Question for Mark Center Employees

[Carlingtonian]

Thanks, uh, Mommy! (God that feels weird.) Maybe I'll give it a shot sometime after I've been there a while. I used to commute by bike a lot in other places I've lived, but I was generally less risk-averse (read "invicibility complex") than I am now. (I have gone, in the course of 11 years, from smug Lycra-clad bike commuter who prided himself on the ability to outrun buses uphill, to lazy, bike-eschewing driver). Plus, even though MC has shower facilities, I don't want to shower in places where other people shower, lest I pick up a dose of MRSA. And then, come wintertime, there's the issue of darkness/ice/snow. (Not in the showers--on the bike path. )

I will probably drive to start and perhaps, after a few weeks, try walking to where the 25B bus comes near my neighborhood and see how reliable and punctual it is.

[brooklynborndad]

I've been on Beauregard further south (between holmes run and Landmark) and I did not like it one bit, and took the (not very good) sidewalk. Different riders have different riding styles, levels of comfort in traffic, etc.

For specific questions about routes, try Washington Area Bike Forum

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

I've been on Beauregard further south (between holmes run and Landmark) and I did not like it one bit, and took the (not very good) sidewalk. Different riders have different riding styles, levels of comfort in traffic, etc.

For specific questions about routes, try Washington Area Bike Forum

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[bornindc]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

True, I could bike the whole way, but it appears I would have to exit the separated section of the Four Mile Run Trail at Walter Reed Drive--the steep downhill near the DMV--and ride on this major thoroughfare a mile and a half, as it becomes Beauregard Street. I'm not willing to take the safety risk of riding on a major road in the first place, and the prospect of navigating the clusterflummox of the Beauregard/Seminary intersection further seals the deal. I would much rather walk a mile through a neighborhood, on sidewalks, than ride on a major road. So it looks like I'll be driving in and parking in the neighborhood.

Walter Reed/Beauregard is a completely workable route, I bike commuted that way between Alexandria and DC one day a week for years in all seasons. There is a path and a sidewalk for the section from Four Mile Run to Rt. 7 as was mentioned (Uphill I usually chose the sidewalk as there were fewer pedestrians on it, downhill I stayed in the road and pretty much kept up with traffic). The section of Walter Reed between Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run, and the section from Rt. 7 to Seminary are wide for the most part and I never had a problem. As for crossing Seminary Rd., there is a light there (with a left turn lane) so there shouldn't be any problem there for you. It's trickier in the snow, you'll need to be in the roadway the whole way then.

As for night riding, I think you are much more visible to cars at night than than day if you have good lights, meaning 300+ lumen headlight and flashing LED taillight. I think bikes blend into the background more for drivers during the day. The only incidents (a couple) I ever had involving cars were during the day when the driver just didn't see me with everything else moving on a DC city street. Never an incident in Virginia including on Walter Reed.

As you have commuted by bike before, it shouldn't be hard at all. For a three mile commute to a job with parking issues I think the bike is a no-brainer.

[Carlingtonian]

Thanks for the info, BorninDC.

[highpoint1]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

(The 25B starts at Ballston Metro, but taking a bus to catch another bus would require too much faith in WMATA's punctuality.)

Actually, lots of us do this every day. It's called life in the big city. Deal with it.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by highpoint1

Actually, lots of us do this every day. It's called life in the big city. Deal with it.

First, I don't live in a big city; I live in a suburb (Arlington) of a small city (DC). But I have lived in New York City. Maybe you don't consider that a big city.

The point is that from many if not most places, taking transit to the Mark Center is at best unduly time-consuming and at worst so unreliable as to make one's resulting lack of punctuality a problem for one's employer.

Troll FAIL.

[highpoint1]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

First, I don't live in a big city; I live in a suburb (Arlington) of a small city (DC). But I have lived in New York City. Maybe you don't consider that a big city.

The point is that from many if not most places, taking transit to the Mark Center is at best unduly time-consuming and at worst so unreliable as to make one's resulting lack of punctuality a problem for one's employer.

Troll FAIL.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.