike for it.

I use the CCT a lot to get to the Custis Trail which goes to the W&OD. I will also use it to get to the Mt. Vernon Trail, but it is crowded though.

80% of my commute is on the CCT. I get on it at Mass Ave and ride to DC. Weekday mornings are great -- mostly other commuters. Weekday evenings are a bit more crowded, but not bad. Weekends are the worst, by far. I love the CCT but try to limit my weekend time.

I come from Alex. up into downtown DC for work, so my commute is almost exclusively MVT and some city streets at both ends. Friday was a great commute day, though, especially in the AM. Then again, I like the cooler temps. I'm a "big rig" and I heat up fast, so cooler temps=better.

My commute is mostly on the Mt Vernon Trail, from Crystal City to Thomas Circle via the 395 bridge to the Tidal Basin, then up 14th. The trail is almost empty in the morning except for the asian dudes fishing. Can be crowded on nice days in the evenings but not too bad. It's a great commute. Over the last year I've seen Great Blue Herons, Osprey, Bald Eagles, a bunch of other birds, and a pair of Beavers! Beavers!!!

Mine is a westbound commute from Courthouse- on the Custis then the W&OD. A few times a week I add on some miles, either on the way in or home, by taking the Mt. Vernon to 4-Mile Run, then linking up with my regular route near Bluemont.

I see a ton of rabbits, an unusually high amount of cardinals, and an occasional fox. No herons or beavers in the suburbs…

This morning I tried a new commuting route - I used a bus bike rack to get my bike to the Pentagon, and rode to Rosslyn via Arlington Cemetery, the MUP that goes past the Netherlands Carillon, and N. Meade St. According to the Arlington Bike map, there is a MUP that parallels Jefferson Davis Highway (Rt. 110) from Rt. 27 to the Arlington Cemetary Metro station. The only path I saw was an extra wide shoulder on Rt 110. Is that it? Or did I miss something - like is the MUP on the other side of the Metro tracks? It was okay on the shoulder, but thats not a bike path.

Since we are all fessing up, my commute is from Falls Church City to downtown DC, first on some city streets, then the W&OD, Custis, MVT, and finally across the 14th Street bridge and over the National Mall.

Morning is never much of an issue. The worst aspects of my commute are in the afternoon, in no particular order: 1) throngs of tourists on the National Mall and just navigating through them to the 14th Street bridge in rush hour traffic--cannot believe there is not a single bike lane on any street that runs through the National Mall. 2) the poor condition of the Custis Trail, that is the roots poking through the surface, cracked pavement, etc. It does not bother me that it is a lot of uphill headed west, that makes it more challenging. 3) Lots of residential area walkers with dogs on the Custis and W&OD when the weather is nice. Admittedly, they usually pay more attention to their surroundings than the tourists but I've had some close calls. 4) Other cyclists who don't announce they are passing, run red lights, and otherwise act recklessly. 5) For whatever reason, it seems like there is always a headwind on the MVT, cannot figure it out, but I never have a tailwind there, morning or afternoon.

Last Friday afternoon I tried taking the MVT south from the 14th Street Bridge past National Airport to the 4 Mile Run Trail to the W&OD. The 4 Mile Run connector trail is technically "closed" until May 2 but people were riding it anyway. Trail condition is much better than Custis and there were fewer people, terrain was flat, some more stoplights to deal with crossing busy roads and it took about 5 minutes longer but overall seemed more pleasant albeit not as much of a workout (may be good or bad).

I also found a slightly longer but less congested route to the 14th Street bridge in the afternoon.

I use the W&OD and Custis trails normally, going from Herndon to Capitol Hill via Key Bridge/Gtown.

Other days when my wife is at the Pentagon, I'll take MVT to 14th street bridge.

It's not as applicable now, but during the winter a group of cyclocommuters updates the Trail Status twitter frequently so you know which trails are navigable and what the conditions are.

https://www.twitter.com/DCTrails

Mornings I ride from house in NW to Friendship Heights Metro, get off at Shady Grove, bike to office in Gaithersburg

Evening, I reverse this, but sometimes get off at Bethesda Metro, and take CCT south to either River Rd or Mass, then to house. As others say, CCT is a crowded mess in evenings, but if you commit to a slow ride, it's peaceful. I'm glad to have MUP options for when I just don't want to deal with cars.

I ride a mile along 355 and it's sparsely populated as far as stores/places to stop, so cars zoom along at 40-60+ MPH. Crossing where I-370 dumps in sucks. I'm centered in the right through lane, but to my right is first the off-ramp lane, then the on-ramp lane. Traffic in the 2 left lanes is insanely fast. Oh well, it all works somehow

Another option from Pentagon is to go South into Crystal City where you can join the Mount Vernon train (near 18th). Then you can take it north to which ever bridge puts you closest to your DC desination.

That's my route whenever my wife works out of the Pentagon.

It's quite nice in the morning, and sometimes I'll stop to watch planes on approach/departure from DCA

Amen!!

Definately.

Why go south to Crystal City? From Pentagon transit station, I follow the signs toward the Pentagon Memorial. There is a MUP on the sidewalk adjacent to Rt. 27 heading north with the memorial on your right. Cross the bridge over Rt. 110, and if you want to join the northbound MVT, then you continue north. There are some tricky traffic crossings in this direction, but the trails do connect just north of Memorial Bridge. There is also a path from here up to Memorial Bridge, just before you go under the bridge and join the MVT. I didn't use this, because going via Rt. 110 doesn't require crossing any busy highways.

Or you can take a right, just past the Rt. 27 bridge over 110 and go around and under the bridge to the wide shoulder on Rt. 110 as I did. This leads to the exit from 110 to Memorial Bridge, arriving near the Arlington Cemetery Metro Station. Take a right over Memorial Bridge, or a left to the MUP that leads to the Marine Corps memorial (Iwo Jima statue).

That's a good option too. I wasn't aware of the MUP along rte 27. The route via Crystal City is probably longer but it's also probably calmer.

Does anyone know how to access the trail system from Rosslyn? Like if I wanted to go south along the river.

Easy - head toward the Key Bridge. The exit for the MVT is well signed located just before the bridge where N. Lynn St. crosses Lee Hwy. There is a bike and pedestrian bridge across the GW Parkway, ending in the parking lot for Theodore Roosevelt Island and the MVT goes south from there. I rode that way home on Thursday and Friday in perfect weather - not the shortest way home for me, but well worth it.

By the way, I mis-spoke. The trail on Rt. 27 branches off to join the MVT south of the Memorial Bridge, not north. You DON'T go under the bridge before the two trails join.