Post 6 – The bike trail along Route 50 is wonderful going toward Washington. It is all downhill. I usually sit up straight as I go down in order to pick up more wind resistance to slow down, since the only concern comes at the end, when you have to merge back into the street. As I wrote earlier, the biggest danger from cars comes when they turn. This is especially true when they make right turns. Drivers often just do not pay attention to bikes on the right. During rush times, traffic back up. People get sick of waiting and decide to turn right on the local roads in hopes of getting around the crush.
I cannot say anyone has come close to hitting me … yet, but I have had to be very careful and go much slower than the slope and general conditions would permit. After that, I get to pass the monuments on the Virginia side, such as Iwo Jima or the Netherlands Carillon.