Rockville/North Bethesda to Arlington

[slebo3213]

New to the forum. I tried searching for an existing thread but nothing I found had exactly what I was looking for.

I'm right near the Grosvenor Metro and my office is in Rosslyn. I'm trying to figure out the best route in terms of ease of use/safety and time expectations. I've never done the bike commute before, but I'm quickly growing tired of metro. Probably won't start until it gets a bit warmer out.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

[sethpo]

Howdy. I commute from Rockville to DuPont. I would think from where you are the best bet is the Bethesda Trolley Trail south into Bethesda and then the CCT to Georgetown and then hop over the river on the Key Bridge.

Unfortunately, the Bethesda Trolley Trail isn't really that simple. There's a decent-sized section where you have to ride the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road but depending on where you are starting from you might find a better way to get into downtown Bethesda. From there, it's pretty easy on the CCT (assuming it's not packed with snow and ice).

Weekends are a great time to explore various routes. When you are ready, hit me up and we can go for a ride.

[slebo3213]

Howdy. I commute from Rockville to DuPont. I would think from where you are the best best is the Bethesda Trolley Trail south into Bethesda and then the CCT to Georgetown and then hop over the river on the Key Bridge.

Unfortunately, the Bethesda Trolley Trail isn't really that simple. There's a decent-sized section where you have to ride the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road but depending on where you are starting from you might find a better way to get into downtown Bethesda. From there, it's pretty easy on the CCT (assuming it's not packed with snow and ice).

Weekends are a great time to explore various routes. When you are ready, hit me up and we can go for a ride.

Thanks for the info. I'm familiar with the Old Gtown part of the Trolley Trail. How is the CCT in the spring/summer/fall during morning and evening rush hour? Crowded? Do you think a moderately in shape, novice'ish, cyclist can do it in under an hour?

[sethpo]

Thanks for the info. I'm familiar with the Old Gtown part of the Trolley Trail. How is the CCT in the spring/summer/fall during morning and evening rush hour? Crowded? Do you think a moderately in shape, novice'ish, cyclist can do it in under an hour?

I've never found the CCT to be too crowded during rush hour. Nice weather weekends are worse, actually. More walkers, dogs, and kids on bikes. I love kids, but kids on bikes on trails are the most treacherous.

Under an hour is doable and probably more like 30 minutes. You're really only talking about eight miles. Depending on your fitness level, the inbound trip will be maybe 10 minutes faster than the uphill ride home. My commute is 19 miles from near Rockville Town Center to Conn. Ave and M st. On a typical day it takes 1:15 going in about about 1:25 coming home.