Mithrandir

Hi there! My company has a big annual meeting at its headquarters near Washington DC in a few weeks. I usually go and hide in my hotel all week long. This year is going to be different though. Since I've rediscovered the joy of biking, I've decided that I simply cannot take an entire week off, and I will be bringing my bike with me to DC so I can bike around after business hours. I'll probably even stay the weekend and bike around on Saturday before heading back on Sunday.

So I'd love to bike around the National Mall area; see all the monuments and do the dorky tourist thing and take pictures. Is this a good idea? Are bike generally allowed in that area? Is anyone going to give me any problems?

My hotel is going to be in Chantilly, near Dulles. I'm assuming that is going to be a little bit too far away to be able to bike to DC, sightsee, and bike back between the hours of say 5 and 8. So I'm thinking I'll load up the bike on my car, drive to Vienna, park next to the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, and ride the trail into DC, ala: https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.357399&z=12

Does that seem like a good idea? I'll take about an hour to bike to DC, have about an hour to fool around, then an hour to bike back before it gets too dark. Any dangerous neighborhoods around there? Is there any particular day that's best to avoid massive amounts of crowds? Anyone have any better suggestions?

Thanks!

idc

Sounds fine to me. Generally, west and north of DC are the "good" neighbourhoods, and Vienna is one of the more affluent parts around DC. I ride part of the W&OD every day as part of my commute. It's a decent ride, although a little crowded at times as it's not that wide. Biking around the National Mall should be fine too and it's flat (although there's not much shade), although again a little crowded, esp in summer weekends. I guess you're comfortable locking up your bike if you need to stop and eat/sightsee/etc.?

One of my friends once came specifically to DC to do the Mt. Vernon trail. I haven't tried it myself but it is popular I've heard.

ks1g

Where in Chantilly? My daily commute is to the office park off Stonecroft Blvd. & Conference Center Dr. There is plenty of trail-side parking in Vienna either on the west side by Mill & Church St, and at the Vienna Community Center on Park St where the W&OD crosses. Nearby bike shops are Spokes Etc. and Bikes @ Vienna. To get into DC, another option is bike to a convenient location to catch a Fairfax Connector Bus (all busses have bike racks) heading to an appropriate Metro station (West and East Falls Church are on/near the W&OD, Vienna is a bit removed) and bike in from there. Or lock bike @ a park & ride lot or metro station (bring a GOOD lock!) and metro in. Bikes (other than folders) are prohibited on Metro trains during rush hours.

Local fun destination - The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Annex is a few miles north of you and bike parking is free. Bike access via Centreville Rd/VA667 (use the side path on the northbound side if the traffic is too much for you), Wall Rd, and Air & Space Museum Parkway.

FYI, the W&OD doesn't take you all the way to DC. Around milepost 4, take a left onto the Custis Trail, which generally parallels I-66 into Rosslyn (Arlington neighborhood across from Georgetown). Watch speed on the "S curve of death" in Arlington (you'll know it when you are on it).

Local cycling websites: Bike Washington, Washington Area Bike Forums, Wash Cycle (blog), WABA (advocacy), FABB (advocacy). Local group rides: Potomac Pedalers, Reston Bike Club (social rides and the Tues/Thurs hammerfests), and I think there's a Saturday ride out of The Bike Lane in Reston Town Center.

If you have time and are feeling ambitious, you can continue from Rosslyn down the Mount Vernon Trail past Reagan National Airport through Alexandria (mind the stop signs/lights!) all the way to Mount Vernon. You can take the W&OD west as far as Purcelville. Have a great visit!

MattFoley

I regularly commute from Capitol Hill to Reston via the Custis Trail and W&OD...Vienna to DC takes bit more than an hour because of at-grade intersections and such, but it's about 13 miles from Vienna to Georgetown. In Vienna, there's some parking right at the trail on Cedar Lane and on Sandberg St, which probably is open most of the day, or you can probably find somewhere along Maple st./rt. 123 to park.

In the morning, I go through Georgetown to the Custis Trail, but coming home I avoid G-town because the traffic is terrible in that part of the city and I prefer to just avoid it. So instead I take W&OD to Four Mile Run trail, to the Mount Vernon Trail. I highly recommend stopping at Gravelly Point park along the MVT and watching the planes land at National Airport with the Capitol dome in the background. Then you can ride the MVT up to and across the 14th st. Bridge (I-395 bridge across the Potomac), which dumps you out at the Jefferson Memorial with easy access to the Mall.

Here's a section of this evening's ride home:

Mithrandir

Thanks! Good info here, gonna have to sort it all out.

I'll be staying near Conference Center Dr in Chantilly, I think at Westfields Marriott. I'll have to double check on that. Probably too far from DC to get there on a weekday night, but maybe if I go on the weekend. Not sure yet.

ks1g

Right around the corner from my office! Here's a quick route I ginned up from the hotel to Vienna. Not the most direct route, it's a compromise between traffic and avoding hills. All roads are rideable - I either commute on them, have tested the route, or it's used by the local Reston Bike Club Tuesday night hammerfest. Comments: Watch traffic on the Willard Rd overpass over Rt 28 (esp weekday PM rush!). There is a side path but the drivers IGNORE everything on it. I prefer to cross Rt 50/Lee Jackson Hwy at the Summerfield Circle/Centerview Dr intersection (next one to the west) but the light is vehicle-sensor controlled and you can be there a LONG time. Centerville Rd is busier but manageable IMO. Route over to the W&OD trades off directness vs. hills (I have a more direct route if you like climbing). I have not edited the ridewithgps cues, so there could be some weirdness in road names, etc.

If you want to go west, most direct route to W&OD is up Centreville Rd into Herndon. A more direct route to the W&OD than above is switch to the Fairfax County Parkway/7100 side path around mile 4.8 and head north. The side trail to the W&OD is immediately after the Dulles Toll Rd/267 (WATCH OUT CROSSING THE ON AND OFF RAMPS!) and the W&OD overpass. PM me if you want other info.

cc_rider

As ks1g and Matt have said, the W&OD is the best biking route down to DC, although 16 miles to Vienna and another 12 to DC, and back, is a long day on the trail and in the suburbs with not much time in the city.

Another possibility. Metro buses have bike racks on the front, and the 5A bus runs from Dulles airport to DC and back, every day, every hour, about a 50 minute trip. You could ride to the airport, take the bus the rest of the way, then send more time riding around DC. Or ride in on ks1g's route, enjoy the trail and the city, and use the bus to help you get back. Saves you 22 of those 28 miles. You might also ask at the hotel if they have a shuttle bus that can take a bike.

DC does have a really good bike share program. If you can find a way downtown, you can use the bike share once you get there.

cyclehen

I'd drive into Arlington-- you can do this after work hours for an evening ride (traffic is mostly coming out of the city). You can park at any one of a number of parks, schools, or community centers near the W&OD Trail. Gunston Community Center or Barcroft Park are a couple of good places-- this would bring you down the W&OD/ Four Mile Run Trails to the Mt Vernon Trail near Reagan Nat'l Airport, then go north along the river. The ride along the Virginia side has great views of the monuments, and you can cross at bridges at several points along the way. Here's the map you'd need: https://www.bikearlington.com/tasks/s...emap_front.pdf