Cold but fun FABB Social Ride in Reston

We had a good turnout for the Reston tour today, one of a series of FABB social rides. It was in the low 40's when we started at the Reston Town Center but the sun was out and it got much warmer during the ride.

We checked out the new Wiehle Ave Metro station under construction, pondering how users will be able to access the station from the south side and where bicyclists will park their bikes on that side. On the north side there will be 240 spaces, many of them in a secure bike room that includes a Fix-it station, that is part of the Comstock development Reston Station. We discussed the Monkey House scare in which imported monkeys living in lab near Newton Square in Reston were thought to have contracted the Eblola virus. The best-selling book The Hot Zone is a fascinating account of that episode.

Bowman Distillery next to the W&OD Trail

We stopped at Old Reston Ave and discussed the early attempt to establish the town of Wiehle. The site is where the Bowman Distillery was located. The whiskey Virginia Gentleman was made there up until 1986. The photo on the right shows W&OD Trail users passing the distillery.

We then rode to historic Lake Anne Village Center and eventually made our way back to the Reston Town Center. Afterwards a few of us had lunch at Vapiano. Check out the Reston Museum Virtual Tour page for links to other interesting historic photos.

We hope to hold more rides next year. For more information about our rides, including cue sheets for previous rides, visit the FABB Social Rides page.

FABB ride in Reston on Saturday

FABB Social Ride

It will be a cold start to our FABB Social Ride, a tour of Reston, on Saturday morning, but it should be a beautiful day. The high temperature is predicted to be 50 degrees. There is still room for a few more participants on this free 14 mile ride. We'll ride along the bike lanes on Lawyers Road and Soapstone Drive that were created by reducing 4 lanes to 2 lanes with bike lanes. We'll also check out the new Wiehle Ave Metro station and discuss the planned bike room with parking for over 200 bicycles.

Then we'll ride a short stretch of the W&OD Trail to the Bowman Mansion, site of the original first settlement in the Reston area. Then it's on to historic Lake Anne Village Center, Browns Chapel, then back to the Reston Town Center where the ride starts and ends. There is an option for a shorter, 10-mile ride.

Free online registration.

FABB Social Ride in Reston on Saturday, Nov. 17

Join FABB for a casual tour of various sights in Reston on Saturday, November 17 at 9am. The tour will start at the Reston Town Center Pavilion. Sights include bike lanes on Lawyers Road and Soapstone Drive, Walker Nature Center, Wiehle Ave Metro Station, Bowman House, historic Lake Anne, and Browns Chapel. We will ride at a slow pace as a group. The tour is just over 14 miles with a shorter option of approximately 10 miles. Free online registration is required. All riders must be WABA members, wear a helmet, and sign the ride waiver.

There is no rain date.

What to Bring:

• Your bicycle,
• Helmet (required no exceptions),
• Lock to secure your bike when parked,
• WABA membership number*
• Water and a snack, sunscreen,
• Cash for (optional) lunch or snack

* The ride is for adult WABA Members.  Children 14-18 may participate if they are accompanied by an adult WABA member.

Thanksgiving Reston ride sponsored by Reston Association

Reston Association is hosting a Pre-Feast Bike Ride on Thanksgiving Day ride starting at Fountain Square at Reston Town Center. Along with the FABB Reston Social Ride on Saturday Nov. 17, there are two opportunities to check out the streets of Reston in November.

Both rides will be casual, slow-paced rides. The Reston Association ride is approximately 6 miles and the FABB ride is just over 14 miles with an optional 10 mile shorter ride. Registration is required for the FABB ride. Everyone is welcome at the Pre-Feast Bike Ride. Let's hope for good weather for both events. There are no rain/snow dates; both rides will be cancelled if there is rain, snow, or ice covering the roads.

FABB Social Ride - Reston Tour

Soapstone Dr Bike Lanes

Join FABB for a Social Ride in Reston. It will be a casual tour of various sights in the Reston area on Saturday, November 17 at 9am. The tour will start at the Reston Town Center Pavilion. Sights include bike lanes on Lawyers Road and Soapstone Drive, Walker Nature Center, Weihle Ave Metro Station, Bowman House, historic Lake Anne, and Browns Chapel. We will ride at a slow pace as a group. The tour is just over 14 miles with a shorter option of approximately 10 miles. Free online registration is required. All riders must be WABA members, wear a helmet, and sign the ride waiver. There is no rain date.

What to Bring:

• Your bicycle
• Helmet (required no exceptions)
• Lock to secure your bike when parked
• WABA membership number* 
• Water and a snack, sunscreen
• Cash for (optional) lunch or snack 

* The ride is for adult WABA Members. Children 14-18 may participate if they are accompanied by an adult WABA member.

Register online.

September-October FABB Newsletter now available

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 FABB News

A bi-monthly publication of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling

www.fabb-bikes.org

Fairfax Bike Summit - Pedaling Our Way to a Healthier and Happier Community

We're excited to announce the inaugural Fairfax Bike Summit on October 27 at George Mason University (GMU). The purpose of the summit is to bring together current and future bicyclists, bicycle organizations, bike shops, and transportation professionals to discuss how to make Fairfax a better place to live by making bicycling a major component of the transportation system.

Hear from nationally known speakers including Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, who lives in Fairfax County; Chris Eatough of BikeArlington; and Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. You can also check out the latest transportation bikes and gear from local bike shops.

Register online for free. Attendance is limited to 200 people. Display space is free and available for bicycle businesses and organizations. The event will be held at The HUB at GMU in the Front-Middle Ballroom, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030. Further information is available at fabb-bikes.org and bikesummit@fabb-bikes.org.

The summit is sponsored by Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, George Mason University, and Fairfax County.

Draft Bicycle Master Plan Completed

After more than a year of effort that included public meetings with area cyclists, focus group meetings, workshops, and meetings of the master plan Bicycle Advisory Committee, Fairfax County received the final draft of the Countywide Bicycle Master Plan from Toole Design Group on July 31. Charlie Strunk, the county bicycle coordinator, is incorporating final comments, including recommendations approved by the Town of Herndon, and finalizing the map of recommended bike facilities.

The next step in the process of getting the Plan approved is to present it to the Planning Commission Transportation Committee, followed by a public hearing before the full Planning Commission, probably after the first of the year. The Board of Supervisors will then hold hearings and take a final vote on the Plan.

FABB Social Rides Showcase Local Attractions

Twenty cyclists joined FABB on August 25 for our latest social ride, a slow-paced guided tour of McLean.

FABB member Dennis Frew led the group through neighborhood streets past several local points of interest including the homes of several Supreme Court justices, Vice President Cheney's house, and Hickory Hill, the former home of President Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy. Our next ride will be a tour of Reston that will include stops at the Nature Center, Wiehle Ave Metro Station, Bowman House, Brown's Chapel, historic Lake Anne, and the Reston Town Center. Date TBD.

Visit Fairfax Now Includes Biking

For the past year FABB has worked with Visit Fairfax, the official Fairfax County tourist information group, to include information about bicycling in their outreach materials. The Visit Fairfax website, www.fxva.com, is used by visitors to the county to find out about upcoming events and attractions. Visitors can also obtain information about lodging, restaurants, and shops.

Now biking information is included on the site on the Biking and Hiking page. The Biking and Hiking page has a link to the county bicycle route map, a list of places to rent bikes, and a link to the FABB website that contains a cornucopia of bicycle information on the Cyclist Resources page. Thanks Visit Fairfax! See our blog entry about the new page.

FABB Fact: Fairfax County is home to 53 Historical Markers, most of which are difficult to read from the seat of a car. Check out some of them by bike. Contact us to help create a Fairfax Historical Marker bicycle tour.

Events - For full details see the FABB Events Page.

Tuesday, September 11, 10:30am - Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on FY2013 Revised Budget - Speak out for funding of the Bicycle Program.
Wednesday, September 12 & Saturday, September 15, FABB Bike Counts
Monday, September 17, 7:00pm - WABA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, September 19, 7:30pm - FABB monthly meeting
Wednesday, October 17, 7:30pm - FABB monthly meeting
Saturday, October 27- Fairfax Bike Summit at GMU

FABB BLOG - For other news and articles of interest, visit the FABB blog.

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Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling is a grassroots initiative, affiliated with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, aiming to make bicycling an integral part of Fairfax County's transportation network. Visit us on the web, Facebook, and Twitter. Donations to FABB are tax-deductible and help us further our bicycling goals in Fairfax.

FABB Social Ride in McLean

We had a great group of 20 riders join us for the latest FABB Social Ride, a casual tour of the McLean area led by FABB member Dennis Frew. The weather forecast looked bleak but we decided to go ahead with the ride anyway, which turned out to be a good decision as there was only a hint of rain throughout the ride.

After introductions and a brief safety talk we headed out on the just over 13 mile tour. Dennis has lived in McLean for many years and knows all the cut-through trails and interesting back roads, starting with the paved trail leading from the library north to Churchill Road, a route I've never taken. We then headed north on Dead Run Rd all the way to the service road parallel to Georgetown Pike leading to Balls Hill Rd.

We crossed Georgetown Pike and wound our way through some interesting neighborhoods. At Clemyjontri Park we had a pit stop before riding to the road leading to CIA headquarters, Claude Moore Colonial Farm, and the Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center. We passed historic Hickory Hill, home of Senator John Kennedy and then Robert Kennedy. On the same street is one of former Vice President Cheney's homes.

Later we stopped at Greenberry's in McLean for snacks before our final stop, the former site of Evans Farm Inn, now an upscale residential development.

Thanks to Dennis for organizing the ride. I know I learned a lot about McLean and about getting around McLean on some pleasant, bike-friendly roads. The next FABB Social Ride will be a tour of Reston, probably in September.

FABB McLean Social Ride

There are still a few slots left for the FABB McLean Social Ride. This is a slow-paced, no-drop ride open to WABA members. Children 14-18 may participate if they are accompanied by an adult WABA member.

The rides leaves from the McLean Library at 9am on Saturday. Some locations that will be passed on the ride, include McLean Central Park,  Hickory Hill - Kennedy estate, CIA HQ, Clemyjontri Park - children's park, Claude Moore 1771 era Farm, Evans Farm area, historic Salona house and fields, part of 1719 land grant, and the McLean business District.

The ride is free. Helmets are required. Register online.

FABB Social Ride - Tour de McLean

Join FABB for a tour of the McLean area. This is a great opportunity to discover bike-friendly routes in this historic community. The ride is planned for August 25th with a rain date of September 1st at 9am. Registration is required and you must be a WABA member.

A slow 10-12 mph ride with rolling terrain through the neighborhoods in McLean.

Start at McLean library off Ingleside Ave at 1244 Oak Ridge Avenue

Some locations and homes that will be passed on the ride, include McLean Central Park, Senator Patrick Leahy (Vermont), Dick Cheney, Hickory Hill - Kennedy estate, Judge Bork, Rob Ryan – local weather man, CIA HQ, Clemyjontri Park - children’s park, Claude Moore 1771 era Farm, Evens Farm area, Justice Antonin Scalia, Salona house and fields, part of 1719 land grant and the McLean business District.

A stop could be made in the McLean business district for snacks at 7-11, Starbucks or Greenberry’s.

• What to Bring:
• Your bicycle,
• Helmet (required no exceptions),
• Lock to secure your bike when parked,
• WABA membership number*
• Water and a snack, sunscreen,
• Cash for (optional) lunch or snack

* The ride is for adult WABA Members. Children 14-18 may participate if they are accompanied by an adult WABA member

FABB Happy Hour

Douglas addresses the crowd

Thanks to Ann and Douglas for organizing a very successful FABB Happy Hour at Coyote Grill in Fairfax City. We had a great crowd that include several folks from the Fairfax City area, a BikeArlington Forum group who rode in from Arlington, and several FABB regulars.

The seating on the patio worked out well although we could have used fewer chairs and a little more standing room. It was a good opportunity to meet some new area cyclists and find out about some bike local routes. We'll get a chance to check out some of those routes on Saturday at the FABB Social Ride.

Kerie and I rode from Reston. It took about an hour. Our route included the W&OD Trail to Vienna where we took some neighborhood streets to the end of Tapawingo Rd where a short trail connects to the Nottoway Park trail to Vaden Dr. We crossed over I-66, gloating just a little when we saw that traffic standing still in the westbound lanes.

The Arlington crew

We took a right on Saintsbury Dr, crossed Blake Lane to Five Oaks Rd to the end where there's another short connecting trail to Plantation Parkway which leads to Fairfax Blvd/50/29. Traffic was backed up so we took the wide sidewalk to the strip mall where we took a left at the light at University Dr and headed into Fairfax City and Coyote Grill.

We'll definitely be holding more Happy Hours in the future. Thanks to everyone who came and thanks again to Ann and Douglas for doing a great job organizing the event.