[SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals

Wed Mar 3 06:20:16 PST 2010

   The 9th Street tunnel is a lot like a freeway.  I wouldn't take an  
advanced skate down it, much less with the level of skater that is our  
target for a Friday skate.

   The Case Bride option is interesting, but the hill is much bigger.   
While most of us think nothing of it, a new Friday skater may think  
very differently.\

   We should probably try all of the options out first.

   Quoting George Marinkovich <skatewash at yahoo.com>:
> Bill, sounds like an interesting possibility.
>
> Has anyone skated 9th St. between Independence Ave. and G St. SW   
> before?  That's kind of an industrial strength road, isn't it?    
> Tunnels under some buildings I believe and vehicle traffic moves   
> pretty fast through there (I think part of it is an entrance ramp  
> to  I-395), and I'm not sure if there's a good shoulder or whether  
> it's  lit very well.  I'm willing to try it myself, but wouldn't  
> want to  lead anyone else through there before checking it out.
>
> 7th St., a parallel street to 9th, I think avoids those problems.    
> So, maybe we have a forth alternative route proposal involving 7th   
> St., and as Bill suggested Banneker Park and the Case Bridge into   
> East Potomac Park.  I'll add that as an option to the original post.
>
> Bill also makes a good point about possibly omitting the Ellipse to   
> conserve mileage.  On occasion we would be prevented from doing  
> that  part of the loop that touches E St (nearest the White House)  
> by  uniformed Secret Service.  On the other hand, the Ellipse makes  
> a  nice place to catch up with the skate if someone is running late.
>
> We should try out the new route proposals and see how they work  
> with  skates on the ground, so to speak.  It may even be possible  
> to  explore some of the routes on the Sunday Intermediate Skate.
>
> Cheers,
> George
>
> --- On Tue, 3/2/10, Bill English <english60 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: Bill English <english60 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals
> To: "George Marinkovich" <skatewash at yahoo.com>, "WAR Skate List"   
> <skatedc at skatedc.org>
> Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 11:27 PM
>
> I kind of like the second option, but how about using 9th street   
> rather than 12th and then going to the Banneker Fountain and over   
> the Francis Case Bridge into East Potomac Park? A little hillier,   
> but very skater-friendly and interesting. We could also skip the   
> Ellipse if we need to shorten any of the the routes by one mile.
>
> Bill
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: George Marinkovich <skatewash at yahoo.com>
> To: WAR Skate List <skatedc at skatedc.org>
> Sent: Tue, March 2, 2010 10:53:10 PM
> Subject: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals
>
> All,
>
> There was discussion at the annual meeting about the Friday Night   
> Skate route, specifically the segment on Raoul Wallenberg Place   
> (15th St. between Independence Ave. and Maine Ave.).  Raoul   
> Wallenberg Place is a downhill with a traffic light at the bottom  
> of  the hill (intersection with Maine Ave.) and not very nice  
> pavement  (wavy and rough).  It was pointed out that this is not  
> ideal for a  skate which is intended to be a beginning skater's  
> first skate with  WAR.
>
> Three alternative route proposals were discussed (to the best of my   
> recollection) all intended to eliminate Raoul Wallenberg Place from   
> the route, but keep the rest of the Friday Night Skate route more  
> or  less intact.
>
> It's probably easier to look at the maps then to read the tortured   
> descriptions.  If you have an opinion about which of the  
> alternative  routes you prefer or a new alternative route to propose  
> let us know.
>
> The first alternative route proposal involves skating past the   
> Washington Monument on the mall heading in the direction of the WW   
> II Memorial but turning south toward the Tidal Basin.  This would   
> involve crossing westbound Independence Ave., westbound Maine Ave.,   
> and then eastbound Independence Ave.  Then we would make use of the   
> Tidal Basin parking lot to make our way past the Tidal Basin Paddle   
> Boat Rental and onto Ohio Dr heading toward the Jefferson Memorial   
> (as in the current route).
>
> Pros:
> Can easily add circling the Washington Monument to this route.
> The three streets mentioned above are easy to cross as they are   
> one-way where we cross them.
>
> Cons:
> Stuck on the Park Service pebble sidewalks along Maine Ave. while   
> heading toward Hain's Point (much like the current route).
>
> URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3512260
>
> The second alternative route proposal involves turning left on 12th   
> St. from Jefferson Drive.  Taking 12th St. to a left on Maryland   
> Ave.  Proceeding toward the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and using the   
> pedestrian bridge crossing over Maine Ave.
>
> Pros:
> The plaza in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Maryland Ave.   
> is pretty nice (it could replace the Washington Monument stop).
> Avoids crossing Maine Ave. at street level and we come out on the   
> desired side of Ohio Drive so we don't have to cross that road either.
>
> Cons:
> Requires going down a couple flights of stairs (maybe not the best   
> thing for beginning skaters).
> No longer visits the Washington Monument.
>
> URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3512279
>
> The third alternative route proposal involves going past the   
> Washington Monument on the mall and going past the WW II Memorial  
> as  well.  Then heading south toward the Tidal Basin by crossing   
> westbound Independence Ave. and eastbound Independence Ave.   
> Staying  to the west (upriver) side of the Tidal Basin on West Basin  
> Dr. and  going past the FDR Memorial and connecting to Ohio Drive.   
> Left on  Ohio Dr. to the Jefferson Memorial from there around Hain's  
> Point  taking Ohio Drive on to the Lincoln Memorial.
>
> Pros:
> Can easily add circling the Washington Monument to this route.
> Can add a stop at the WW II Memorial.
> Streets mentioned above are easy to cross as they are one-way where   
> we cross them.
> Visits the Jefferson Memorial.
>
> Cons:
> This is a 12.2 mile route if you do all of Hain's Point, 9.6 miles   
> if you take the Buckeye shortcut, and only 8.4 miles if you omit   
> Hain's Point entirely.
> Does a stretch of Ohio drive twice.
>
> URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3512313
>
> Cheers,
> George
>
>
>
>
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   --
Carl Ford
ford at dcaccess.net

Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane  
people who
are willing to admit that they are crazy. -Nora Ephron, novelist (b. 1941)