DC to Tysons Corner (just inside beltway) route request

[Greenbelt]

I have to go out to the Westin in Tysons Corner (on Leesburg Pike) for a conference in a couple weeks. This will be a historic first — I’ve never actually ridden a bike anywhere in VA I don’t think.

Google gives me this route: http://g.co/maps/aprdn

Having never ridden the VA trails, any suggestions or tips (or alternate routes that would be better)?

I doubt I’d have time to preview the route, but I should be able to get out there during daylight hours.

[JimF22003]

I think that looks pretty good. You’re fine at least until you get to the Trader Joes On Rt 7

I haven’t ridden those back roads to your hotel, but I’ve driven around there. It’s just neighborhoods, so it should be fine. You could probably get by riding right on Route 7 for a couple of blocks if it’s not right in the middle of rush hour. You’re going right past the high school. It is a bit uphill right there though.

If I get a chance this week I’ll scope it out for you. I work just across the beltway on Rt 7 on the other side of the mall.

[bikesnick]

your route looks good. the traffic on route 7 is something to avoid.
two of the neighborhood sections involve hills: from pimmit to idylwood, and fisher to magarity.
/bs

[Justin Antos]

Looks pretty good. I only know up to the W&OD past West Falls Church, but it’s smooth sailing on trails from downtown to there. The Custis from Rosslyn to Bluemont is hilly, but a good workout. The only alternative to avoiding it is going all the way down to 4-Mile Run and through Shirlington, which is a bit of a long-cut. Have a great ride!

[PrintError]

I used to live right there actually (for about six years). Get off the trail at the bridge over 7 in West Falls Church and just stick to 7, it’s a straight shot. If you’re comfortable riding on the road, it’s an easy trip. I’ve biked that area more times than I could ever count.

[americancyclo]

I live right around the corner, and people regularly drive 40-50mph on that section of route 7. I wouldn’t advise riding on the road there.

The only change I would make is to exit the W&OD at Shreve, then take pinecastle to barbour. http://goo.gl/kWlgL the original route puts you on idylwood heading east, which has a VERY narrow travel lane, and cars tend to go kinda fast there. the route I pasted has you going west on idylwood for a block, and for that block, there is a HUGE shoulder and turn lane. It’s the way I go when I’ve ridden to Trader Joes. The TJ’s parking lot can be pretty crazy, so keep your eyes peeled, but once you’re past there, the apartment and library access roads are usually really quiet.

If you don’t want to cross route 7 at Pimmit, I think you can take this route. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/878148 Pimmit Run and Mohegan aren’t connected on the map, but satellite view shows pavement. you could also follow the Marshall high School parking lot all the way around back and ‘cross it over some grass to make a shortcut as well.

[dasgeh]

@Justin Antos 12567 wrote:

The Custis from Rosslyn to Bluemont is hilly, but a good workout. The only alternative to avoiding it is going all the way down to 4-Mile Run and through Shirlington, which is a bit of a long-cut.

Actually, there is another route that’s not so long and avoids the killer hills of the Custis. You can take the Memorial Bridge to the trail by the cemetary/110/Iwa Jima. Then you can either go through the base (if it’s 6-8am or 4-6pm) or along the trail along Route 50 (which seems to still be open despite the road construction — I’m sure someone will correct me there if I’m wrong).

To go through the base, keep straight on the road to the South of the Iwa Jima (the trail there is sketchy at the bottom of the hill) to go into Fort Myer (you have to have a photo ID, and if it’s not a government employee id, i.e. driver’s license, they’ll write down your info). Continue up the hill through Fort Myer, turn left when you’re about to run out of road, and take the second right onto Henry Pl, which takes you to the Henry Gate. This Gate is only open 6-8am and 4-6pm. This hill sucks, but it’s the only real hill on the route. And you can make it a little longer and less steep by taking the left turn about 100 yards after the hill pitches up on the base, then turning right on the first road after the stop sign, right at the next stop sign and left onto Henry Pl.

From the gate, go straight on Pershing (which has some rollers, but nothing like the Custis), then work your way to Quincy, Fairfax and finally the Bluemont trail to the W&OD. *From Fairfax you could get on the Custis, but I think you’ll be faced with a few more big hills before getting to the W&OD. I’m sure another forum-er or the internet can confirm or correct this. If you do go straight onto the Custis, you’ll shave off a bit of distance.

This map shows Memorial Bridge to the intersection of Custis and W&OD using the less steep way through the base: http://g.co/maps/gcq57 It actually may be shorter than the MVT-Custis route.

Another thing I just noticed — google maps took you from the Memorial Bridge down to the MVT, which has you cross the GWP at the crosswalk of doom. Plenty of people make that crossing just fine, but I do what I can to avoid it. If you are going the MVT-Custis route, you may want to consider 14th St Bridge or Key Bridge (I’m also not a fan of the short-little-barrier-of-doom that is along the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge trail).

Good luck and happy riding.

[vvill]

Haha, I used to live right near here too (in the apartments next to the Pimmit-Tysons library). If you don’t mind possibly dismounting a few times for potential curbs/pedestrians and riding on the occasional sidewalk you can go on service roads alongside 7 all the way to Magarity (check out the Street View around there). This way you could skip the backroads of Pimmit Hills.

Actually I think americancyclo has the best route change suggestion I’ve seen (though I’m not familiar with that way).

That said, if it was me I’d probably do something like this because I’m actually more familiar with the traffic/road conditions than the trails. It’s almost 2 mi shorter but of course there’s more traffic exposure. (Also a good part of this is the same as my existing commute.)
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Newseum,+Pennsylvania+Avenue+Northwest,+Washington,+DC&daddr=38.8936,-77.02294+to:38.89872,-77.038515+to:38.901529,-77.0590749+to:38.90257,-77.059844+to:38.90257,-77.062027+to:38.9041474,-77.06545+to:38.9025901,-77.1119232+to:38.9028,-77.13448+to:38.902036,-77.1711031+to:38.92077,-77.20088+to:The+Westin+Tysons+Corner,+Leesburg+Pike,+Falls+Church,+VA&hl=en&ll=38.903858,-77.151146&spn=0.102461,0.154324&sll=38.904238,-77.067016&sspn=0.003202,0.004823&geocode=FfZ0UQIdP8Zo-yGaz6P6Y-gI1g%3BFSB4UQIdJLlo-ynJdIe5mre3iTGy40jzCws1bg%3BFSCMUQIdTXxo-ymdYXeIvLe3iTFYUupy8K4NGg%3BFRmXUQId_ito-yk7x_X-TLa3iTHW2Jf3QG8PrQ%3BFSqbUQId_Cho-ykvfL5gTLa3iTEwGNg7GC9GjA%3BFSqbUQIddSBo-ynJAeUgTLa3iTG8XfWiv_76cw%3BFVOhUQIdFhNo-ynpGrsuT7a3iTGUj_ezvesJZw%3BFT6bUQIdjV1n-ykxnOpO0LW3iTHl1aIUbUaP2g%3BFRCcUQIdcAVn-yntgGYVsbW3iTFSAac6BqQ_pQ%3BFRSZUQIdYXZm-ym9fELzH7W3iTG5Rt5Yanr5Qg%3BFULiUQIdEAJm-ymHNAlhyUq2iTEwqdGCuo1frQ%3BFfWtUQId5Mdl-yGPhLkO_s_76g&vpsrc=6&gl=us&dirflg=b&mra=mrv&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10&t=m&z=13&lci=bike

[Justin Antos]

@dasgeh 12588 wrote:

Actually, there is another route that’s not so long and avoids the killer hills of the Custis.
This map shows Memorial Bridge to the intersection of Custis and W&OD using the less steep way through the base: http://g.co/maps/gcq57 It actually may be shorter than the MVT-Custis route.

Very cool! I’ll have to try it sometime (during the gate-open window). Especially going west – westbound Custis “feels” hillier to me than east, but it could be my imagination. Thanks!

[americancyclo]

@dasgeh 12588 wrote:

*From Fairfax you could get on the Custis, but I think you’ll be faced with a few more big hills before getting to the W&OD. I’m sure another forum-er or the internet can confirm or correct this. If you do go straight onto the Custis, you’ll shave off a bit of distance.

This map shows Memorial Bridge to the intersection of Custis and W&OD using the less steep way through the base: http://g.co/maps/gcq57 It actually may be shorter than the MVT-Custis route.

I’m always looking for more interesting ways to get from DC to West Falls Church, so I took the liberty of mapping out a few of these routes (plus one that I take) that cut through arlington, to see their distance and elevation. Here’s the results!

via MVT and Custis: 6.3mi – 563 elevation
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/880133

via Arlington Blvd, Wilson, Fairfax and Custis: 5.5mi – 427 elevation
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/880135

via Fort Meyer and Bluemont: 6.8 mi – 416 elevation
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/880131

Then I got a little nutty about it and tried to find a route with the least elevation. I came up with this:

via Fort Meyer and Arlington: 5.7 mi – 383 elevation
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/880144

[PrintError]

@vvill 12604 wrote:

Haha, I used to live right near here too (in the apartments next to the Pimmit-Tysons library). If you don’t mind possibly dismounting a few times for potential curbs/pedestrians and riding on the occasional sidewalk you can go on service roads alongside 7 all the way to Magarity (check out the Street View around there). This way you could skip the backroads of Pimmit Hills.

You suffered the world of Peachtree too?

SO glad I moved out.

[dasgeh]

americancyclo, those are great maps. Thanks. I’ve never used that site, but in my head you had to ride all of those routes to get that data. Don’t correct me (or I’ll waste far too much time playing around with routes).

Justin, I forgot to mention that going East bound, you can go through Fort Myer then bike down the hill through Arlington Cemetary. It’s my morning commute and it’s AMAZING – one of the best parts of the day, every day (especially without Tourmobile).

Also, if you don’t make the Henry Gate window (6am-8am, 4pm-6pm), you can go around to the Hatfield Gate at 2nd South (just over Washington Blvd from Courthouse Road). The best way to get there is to take that left on the big hill, then turn right at the T. From the gate, you can go straight on 2nd Street S and cross 50 on the Ped bridge near TJ Community Center, or take Courthouse Road down to the mini-trail, which goes under 50. Turn left just after going under the bridge, and you can get on the “trail” that runs along 50. You can get from that trail to the WO&D, but I forget exactly how.

Maybe americancyclo can “ride” those routes and give us the details. Man, those maps are cool.

[americancyclo]

Ridewithgps.com is a great tool. I can’t take credit though, all that goes to Dirt. He’s the one that first mentioned it to me. It’s supposed to be pretty good with the elevations. I’ve been inspired by this thread, so i’m going to try one of the new routes home today! If i have time, i’ll go all the way to the westin, just to scope it out in person.

[elcee]

@dasgeh 12640 wrote:

I’ve never used that site, but in my head you had to ride all of those routes to get that data. Don’t correct me (or I’ll waste far too much time playing around with routes).

Not so – you can “map” a route just by pointing and clicking. Same with mapmyride.com.

[vvill]

@PrintError 12630 wrote:

You suffered the world of Peachtree too?

SO glad I moved out.

Yep… I liked the free cookies in reception though.

Actually I didn’t mind the place overall. Helluva lot cheaper than owning a house

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