I've been trying to find a good bike shortcut to Takoma Park and Silver
Spring. Driving, we have a more-or-less straight shot up East-West
Highway, but that isn't suitable for driving. And once I get close, the
Sligo Creek Trail and various on-road bike routes make things easy. But
it's tricky handling the distance between home and where the East-West
Highway hits Sligo Creek Trail.

Fortunately, I collect lots of data about my rides, so I can make both
an objective and a subjective comparison.

My first attempts (red path) were done by going south through
Hyattsville and Magruder Park and taking the Northwest Branch Trail to
the Sligo Creek Trail. It's somewhat roundabout, but it's all easy
biking on either residential streets or a scenic set of trails. Time:
31 minutes. Distance: 4.6 miles.

From the first time I looked at the map, I had my eye on a route via
residential streets to the west of home (green path). Christina and I
explored the route via Wells Parkway and Wells Boulevard to a park we
call "Stolen Mulch Park". (The first time we drove by, we saw some
women helping themselves to some mulch that had been clearly placed for
park use.) One day I decided to push through along the route marked on
my bike map. Unfortunately, this route involves crossing Riggs Road,
but not at a crosswalk. Riggs Road is fairly busy and doesn't feature
many lights or crosswalks. It does have a median, so I did eventually
get across, but it was not fun. The only thing this route has to
recommend it is that it is the shortest-distance one I tried. Time: 25
minutes. Distance: 2.9 miles.

When I looked at the map again, I saw Queens Chapel Road marked as a
bike route (blue path). I had been fairly skeptical, because I know
Queens Chapel is fairly busy outside of University Park. When I rode
down it, however, I realized it has a nice, wide shoulder. Except for a
small segment where people park cars on weekends, it's fairly easy to
avoid most traffic before picking up the Northwest Branch Trail. It's a
bit hillier than other routes, and not as scenic as going via Magruder
Park, but it's the fastest route, and it doesn't involve any scary
intersections. If I'm trying to make it farther into Montgomery County,
I'll definitely take this path; if I'm looking for a more leisurely
ride, I'll probably go via Magruder Park. Time: 22 minutes. Distance:
3.6 miles.

This analysis may seem like overkill for differences of at most 9
minutes or 1.7 miles. But those differences are doubled for a round
trip and definitely make a difference between a reasonable ride and one
that leaves me feeling wiped out. So, until the county wises up and
builds a better path, I think I have the information I need.

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Posted By Jon to Android's Dungeon at 9/09/2009 04:35:00 AM