RCMoeur 

"MVD!!!" :::thwap:::

(sorry, 31 years with a different division of the Department breeds ingrained habits)

scott967

When my wife was on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, she had a guy working for her who commuted from Gettysburg. But he was on his twilight tour and was going to retire there.

As far as car free in Belvoir, doesn't seem that feasible to me but maybe I'm not imaginative. But since they closed Cameron Station Belvoir is the go-to commissary for NoVa.

I guess they allow bikes on the VRE rail so maybe Lorton (used to be the DC prison, now suburbs) is an option to get into DC or Metro territory. Years ago I lived in Annapolis and commuted into northern VA (Crystal City). Would drive to Stadium-Armory metro and ride from there (much cheaper to start in DC than MD). Now and then would take bike on weekend and use Pentagon North Parking and ride down to Mount Vernon and back. Not the fastest due to multi-use etc. Also cops in Old Town Alexandria will hassle you. Back then Potomac Yard was just that -- massive railyard. Also Navy Yard wasn't somewhere you wanted to hang around. I guess things are different.

Hell, I remember back then have family in Centreville and would sometimes ride out there. Ride on Braddock Rd and at the Loudoun County line it turned into gravel. Those were the days.

scott s.
.

biker128pedal

If where you stay has free parking take the car. It will be close in case you need it. After 3 month you’ll retrieve it anyway. The bike and public transportation in Fairfax County has improved since I lived there but it’s not like Germany. If you more than road ride you’ll need the car. As mentioned above there are bike paths and rail trail (C&O Canal, Indian Head rail trail, Mount Vernon Trail etc). But close in they get crowded with walkers. Funny the Mount Vernon trail can get so packed I’ve just road the Mount Vernon Parkway. Of course there are signs forbidding bikes.

Sounds like you’ll settle in. But I’d keep the options.

MoAlpha

Congratulations on the promotion!

Northern Virginia is a suburban hellscape. I suggest a careful study of the Strava heat map and the Google maps cycling overlay and street views to make sure you can get where you want to go. The trail network is fairly dense, but not always complete or conducive to fast or relaxing riding. Personally, I hate it. I've only been to Belvoir a few times, but it seems difficult to get to by bike and living there without a car would be pretty isolating. If there are shuttles available, say from the Pentagon or other Metro stops, it might make more sense to live in the Arlington area, which has lots of cyclists and infrastructure with relatively easy cycling access to DC and MD.

Belvoir is near enough to open country for real riding, but you have to cross a lot of complete **** to get there.

As others have advised, maybe just bring the car.

seypat

That sitting around waiting for your number to come up gets old. I do as much online as I can. On a serious note, not sure when the Fall Line Trail is supposed to be completed. When it is operational, you'll be able to get on it at Ashland and go all the way to Yorktown via the VA Cap Trail and Colonial Parkway. Hopefully, there are plans in the future to keep expanding north into the DC area.

https://www.falllineva.org/trailmaps

staehpj1

I wondered if maybe that was what it stood for, but having lived in a Baltimore suburb for ~65 years (my whole life up until the last 7 or 8 years) and working in a DC suburb for 25+ years I wasn't sure since I'd never heard of that usage.

Jjbailey930

My Vernon trail is really nice along the Potomac. It gets a lot of traffic. There is a nice paved trail along the Fairfax County Pkwy which terminates just north of Ft. Belvoir. I bet there are nice trails in Mason Neck park. Fountain Head Regional Park is known for great mountain biking trails. If you have FB, there is a Northern Va Gravel Group. They post weekly rides out in the western part of the area. Good luck with the move and the post.

SkinGriz

Rome.

Smitty2k1

Bike Party on Wednesday not Tuesday.

WT160

I often bike the canal (old tow path) that runs from DC (Georgetown) north, past Harper's Ferry, and on up to Cumberland, MD. From there you can ride trails that cross PA to Pittsburgh.

bargo68 

Welcome home, soldier!

denizen2

Corrected, thanks! (Well, except for this month)

3alarmer

.
...you asked for stuff to see. Some of the places that nobody ever goes to (because they are relatively unknown), are the National Arboretum, (over in NE,) The Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, (across the Anacostia, over in far SE), and by far my favorite of all the D.C. museums, the Textile museum. Thompson boat house and Fletcher's, farther up river, are both places you can rent a canoe or rowboat and enjoy the river from a different perspective. It's a great place to be a museum tourist, because many of them are free admission.

I have spent many hours wandering around the grounds and collections of pre-Columbian stuff at Dumbarton Oaks. The gardens themselves are a wonderfully designed national treasure.

And high on the list of obscure tourist attractions are the catacombs under the old Franciscan monastery, also out in far NE, near the Maryland state line.

Smitty2k1

Great post! While out on the Anacostia Trails you could also hit up Greenbelt Park for possibly the easiest overnight camping spot in the area from the city center.

Also don't miss the Island Time bar for a solid, and relatively unknown, place to get a bite to eat and a drink in the middle of a ride on the Mt Vernon trail.

The MBT (Metropolitan Branch Trail) has turned into quite the beer lover's paradise with a handful of breweries including Lost Generation.

-Smitty
​​​​

Jjbailey930

HS buddies from BITD. DC punk making a comeback. Also, good music scene, breweries, lots to do besides ride

bikelif3

W&OD Trail...If you're in the DMV and don't ride this trail, you've committed a sin...

Burke Lake is nice, too. A little crowded during the busiest times (weekends, etc). Just go slow and easy...

BlazingPedals

I'm glad that was cleared up! I though the OP was talking about his job being transferred to the Dept of Motor Vehicles.

Ironfish653

From a former local; It would be very difficult at best, to be car-free in that area. Belvoir isn't in the District, proper, it's in Fairfax County, which is a whole nother thing. There's lots of good riding, and you could reach much of it without long transfer stages, but the Telegraph Road/ Route 1 Corridor adjacent to the Post is not particularly bike friendly. Most of NOVA aside from enclaves like Old Town Alexandria, were developed as typically car-centered suburbs in the 60s-80s, and all the public transit is designed (almost exclusively) hub-and-spoke, to get people into the City for work , so it's not super useful for getting around, unless you're going where it is

tomato coupe

So, this has something to do with cell phone reception while waiting in line to renew a driver's license?

Germany_chris

Exactly

biker128pedal

Check out Ride with GPS app. It may be helpful. Here is around Ft Belvior. The routes some can be busy

ericoseveins

Man, the ratio of useful:sassy in the answers you got is... something. I hope your transition to the area goes smoothly. Fort Belvoir really is quite far from the city and nondescript. You might feel isolated and while some of your co-workers might be into bike nerding, it'll likely be mostly weekend roadie-type stuff without much variety there. You might consider living somewhere in Alexandria instead - maybe Del Ray or Shirlington? More places to ride, walkability, two bike co-ops nearby. It would be a longish bike commute to Fort Belvoir but certainly doable. SE DC also is reasonably close but not there isn't much bike infrastructure - the current ward council member feels that supporting bicycle infrastructure will lead to unwanted gentrification. Though if you can get onto Bolling I think navigating a commute from SE would be much more pleasant.

It's a wonderful place to live and bike, with ample access to mountain biking, bike camping, maker spaces, themed group rides, and everything else you could want. I hope you come to love it here!

Germany_chris

I've reached out to a couple people I know in the area and they both also told me to live in Alexandria but you can only get so much information on a map recon. I spent a few minutes yesterday talking to a guy from the area and he didn't think I could be car free so I brought up living in Manassas and I got some teeth sucking in response. On the map it looks like Manassas would be an easy commute since you don't need to get on the beltway but I just don't have enough time in the area to make reasonable assumptions. What I do remember about the area is there is no place to park anywhere if you combine that with taxes and fees that come from owning a car there I'm just not sure how much of my income I'm willing to sacrifice to keep my car there.

When I make the move I think I just fly to my parents house, borrow one of their cars and do some recon.

ericoseveins

I'm more like car-light these days but I was entirely car-free for twelve years, let my driver's license lapse and everything. It certainly helps if you don't have children. In terms of Manassas versus Alexandria, I think your ease of car-free living really improves with subway, commuter rail, and Amtrak access in addition to local buses. Manassas only has commuter rail which would be of low use to you since you wouldn't be commuting inbound anyway. Coming from Alexandria you could bike to Fort Belvoir, or you could Metro to Springfield and bike, or Metro and bus all the way. Commuter rail would be less useful to you since you would be going contraflow but might have some utility on occasion.

The only advantage of living in Manassas is it might be easier to park but honestly it's not particularly difficult to park in Del Ray or Shirlington. In terms of downside, I would consider if you really want to be reliant on driving around here. The unpredictability of the traffic is awful and in rush hour it can be hard to know whether a trip will take you twenty minutes or ninety if you're unlucky. And in terms of living the bike nerdery existence you've been dreaming of, I don't know that Manassas has much of that.

It is also possible to live in the city and work out there. We live in Columbia Heights/Petworth and my wife works in the Fort Belvoir North area. She doesn't bike and her commute on public transit involves a Metro transfer and then a bus from the end of the Blue line. It's not a commute that I could tolerate, but it's feasible.

EDIT: To clarify, the main advantage of living in the city is that it's much, much more fun. More house parties, more bike rides, more pretentious kids and food, more pickup basketball, more people doing weird jobs, more everything. There's some of that in Alexandria, none of that in Manassas. Another thought on commuting, you might think about slugging which is informal carpooling. Driver picks you up in order to take advantage of the HOV lanes because the traffic gridlock around here is so bad. Lots of people commuting to and from Fort Belvoir but you'll probably have more opportunities if you're coming and going from Alexandria than from Manassas.

wheelreason

South East? Yeah, cause if a stray bullet doesn't get you, the ride on the Green line will. What you got against this poor guy?...
OP, the commute from Alexandria to Ft Belvoir via bike will be over an hour and probably more, and DC will add at least another 30 to 40 minutes. Bring the car.