Route/cues for Philly → D.C.?
 

A friend of mine and I have a business meeting this upcoming Tuesday in Reston, VA (just outside of Washington, D.C.). We live in Philadelphia, and it's only about 160 miles away, so we said to ourselves (almost jokingly at first), "Why not bike?!"

This is all very last-minute, so we've no bike maps and we need some help/advice planning our route.

Here's our current plan: http://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...=s&aoh=1&aot=1

with the following deviations:

• Turn off of US40 onto MD136 to MD7 to Abingdon Road, then back to
  US40. I have no idea where these turns are, we should try to find
  out. This will avoid the Hatem Bridge, which bikes cannot go over.
• We'll want to stop before we get to Franklin Street (direction number
  28), unless it is not too dark. That street is supposed to be
  dangerous at night. Even during the day we were suggested to "hustle"
  through that part. The Franklin street turn is 54.9 miles from the
  Hotel (according to Mapquest), so we'll be more than 1/2 way if we
  make it near there on the first day.
• Instead of turning onto MLK Blvd, stay on Franklin until we get to
  Greene Street. Take Greene Street south then take a right onto
  Washington Blvd (near the Oriole Park / Camden Yards). Continue on
  Washington Blvd as directed on the map.

We plan on leaving Sunday morning, hoping to arrive by Monday afternoon/evening. We don't have any plans for sleeping arrangements Sunday night, but we figure we can find a Motel/Hotel along the way.

We're going to take the train back to Philly.

Our questions:

• Does that sound like a sane route?
• Has anyone done this ride before?
• Is it do-able in just two days? It's about 80 miles a day, but I'm not certain of elevations. I assume it's all fairly flat, correct?
• Does anyone want to come with us? We're open to guests (although keep in mind we won't be riding back). Also, at least one of us will be on a fixed gear, so we might not be able to keep up with fast riders.

Thanks!

Philly --> D.C. ride THIS SUNDAY
 

Questions:

• Has anyone done this ride before? If so, was it done fixed?
• How does our route look? (It's available on the original post)
• General suggestions?
• Anyone want to come with us?

Discuss.

I think i would scrap most of those mapquest directions, find route 1 and follow it to DC, once you get to DC head west to rosslyn and get on the custis trail to the W&OD trail, W&OD will take you straight to Reston, :edit: go to mile 17 on the W&OD take a left on to Wiehle, follow it til it ends at Sunrise Valley and turn right.

how long are you guys going to be in town?

Do you know if route 1 is bikeable all of the way to DC? I'm specifically afraid of bridges that don't allow bicycles.

That's excellent. Thanks!

We hope to arrive some time Monday. Our meeting is all day Tuesday. We're grad students, so we have a pretty flexible schedule. We don't have train tickets yet, but we were planning on leaving Tuesday night, but that might be negotiable. The latest I can be back in Philly is Wednesday evening.

Any suggestions for rides/activities in/around Reston if/when we have some free time?

HAHAHAHAHAHA
and
parts of it

The DC and Virginia parts might be tough on a fixee, unless you're really good at hills.

May I suggest......

Can't help you around Philly.
Route 40 - crappy to drive, can imagine how it is to bike.
Most people who have gone that way seem to prefer route 1 to route 40.

Is Franklin where you need to be? Thru Balmer, I'd take a left on Paterson Park Ave, and at the park go right on Lombard into downtown. That will take you across to Greene or MLK thru a much nicer neighborhood.

Washington Blvd/ route 1 is not much better than route 40, but I suppose it (might be) bikeable. There a nicer route the local clubs use, http://www.bikewashington.org/routes/dc2balt/index.htm. Minimizes the time on route 1.

The Greenbelt to DC part is OK, although I might come into town differently.

The mapquest route thru DC and Virginia is on some narrow, busy roads and has a few "healthy" hills. I think there is still major construction on some of it near AU. Parts of that route are dangerous for bikes.

If you take the bikewashington route, once past Union Station, take Louisiana to Constitution Ave and go right / west past the museums and Federal Buildings.
Take Constitution to just past the White House, then bear right on Virginia Ave.
Take Virginia Avenue to the end (you might want to take the service roads at the underpass), cross Rock Creek Parkway at the TL. Go straight thru the NPS parking lot and across the bridge. At the other end go right along the river, around the new construction and across the Washington Harbor boardwalk. At the other end of WH, go around the corner to the right and go to the front side of the buildings at K street (under the elevated highway)

Go left / west on K street to Wisconsin Ave and turn right. Simplest is to go up to M street and turn left, and left again at the Key Bridge (cross at the near-side light and take the sidepath, not the bridge itself)
You can also take the C&O Canal path from Wisconsin and cross it at a foot bridge near Key Bridge.
http://www.bikewashington.org/canal/canal_a.htm (see detail map)

At the Virginia end of the Key bridge, cross the road leading to the bridge at the light. This is the start of the Custis Trail (look for the yellow dividing line on the sidewalk). Stay on the Custis Trail approx 4 miles to the end. It crosses under the highway and T's at another trail. Go right at the T and right again at the next T onto the W&OD. This is around milepost 4.
http://www.bikewashington.org/routes...n/keychain.htm

Take the W&OD west thru Falls Church and Vienna. Past the Vienna train station there will be several miles with no road crossing. The first big crossing you come to is Hunter Mill. Then there is a short hill with the little street at the top. The next big crossing is Sunrise Valley, but stay on the W&OD for two more crossing to get to Wiehle. This is around milepost 17. Turn off the trail left onto Wiehle, cross the Dulles Access Road, then right on Sunrise Valley. You should be just across the Acces Road from Reston Town Center.
http://www.bikewashington.org/trails/wad/wad.htm

If I think of a better way from Greenbelt to DC. I'll post later.

Should be doable in two days. If you get just past Balmer the bikewashington route gets you to lots of hotels around BWI ariport.

Have fun.

I think Tink did a ride like this last summer (see us on DC pirate thread). Or maybe it was Phillie to Baltimore...either way, that should get you pretty close. Also, there is alway the Chinatown bus from Phillie to DC and they take bikes :P

hmmm, i'm sure some of the pirates can get together and goof off with you Monday or Tuesday, nothing in particular is coming to mind about stuff to do in reston, i'll try to figure something out. W&OD is the main ride around Reston, though there are quite a few paved trails that run through the neighborhoods, where they go i dont actually know anymore. might want to do some sightseeing in DC if you've never been to the smithsonian or monuments before.

route 1 bridges, not sure, i drove from philadelphia to baltimore on route 1 once, i don't remember there being any difficult bridges but honestly i wasnt paying much attention to that. there wasnt too much traffic on it (sunday evening, so probably should be the same for you. seemed to be plenty of places to stop for water/food. MDRawk may know more about route 1 from DC to Baltimore, or have another suggestion. I'm pretty sure tink20seven did some (all?) of philadelphia to baltimore last year, ask him too.

i'm pretty sure i'll be able to meet you guys monday evening in DC and can show you to Reston, you have a hotel reservation for monday night in reston, i presume. its not likely you'd get lost, but its easy enough to make a wrong turn and waste time.

edit: yes there is that, but its somewhat a lack of adventure, and i believe the PHI <> DC runs are on a stupid schedule, i know i would have had to stay overnight for 12 Monkeys

Just to be safe, I would take the train there, and ride back. That way, if something catastrophic happens, you won't miss your meeting.

PS: Stay at a hostel or camp. Cheaper, and more fun.

Agree about scrapping most of the map quest directions. Most of the parts of it I know are not bike friendly, and some are dangerous.

Route 1 is probably best from Philly to Baltimore, but a BAD choice from Baltimore to DC.

See my (long) post in touring for a detailed route. (would have put it here, but I didn't know you had crossed posted.)

if you get to a bridge that won't allow bikes, just pop your front wheel off and stick your thumb out. You'll get a ride across is a few minutes.

We originally wanted to camp, but:

1. We couldn't find a campsite that's open this early in the year;
2. We were thinking about just camping anyway (i.e. illegally), but we talked to numerous people who've done that before, and they all got caught (some spent a night in jail).
3. We're not sure how far we'll get the first day, and (m|h)otels are more readily available than campsites;
4. All of the campsites we found---if we were there in the right season---cost ~$30 a night per person;
5. Showers are nice; and
6. Our job will pay for the (m|h)otel.

+1 Nebraska/Loughboro has a nasty hill that ends in a T junction. You'd be spinning silly and prolly die without a brake.

I checked out that BikeWashington route. Here's a simpler way to get to the Key Bridge(Pirates feel free to correct me if I'm goofy):

1) Follow their route(http://www.bikewashington.org/routes...lt/balt2dc.htm) until 43.1 Michigan.

2) Take Michigan to Columbia.

3) Take Columbia to 16th NW.

4) Take 16th south to M.

5) Go west on M to the Key Bridge.

Here it is on GMap: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=94330

Like your idea. Michigan Ave and Columbia are good choices.
16th was never my favorite. Too narrow ..... and have they finished the endless construction zone yet? I'd try to go more west to a bike-friendlier street like 19th or 21st using Florida Ave as a cut-over.

Reston, VA (just outside of Washington, D.C.). ******************** U guys cant ride in here just like in phily... somepleaces u cant really go riding a bike... 150 miles isnt a great distance... thats like 230 kms. u guys can do that in 12/15 hours for sure, that means leave early in the morning and arrive to Reston in the afternoon. I dont see point in stopping to sleep. Maybe it will take 2 days but not 3. Come on 50 miles per day are like 3 like hours riding at 15 mph, 24 km/h thats slow dude... do half a day but not 50 miles per day thats like a sunday ride... but well... what I would do is map from where u guys live in phily then get into pourcelville, Va and take the WOD trail straight into reston or DC. that trail gets u rigght to DC and cross reston.

Good luck :)

The W&OD from Reston west is a nice ride. Goes thru Leesburg and ends in Purcelville at milepost 45.
Or you could ride from Reston back to DC and play tourist.

On the other side of the Access Road from you hotel is Reston Town Center and several other retail centers. Movies, shopping and lots of restaurants. Better choices than you side of the highway.

What do you mean:
"Can't ride" as in "it isn't wise to ride,"
or
"Can't ride" as in "you will get arrested if you ride on this street"
?

Remember, one of us will be on a fixed gear and we're both only used to doing about 10--20 miles a day.

We're only planning on riding for two days, for about 5 hours each day, just to be safe. We need to be in Reston really early in the morning on Tuesday, so we didn't want to risk leaving on Monday. We've got the time, so we might as well take a relaxing ride. If we get there sooner, great.

We know; that was our first plan, until our boss offered to pay for Amtrack :D If the ride down goes smoothly, though, we might ride back.

If you are running late or too tired and need to make up time, just ride the the nearest DC Metro station. Bikes allowed at all times except weekday rush hours. You'll need to buy a SmartTrip card to get on.
With the bikewashington route you pass by the Greenbelt station and maybe a couple others. The East Falls Church station on the Orange line is right on the W&OD at milepost 6, but the Vienna station is only 2 miles from the W&OD using Nutley St, Courthouse Rd and Locust St to get to the Community Center which is at milepost 11.5.

Let us know how it works out.

16th from Columbia is not that bad. I used to ride that part every day in rush hour traffic. Is it tight? Well yes, but better than allot of dc

We made it! Here's the scoop:
http://www.sultanik.com/blog/RideToReston

For the lazy among us, here are our lessons learned:

• For anyone that is reasonably in shape, long distance touring is 85% mental.
• Touring gear (i.e. racks and panniers) add a lot of weight, and weight makes a huge difference. I used a rack trunk and a handlebar bag, which made my bike top heavy and made steering awkaward. It also prevented me from pulling a Natty Fab.
• Even if you wear sunscreen, you'll get sunburn and tanned in the weirdest places (see the pictures linked below).
• Even though I used a fixed gear, I'm really glad I at least had a front brake; it was essential on the huge hills around the PA/MD border.
• Route 1 is the best way to get from Philadelphia to Baltimore. Much of Route 1 is a four lane highway, but there's a huge shoulder that allows for two bikes to ride abreast. It's also legal for bikes to ride along the shoulder.
• There is nothing between Kenett Square and the suburbs of Baltimore. Literally. We had to make an 8 mile detour just to get some lunch.
• GPS is invaluable, especially for finding the nearest restaurant, hotel, or convenience store when in the middle of nowhere (i.e. between Kenett Square and Baltimore).
• Never underestimate your appetite. All-you-can-eat places are great.
• You probably don't want to ride further than White Marsh, Maryland after dark. This is coming from someone who lives in West Philly. White Marsh is really nice, though, and has a lot of great places to stay/eat, especially around to I-95.
• We used the Bike Washington cue sheet to get from Baltimore to D.C. It was great, however, it was originally written by people going the opposite direction (i.e. from D.C. to Baltimore). Therefore, some of the directions were wrong (for example, at mile 14.6 you really want to make a right onto Park Circle). Also, the warning about a big hill at mile 30.9 was really a downhill for us; we got really confused and thought we were lost because we never got to a big climb.
• Getting across D.C. from Union Station to the Francis Scott Key Bridge took a lot longer than expected.
• The Custis and W&OD trails are amazing.
• Taking a lot of turns on small roads takes a lot of time; it took us the same amount of time to get from Philly to Baltimore (~100 miles down Route 1) as it did to go from Baltimore to Reston (~65 miles on dozens of different roads).
• Riding through a hail storm is not fun.

Pictures are available here.

Here are some highlights (click on the pictures for a larger version):

Our bikes:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1694.thumb.jpghttp://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1697.thumb.jpg

Ghetto GPS Rig and Æro Bars:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1695.thumb.jpghttp://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1696.thumb.jpg

Spare Spokes:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1699.thumb.jpg

Weird Tanning and Sunburn Locations:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1713.thumb.jpghttp://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1714.thumb.jpg

I tried to pull a Natty Fab in Baltimore, but my handlebars were too heavy from all of my gear, so the best I could do was a regular trackstand:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1720.thumb.jpg

No comment:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1729.thumb.jpg

Us in front of BWI:
http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/...1724.thumb.jpg

Thank you all for all of your help, especially Spud. We're really sorry we didn't get to meet up with any pirates; there just wasn't any time.

Congrats, boys. Glad you had a good time!

whats the other 15%?

glad your route wasnt too complicated, sounds like you made decent time. and one puncture? pretty good, i expected more flats, murphy's law and all.

5% muscle, 5% endurance, and 5% pie.

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pie!

Thanks for letting us know how it went.
Good to know that route 1 works (for when I head north.)

I'll keep the DC to Balto correction info in mind. Missed out on trying that ride last year, but plan to sometime this year.

Getting through DC does take a while. The Michigan Ave, Columbia Road route might have been quicker.

The Custis and W&OD are amazing. If you had been coming through on Sunday instead of Monday I might have passed you.

A DC to Balto alternate might be route 29, if you can figure out how to get to it at the Balto end. Wide shoulder, hills not too bad and a straight shot, but last year there was lots of construction in Montgomery county that closed parts of it off to bikes. At the DC end the cross over to Beach Drive is pretty easy.

Glad to hear y'all had fun.