Quote Originally Posted by Pedal Wench View Post
DC Ladies! I need your help.

I was listening to a radio show based in DC, and the hosts (women, for godsake!) started out talking about people taking up all the space on jogging paths, but then morphed into them complaining about cyclists on the roads in DC. They said that there are bike paths everywhere, especially over bridges, and that the bikes should be there, or on the sidewalk.

I'm working on a letter to the show, and need to know if there are indeed bike lanes everywhere, especially on the bridges. They mentioned a park (where that poor girl was murdered who was connected to a senator?) and said that the bikes are all in the road and not on the bike path/lanes. I need to know if there are true bike lanes, or just the paths that are shared with walkers/joggers/toddlers/dogs, etc.

Thanks!
I don't know of any trails in the DC area that are designated for bikes only. We've got a lot of trails, but they are all multi-use. I don't know what bridges they are talking about specifically, and I've only ever ridden over Memorial Bridge to Arlington Cemetery, but the path there is a sidewalk.

The park you mentioned is Rock Creek Park. Here's a web site and another that talks about the difficulty of using it for commuting and how busy it can be. I know of a few people who commute on the bike trails, but most people ride in the streets, where we are allowed to be.

Some streets in DC have designated bike lanes, but others are just "bike routes" on which bikes share the traffic lanes with cars.

You might mention this thread this in the MidAtlantic section so the others in the area will be sure to see it.

Thanks for looking out for us!