It’s been a while since I’ve biked home from work: April 2011, to be precise. That was when I used to live in Arlington, and while it was a convoluted route (due to a general lack of bike-friendly routes in McLean) it wasn’t too bad. Recently I decided it was time to try and bring that option back on the table, so after a lot of scouring of maps and checking out some areas in person, I found a method to get me from McLean into downtown DC in one piece. (Getting from there to home has many options.)
On the whole, it wasn’t a bad route, a little over 19 miles. There were only three parts where I found myself audibly groaning:
- Within the first quarter mile, the sidewalk/path used to get out of downtown McLean safely became completely overgrown with plants. I had to go extra slow because it was like being in some sort of awful movie set in a jungle. Getting hit in the face with mammoth weeds, no thank you.
- For the last little stretch in Virginia, there’s a route specifically for bikes to get down from the Military Road area to Chain Bridge. It’s probably a 60 degree incline. Maybe more. Not for the faint of heart. Fortunately it’s also very small. Next time I may actually walk my bike down it.
- Finally, I made the decision to cut across the National Mall and then go home on the Metropolitan Branch Trail, instead of just hopping up the Rock Creek Park path to Blagden and then heading home that way. So many children on the Mall. So many school groups. All of them hogging all available points of egress. Next time I’m skipping the Mall.
I’d like to keep doing this once a week until the weather gets to be too hot. It’s a good way to get some extra exercise, and I need to start biking more often. For now, this will do.
19 miles one way? *Standing up to applaud you sir!*
Yep, although the route next time will be a little shorter, around 16 miles. Because Metro won’t allow non-folding-bikes onto the trains during rush hour, what I did was took my bike into work (via car, my normal method) on Monday and left it there. Then today, I hopped the Metro and then a bus to get to work so that I could bike back. Inevitably someone will ask why I didn’t bike to work, and there is a simple two word answer: no showers.
YEAH!!!!! And you are worried about 100 miles????? PLEASE!
Wait a sec…I see Westmoreland on that map, over in McLean…how far are you from the corner of Westmoreland and Lumsden? Because I lived in the house on that corner! 6816 Lumsden! WUUUT
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Wow! 16 miles. I was feeling good about walking home 3 miles today.
When I bike commute my total daily commute is 16-18 miles. But that’s total. Also no showers here, but I don’t feel too bad when I’ve only ridden 8 miles in.
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Doug, every step counts!
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Doug: If it makes you feel any better, when I took the metro in to the office today, the station is exactly 2 miles away from the office, and I totally took the bus rather than walk it.
Impressive!
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Love this.
Yay! Way to go Greg. Glad you got home safely.
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Laura: That’s less than a mile and a half from my office, and I’ve biked past that house before on my old route home to Arlington. It is, as they say, a small small small world…
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