Will a recumbent trike fit on Frederick Douglas bridge?

[KLizotte]

I know the sidewalks are very narrow and am wondering if a standard recumbent trike would fit. I’m thinking about buying a trike and am trying to figure out the places I can and cannot ride. I already know the Roosevelt bridge is out but I never ride there anyway.

[huskerdont]

@KLizotte 144336 wrote:

I know the sidewalks are very narrow and am wondering if a standard recumbent trike would fit. I’m thinking about buying a trike and am trying to figure out the places I can and cannot ride. I already know the Roosevelt bridge is out but I never ride there anyway.

While *I* would agree that the Roosevelt bridge is out, a recumbent and I did successfully negotiate past each other on it a couple of weeks ago. I stopped and leaned against the railing but didn’t unclip, and he barely squeezed by. Can’t say it sounds like fun to me, but it can be done.

[TwoWheelsDC]

There are a couple pull-outs and there’s usually no bike/foot traffic, so it’s not an absolute no-go, but you could potentially have a confrontation, particularly on a fair-weather weekend. Unfortunately, none of the Anacostia bridge paths are going to be comfortably wide enough for a trike, except 11th St. Thankfully, traffic is pretty light on all of them, so you aren’t likely to run into anyone if you decide to use them.

[Rod Smith]

He had to remove a wheel to get past me.

[accordioneur]

My wife rides a recumbent trike. It’s 32.5″ wide. Going over the 14th St. bridge with her, she didn’t quite take up the whole width of the walkway – there was enough room for people to go by in the other direction, but not by much. Certainly she didn’t have any room to pass anyone and no one was able to pass her. I can’t speak to any of the other bridges – most of her riding since she got the thing earlier this year has been on trails. She loves the thing, though, and I like the fact that it’s gotten her out riding!

[KLizotte]

@Rod Smith 144353 wrote:

He had to remove a wheel to get past me.

Yeah but you are riding the bike equivalent of a semi-truck. Lordy.

[Rod Smith]

Not as wide as accordioneur’s wife’s trike! (i’m about two feet wide). My main concern is encountering another wide bike coming from the other direction. A trike will fit on TR bridge sidewalk, I’ve seen one there. I think the trike rider would need to be careful to keep from hitting the barrier. (I have hit the barrier a couple times, rolling very slow, letting bikes pass me, so no damage.)

[KLizotte]

I can confirm that my 32 3/4 inch wide trike will fit through the pedestrian walkway (east side) along the Frederick Douglas bridge but a few squeeze points by some poles were extremely tight. A pedestrian was coming in the oncoming direction and she simply stopped and leaned up against the railing to let me pass while giving me a friendly wave. If a cyclist were to come towards me, we would have to coordinate one of us moving into the cut out.

Folks don’t have any problems passing my trike on the George Mason bridge so long as I stay to the right.

Thus far, I haven’t found any spaces I couldn’t squeeze through although the zig zag down to Four Mile Run by Potomac Yard requires three point turns due to the trike’s wide turning radius.

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