Route help: DC to Charles Town, WV

Just posted this on Bike Forums and wanted to ask here as well; any advice you may be able to give will be much appreciated!

Is anyone familiar with Route 9, between Hillsboro VA and Charles Town, WV? Can you tell me if it's a reasonably bike-friendly route?

I'm taking the W&OD from Arlington VA to Purcellville and then heading for Charles Town from there.

Looking at the ADC Bike Map, it looks like the most direct route from Purcellville to Charles Town is to head north from Purcellville to Hillsboro and then head west on Route 9 directly into Charles Town.

However, according to the ADC map the "On-Road Bike Route" on Route 9 ends at Harpers Ferry Road.

I'm wondering if it's safe to stay on Route 9 anyway, or is it better to just go up Harpers Ferry Road, meet up with the Towpath, then head back south after hitting Harpers Ferry (which will make the trip longer, but perhaps safer?).

I hope some of you who are familiar with these roads can advise. This will be my first solo ride through that area and I'd like to avoid bike-unfriendly road predicaments as much as possible. Thank you.

It's been a while since I've driven route 9, but I used to drive Harper's Ferry Rd from my parent's house up to Harper's Ferry every now and again. As I recall, HF Rd is one lane each way with a double line and little to no shoulder. I don't think route 9's much bigger. It wouldn't surprise me if people ride those roads, though, as it's gorgeous out there. The question is, how comfortable are you on two-lane semi-busy rural roads with pickup trucks and the occasional horse trailer?

Rt 9 scares me in a car but I'm old and afraid of everything;)

Are you the superior vena cava?

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Originally Posted by Zen

Rt 9 scares me in a car but I'm old and afraid of everything ;)

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Hey, if you survived Md route 51 (which 9 eventually becomes) with me, you can survive anything.

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

The question is, how comfortable are you on two-lane semi-busy rural roads with pickup trucks and the occasional horse trailer?

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Thanks for the info.

I'm an urban cyclist; I spend most of my time in Arlington and DC and I bike pretty much everywhere I go. So although biking down M Street in the middle of rush hour doesn't faze me at all, those rural roads are another story. (It doesn't help that someone on Bike Forums who lives in Winchester just characterized Route 9 as a "death road", with no shoulders, high speeds, and lots of blind turns...yikes.)

I have done a couple of century rides in that area around the VA/WV border, so I'm not a complete stranger to those country roads, however those were fully supported rides with 500 or so participants. Riding on those roads solo will be a completely different experience, I'm sure.

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Originally Posted by Zen

Are you the superior vena cava?

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I like to think so!

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Originally Posted by venacava

I'm wondering if it's safe to stay on Route 9 anyway, or is it better to just go up Harpers Ferry Road, meet up with the Towpath, then head back south after hitting Harpers Ferry (which will make the trip longer, but perhaps safer?).

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I would choose that option.
When I lived in Martinsburg I always called it Death Route 9 too.

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Originally Posted by venacava

It doesn't help that someone on Bike Forums who lives in Winchester just characterized Route 9 as a "death road", with no shoulders, high speeds, and lots of blind turns...yikes.

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The speeds on Harpers Ferry Rd might not be as high, but the rest of that description fits much of it as well.