[SkateDC] Correction: Friday Night Skate Route Proposals

Thu Mar 4 07:29:57 PST 2010

Test it we will.  Two weeks from this Sunday (3/21/10) I'll lead the Sunday Intermediate skate on parts of two of the proposed Friday Night Skate routes.  We'll give the Mandarin Oriental route and the West of Tidal Basin route a workout.

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3515764

This should give us some actual experience with the pavement, stairs, street crossings, etc.  It will also be an easy, gentle skate without major hills, ideal for those who haven't been doing much skating over the winter.  Eleven miles long if we do the full Hain's Point loop, nine miles long if we take the Buckeye shortcut instead.

If someone wants to explore the Case Bridge route and the East of Tidal Basin route in the meantime, have at it.

Cheers,
George

--- On Thu, 3/4/10, Jonathan P. Deason <jdeason at gwu.edu> wrote:

From: Jonathan P. Deason <jdeason at gwu.edu>
Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Correction:  Friday Night Skate Route Proposals
To: "'Bill English'" <english60 at yahoo.com>, skate at skatedc.org
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 8:10 AM

That clarifies it.  We definitely should give it a test.

Jon

************************************************************************
Jonathan P. Deason, Ph.D., P.E.
Lead Professor, Environmental and Energy Management Program
Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
The George Washington University
Room 131, 1776 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20052
202-994-4827 (Voice)
202-994-4606 (Fax)
jdeason at gwu.edu
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~jdeason/
http://www.gwu.edu/~eem/
http://www.gwu.edu/~eemnews/
************************************************************************

-----Original Message-----
From: skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net [mailto:skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net] On Behalf Of Bill English
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 11:32 PM
To: skate at skatedc.org
Subject: [SkateDC] Correction: Friday Night Skate Route Proposals

My mistake, I meant 7th street in the first place. Time for a new optical perscription for me. Earlier I looked at the map but came up with the wrong street. L'Enfant Plaza on the map at 7th Street is just a Metro Train station, not the nasty L'Enfant Promenade. To the best of my memory the downhill ride on the Case bridge is not too scary but I should skate it again just to make sure. I remember I really liked that bridge when I was new to DC skating 12�years ago�and much slower than I am now.

Bill

----- Original Message ----
From: Bill English <english60 at yahoo.com>
To: skate at skatedc.org
Sent: Wed, March 3, 2010 11:15:34 PM
Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals

All,

My idea did not involve L'Enfant Promenade. I said we should use 9th street to get to the Banneker fountain. We would not need to do the curb climbing because we could just stay on the road all the way to the bridge. I hate L'Enfant Promenade's rough pavement as much as you do.

Bill

----- Original Message ----
From: Carl Ford <ford at dcaccess.net>
To: skate at skatedc.org
Sent: Wed, March 3, 2010 10:22:48 PM
Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals

� One thing that has not been factored into this is the new parking� 
meter hours.� Do we need to worry about getting people back to the WH� 
in under two hours?

� I know George sent out an email about where the meters with the new� 
hours are and their locations.� I could look it up, but I bet George� 
could just regurgitate said information faster. :-)

� Quoting "Jonathan P. Deason" <jdeason at gwu.edu>:

> Thanks, George.� I like both 3 and 4 at the end of your message,
> especially 3.� I don't think considerations of skating a portion of Ohio
> Drive twice and having a little longer skate are really negative and
> even if they are, skating on the good pavement makes up for them in my
> opinion.
>
> Jon
>
> George Marinkovich wrote:
>
>> Jon,
>>
>> East of Tidal Basin (1st option)
>> Has the stretch from the Paddle Boat Rental place to Ohio Drive where
>> you have a choice of skating on Maine Ave. or the sidewalk that is not
>> in great shape.� However, we have the same problem with the current
>> route and most of the time skating in the street there seems to work out
>> satisfactorily.
>>
>> Mandarin Oriental (2nd option)
>> Have to agree with you about the stairs.� The flight of stairs on the
>> Washington Channel side of the Maine Ave. overpass are pretty good in
>> the sense that there's a handrail, but I don't remember much about the
>> flight of stairs on the Hotel property.� Last time I went through there
>> they were under reconstruction so not sure what they look like now (and
>> I think the Google Map image may be out of date).
>>
>> Case Bridge (4th option)
>> Point taken on the pavement at Banneker Park, the step up and down are a
>> little bit tricky.� And for beginner skaters the descent from Case
>> Bridge might be a little challenging.
>>
>> West of Tidal Basin (3rd option)
>> Some ideas to avoid the bad section of sidewalk (NPS rough pebbled
>> surface) you're talking about between Jefferson Memorial and Ohio Drive
>> on Hain's Point.
>>
>> 1.� There's that little path that connects the Jefferson Memorial to the
>> bridge over the Tidal Basin.� It has it's own problems:� dark, narrow,
>> some tree root bumps, big planter in the center of the path, mosquito
>> alley in the warmer weather.� From the Tidal Basin bridge one can
>> connect up with Ohio Drive on Hain's Point.
>>
>> 2.� Omit Hain's Point entirely.� Go to and from the Jefferson Memorial
>> on the nice Ohio Dr. pavement.� Yes, it involves skating twice on the
>> same segment, but it is very nice pavement.
>>
>> 3.� Go to and from the Jefferson Memorial on Ohio Dr. as in 2 but access
>> Hain's Point via Ohio Dr along the Potomac, left on Buckeye Dr. and do
>> the entire Hain's Point loop on Ohio Dr.� Yes, this involves skating
>> twice on an even longer segment, but again the pavement on Ohio Dr. is
>> very nice.
>>
>> 4.� Same as 3 but omit the Jefferson Memorial entirely.
>>
>> West of the Tidal Basin (option 3) may have the best overall pavement of
>> any of the options but it comes at the cost of skating back and forth on
>> Ohio Drive the most.
>>
>> Maybe we can get a transportation engineer to do a trade off analysis?
>> Maybe there's a class project in there somewhere?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> George
>>
>> --- On Wed, 3/3/10, Jonathan P. Deason <jdeason at gwu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>> � � �From: Jonathan P. Deason <jdeason at gwu.edu>
>> � � �Subject: RE: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals
>> � � �To: "'George Marinkovich'" <skatewash at yahoo.com>
>> � � �Cc: "'WAR Skate List'" <skatedc at skatedc.org>
>> � � �Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 10:04 AM
>>
>> � � �George,
>>
>> � � �I vote for the first option.� The stairs in the second option don�t
>> � � �sound
>> � � �good, and Bill�s suggested modification of going to the Banneker
>> � � �Fountain
>> � � �and over the Francis Case Bridge into East Potomac Park would
>> � � �invovle some
>> � � �quite difficult pavement on L�Enfant Plaza and a tough downhill
>> � � �going down
>> � � �the bridge walkway, especially for those without brakes.
>>
>> � � �The third option is attractive except that the sidewalk pavement after
>> � � �leaving the Jefferson Memorial is bumpy and hard to skate on.� We
>> � � �can�t use
>> � � �the road at that point because we will be skating against traffic
>> � � �along Ohio
>> � � �Drive SW.� The bumpy sidewalk there, however, is relatively short
>> � � �and easier
>> � � �to navigate for beginning skaters than L�Enfant Plaza in my opinion.
>>
>> � � �Jon
>>
>> � �� 
>> �************************************************************************
>> � � �Jonathan P. Deason, Ph.D., P.E.
>> � � �Lead Professor, Environmental and Energy Management Program
>> � � �Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
>> � � �School of Engineering and Applied Science
>> � � �The George Washington University
>> � � �Room 131, 1776 G Street, N.W.
>> � � �Washington, D.C.� 20052
>> � � �202-994-4827 (Voice)
>> � � �202-994-4606 (Fax)
>> � � �jdeason at gwu.edu </mc/compose?to=jdeason at gwu.edu>
>> � � �http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~jdeason/ <http://www.seas.gwu.edu/%7Ejdeason/>
>> � � �http://www.gwu.edu/~eem/ <http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eeem/>
>> � � �http://www.gwu.edu/~eemnews/ <http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eeemnews/>
>> � �� 
>> �************************************************************************
>>
>> � � �-----Original Message-----
>> � � �From: skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net
>> � � �</mc/compose?to=skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net>
>> � � �[mailto:skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net
>> � � �</mc/compose?to=skatedc-bounces at ligemail.lig.net>] On Behalf Of Bill
>> � � �English
>> � � �Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 11:28 PM
>> � � �To: George Marinkovich; WAR Skate List
>> � � �Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Friday Night Skate Route Proposals
>>
>> � � �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
>> � � �</mc/compose?to=skatewash at yahoo.com>>
>> � � �To: WAR Skate List <skatedc at skatedc.org
>> � � �</mc/compose?to=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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> � � �_______________________________________________
>> � � �SkateDC mailing list
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>> � � �http://ligemail.lig.net/mailman/listinfo/skatedc
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> � � �_______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>
> --
> ************************************************************************
> Jonathan P. Deason, Ph.D., P.E.
> Lead Professor, Environmental and Energy Management Program
> Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
> School of Engineering and Applied Science
> The George Washington University
> Room 131, 1776 G Street, N.W.
> Washington, D.C.� 20052
> 202-994-4827 (Voice)
> 202-994-4606 (Fax)
> jdeason at gwu.edu
> http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~jdeason/
> http://www.gwu.edu/~eem/
> http://gwu.edu/~eemnews/
> ************************************************************************
>
> _______________________________________________
> SkateDC mailing list
> SkateDC at ligemail.lig.net
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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)
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