Cycling 50 Miles of Reston Paths

Since I read the article by Robert E. Simon about Reston Paths I have had the urge to get out and explore the many miles of Reston Paths that I have never seen.  I have been an avid cyclist in Reston since 1998, and I have logged thousands of miles on Reston roads on the weekly Reston Bike Club rides and other training rides.  I am exactly the type of cyclist Bob Simon describes in his article, because only a fraction of those miles have been on the 50 miles of paths meandering throughout Reston.

Since I needed to get the posters promoting Bike to School Day on May 8th up on the coffee shop bulletin boards, I figured that it might be a good day to try to tackle the Reston paths.  I hit the trail at 6 a.m., with the goal of riding as much of the 50 miles of Reston paths that I could before lunchtime.  Instead of plotting my course in advance, I thought it would be more fun to make up my route as I went along, trying not to retrace my course too much and to stay off the roads as much as possible. Click here for a download of the ride

I am pleased to report it was a fantastic ride! I rode through parts of Reston I have never seen before; saw beautiful flowers, foliage, and landscaping, and have even more appreciation for the unique design of our community and the architecture of many of Reston homes and clusters.  

I finished 51 miles in just under than 5 hours. The 10 mph pace is much slower than a typical training ride, but much more interesting and went by faster.  I don’t think I will make the permanent switch to be a cyclist like “Bob”, but I will plan to put a few more of these Reston path rides on my calendar each year!

One of the best parts about today was reviewing my course after the ride and seeing how I was able to get everywhere in Reston without travelling on a road or in a car!  Get out there and enjoy the Reston paths, you won’t be disappointed!

A few observations:

• There a lot of brand new, quality bridges on the paths
• There are many more underpasses than I realized, they are great for staying off busy roads and waiting at intersections
• Village Centers, Schools and Pools are excellent places to pick up the paths.
• The path markers are good and make navigating sections easier and more fun.  Where is Marker #1? 
• I expected to find more sections of path in need of repair; in general the surface is excellent on most of the paths.
  • Note to Fairfax County - Fix the section of Sunrise Valley between Soapstone and Weihle before Metro gets here!
• The paths are not flat! I climbed about 2,700 ft.

Don’t forget about Bike to School Day on May 8th! 

The following schools are participating, if you would like to get involved contact cyclinginreston@gmail.com or contact the representative at your local school.

• Aldrin ES - Contact Jennifer Johns
• Armstrong ES - Contact Mike Collins
• Dogwood ES - Amber Badgley
• Forest Edge ES - David Saffford
• Hughes MS - Amy Shaw
• Hunters Woods ES - Aric Line
• Lake Anne ES - Contact Blake Kohn
• Sunrise Valley ES - Jim Curren & Steve Gurney
• Terraset ES - Contact Annette Bobby