Following Interstate 66 in Arlington, the I-66 Custis Trail is a challenging course between East Falls Church and Rosslyn. Since I-66 is mostly built below street level, the trail has varying gradients to accommodate the bridges over the highway with the trail tending to rise into the overpass. This easily creates the best short workout available along area trails, which can be good or bad, depending on why you ride. The westbound approach to Glebe Road is a nasty climb.

While the trail is well landscaped, you may not care for the scenery if you are not fond of highways (and for that matter commuter rail) and the noise that they bring. Still, it serves many Arlington neighborhoods and contributes to the mutlimodal nature of the corridor. Since trucks are prohibited on I-66, the aural sensation is mostly white noise (granted, loud white noise), unless a Metro train is passing through. Near the eastern terminus in Rosslyn, it connects to the Mount Vernon trail via the Rosslyn connector, while the western terminus is on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, linking it to the rest of the Northern Virginia trail network.

As we enter our first spring like week of the year I am starting a series of profiles of area bike trails. I begin with my personal favorite, the Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park trail. In 2005 I rode the length of the trail from west to east in one afternoon.

An early example of the “rail-to-trail” phenomenon, W&OD was simply known as the “bike trail” to me and my friends when I was growing up. Now forty-five miles long, the flat, straight trail starts in Arlington, near Shirlington, and extends all the way past Leesburg to Purcellville. In actuality, the trail is part of W&OD Regional Park, which is the old railroad and current Virginia Power right-of-way (hence the high tension power lines), giving it dimensions of about 45 miles by 100 feet. Those 100 feet provide a buffer of nature through the most populated region of the commonwealth. Much of the Arlington portion traverses Four Mile Run Park while it parallels the windier Four Mile Run trail. Think of W&OD as I-95 to Four Mile’s US 1 and you get the idea of how the two trails exist together.
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So, with a holiday most associated with weird sales at the mall and made up special deals at auto dealerships.. how did you, the loyal DC Metblogs reader, celebrate President’s Day?

Gen. George Washington is celebrating his 275th birthday this Thursday, and Mount Vernon is gussying itself up for the occasion. This past Sunday, an President’s Day/Black History Month themed American Dad aired with guest shots of Abe Lincoln and the fabled Smithsonian Peanut Museum.

A number of folks from the DC area seemed to drive as far away as they could in one day and headed to an almost perfect day on the ski slopes, something January (or December, November.. oh, heck you get it) never offered. Some folks probably just bummed it at home (or at work for those private sector folks) and had their own “Butt-Numb-A-Thon” watching hours of TV or Movies. (But remember kids, you can catch all the Best Picture Nominees in one twelve hour session (yes, twelve) this Saturday at selected theaters…your own personal Oscar-themed “Butt-Numb-A-Thon”)

Yesterday morning, I discovered that Pentagon City’s urgent care facility, one I had been to more times than I care to remember, was no more. It closed in the middle of December, presumably to make way for another high-rise apartment building like the one next to it.

The new location for Arlington Urgent Care is at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road on the other side of the county. I believe it is in the old Arlington Community Hospital building. In order to get there from Pentagon City I actually had to drive into Fairfax County for a few blocks. The upside of the move is that the new Urgent Care is open 24-7 as opposed to its predecessor. Currently, based on the sign-up sheet, it is a lot less busy than its predecessor too.

The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington has made the welcome announcement that no longer will there be a special membership for anyone who wants to be able to use more than one facility. Under the “One YMCA Membership” program (catchy, huh?) you’ll be able to visit the other facilities whose membership fees are equal or lower than what you pay at your facility. For you National Capital members that means you’ve got free reign – your fees are the highest in the local cluster. Lucky you.

Here’s the locations, starting with the highest cost and working downward and grouped by price.

YMCA National Capital
YMCA Fairfax County Reston & YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase
YMCA Alexandria & YMCA Silver Spring
YMCA Potomac Overlook & YMCA Upper Montcomery
YMCA Arlington
YMCA Anthony Bowen

It’s a small thing but if you’re one of the many people who commute from one area to another maybe this’ll open up some new workout options for you.