It can be done. In under 20 minutes.
If the City of Charlottesville would finish their side of the Meadowcreek Parkway, the ride would be a bit faster and easier.
Update: The John Warner Parkway is open from Downtown Charlottesville to Rio Road, and it’s a wonderful thing, with trails and bike lanes (although the bike lanes are always full of debris)
I rode my bike from Nest to the Belvedere neighborhood today because I wanted to:
1 – Be able to tell my clients/demonstrate it could be done
2 – Save gas
3 – Get exercise
4 – Enjoy the insanely beautiful if inconsistent weather we’ve had today.
Mission accomplished. In under 20 minutes.
If it hadn’t looked so ominously that it was going to rain, I would have ridden to my next appointment at Cville Coffee.
Note to my wife: I wore my helmet.It’s also easier to stop and take pictures when riding on a bike. 🙂
Nice! I live in North 29 and I would like to see some crosswalks across 29 for bicyclists and pedestrians. Trying to get across the highway is like playing Frogger! Any idea on how to bring awareness to county officials?
If you want to avoid Park St, it’s also possible to get across 250 at McIntire Park. You’d take Preston to Rose Hill to Rugby, go under 250, and there’s a footbridge that connects McIntire Park to the parking lots of Charlottesville High. I ride from my house in Greenbrier to downtown all the time, and I’m much more comfortable avoiding Park and other streets like it that are relatively narrow without bike lanes.
Jim I like your post about your commute to “work”. I am a Realtor as well and pull my hair out daily trying to figure how can I use my bicycle as a Realtor. I have used it to preview homes or show rentals I have had. I have never met clients at a home to show them property because of many factors. Clients perception of me on a bicycle as a professional Realtor would be one. If we were to see multiple houses then I would have to pedal and they would have to drive their auto to the next home, and that could take time and make the showings take longer then if I used a car.
Have you used the bicycle to show property?Â
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks and keep up the great Blog, I follow it and enjoy reading it and getting ideas from it.
MIchael
If you get a free moment stop on by one of my blogs. Â
http://bikesantaclarita.wordpress.com/Â
Michael -Â
As matter of fact, I have ridden my bike to show property with clients.
I’ve met clients at houses with me on my bike, and them in cars (most often for a single house … for example, we’re meeting at the house on their lunch break).
I’ll address the professionalism aspect in a later post but suffice it to say, my clients have been great with it so far.Â
I’ve taken a similar route from my townhome in Belvedere to Betty’s office at Eco-Remod! Â I avoided Park Street by crossing through McIntire Park and going up Rosehill and taking the scenic and less traffic-filled backroads. Â Was great and should do it more
I’ve never ridden through McIntire Park. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t even know how to do it (yet) … is it faster than my route?