# Moving to Bethesda, MD



## 271828 (Jan 22, 2004)

Hi all,

I got a job offer in Bethesda, and I am wondering what the cycling scene is like over there. Any recommendations for good places to live near NIH? I don't own a car, and I really prefer to commute by bike or take public transportation. Also, are there a lot of cyclocross races in that area?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

271828 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I got a job offer in Bethesda, and I am wondering what the cycling scene is like over there. Any recommendations for good places to live near NIH? I don't own a car, and I really prefer to commute by bike or take public transportation. Also, are there a lot of cyclocross races in that area?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


That's where I grew up and I still live nearby. It really depends on a lot, like whether you're renting or buying, want a house or condo/apartment, how much you think you're willing to spend, etc. Are you from the DC area or somewhere else?

Bethesda and the immediate area is extremely expensive (inside the Beltway). Some suburbs nearby are quite a bit less expensive for housing, but still very expensive. In general, the whole area around NIH and even DC has not had as large a drop in house prices because of the amount of money and jobs in the local economy from the federal government.

If you go south or west from NIH to places like Potomac or Chevy Chase then it generally gets more expensive, while going north or east to places like Kensington, Rockville, Wheaton, Silver Spring and Takoma Park generally get less expensive than Bethesda.

Commuting by bike in that area is pretty common and there are probably many different routes you could use depending where you end up living. There is also a Metro (subway) stop on the edge of the campus so you probably want to think about living close to the Red Line, preferably on the Shady Grove end of the line. The other end is also nearby but you would have to go all the way into the city and back out to Bethesda if you got on the subway at someplace like Wheaton or Silver Spring. On the other hand, there are also buses from Silver Spring.

The cycling scene in general is very active. Look in the Commuting and Touring forum at some of MB1's recent posts and you can get an idea. NIH is very close to Beach Dr in Rock Creek Park, which is a veritable bike highway on the weekends and also has a lot of cyclists during the week. It is also very close to the Capital Crescent Trail, a rail-to-trail MUT that goes from Bethesda to Georgetown and also has an unpaved branch that goes to Silver Spring. There are many commuters, racers, and cycling clubs in the area.

The biggest downside to cycling in the area is traffic, both autos and cyclists/pedestrians/etc.


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

How do you feel about riding on ice and snow? That is a problem once in a while in the winter. Otherwise Bethesda and anywhere close is fine for cyclists without an auto.

BTW the wife and I have MTBs with studded tires and never let snow and ice stop us.


----------



## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

MB1 said:


> How do you feel about riding on ice and snow? That is a problem once in a while in the winter. Otherwise Bethesda and anywhere close is fine for cyclists without an auto.
> 
> BTW the wife and I have MTBs with studded tires and never let snow and ice stop us.


I have no such luxuries, and the ice and snow that we get around here generally isn't a problem. Don't let MB1's Hawaiian roots-affected view of the weather discourage you. I'm living in Wheaton, right now, one of the worst places I've lived for biking in the area, but still more than adequate. I commute problem free in most directions.

As for cross, there are 7 races within an hour's drive from Bethesda over the course of the season. (Bethesda just happens to be right in the middle of the races I'm thinking about) And a few more in Pennsylvania and Delaware, if you're willing to drive a bit more.


----------



## 271828 (Jan 22, 2004)

Thanks so much for the response. This is really helpful. The job is not a permanent position, so I will try to rent an apartment somewhere along the red line. Any recommendation as to where? I might be able to afford an apartment in Bethesda, but I'd rather spend money on bike than on rent. I'm not really looking forward to riding in traffic, but I guess I better get used to it if I decide to take this job. As for riding on snow and ice, I could always use an excuse to get a MTB or a new cross bike (maybe single speed?).


----------



## bbtheory (May 24, 2007)

Snow and ice really haven't been too much of a problem here. Every few years we get a storm that sticks for a week but in between those the snow is very spotty.

I have lived in the area for my entire life. Getting a place on the Red line sounds like a good idea but the red line is a big U shaped line that goes to NIH and then down into DC, coming out of DC about three to four miles east of where it goes in. The communities on the east side of the red line are still very nice and have much lower rents and purchase prices than Bethesda, Chevy Chase, or other points north of NIH on the west side of the red line. I live in Silver Spring on the Silver Spring-Kensington border and it is a great area for cycling, and a 15 minute ride (casually) to NIH. Close by there are lots of bike paths and the capital crescent trail, and there is also a nice road called Beach Drive that snakes through a local park and goes all the way down into DC, great for weekend riding as some sections are closed to automobile traffic.

I can also walk to a metro station from my house in about 5-10 minutes but because I am on the east side of the red line it is actually a lot quicker to take a metrobus from the east side of the line to the west side where NIH is, bypassing the nearly 1 hour trip via train that dips down into DC and comes back up on the other side. 

My suggestion would be to look at some of the towns on the east side of the red line, like Silver Spring, or the above mentioned Wheaton, or even Takoma Park or Kensington. You should be able to find a nice place with reasonable prices in any of these towns, and the cycling is pretty good. You will be able to ride to NIH from any of these places, and metrobuses, not the red line, will be a good option for days you don't want to ride or can't. 

Lastly, welcome to the area!!!


----------



## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

If you are looking to rent something, my townhouse in Germantown might be for rent in the near future. It is right between I-270 and Route 355, and it is literally across the street from a shopping center that has almost everything you could want (e.g., Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Kohl's, Target, Staples, PepBoys, Verizon Wireless, several restaurants, and more). There is a bus stop across the street right next to the shopping center that takes you directly to NIH. My brother in-law did an internship at the NIH this summer and spent the entire time living with us. About the only time he used his car was to visit his girlfriend who got an internship with a lobbyist group in DC. They are both from Florida, so it was a good coincidence. By the way, if it wasn't for my brother in-law doing the internship at NIH, I never would have known about the direct bus to the NIH from the Park & Ride across the street. He didn't know about it until his first day after taking I-270 to the Shady Grove metro stop and taking the Red Line into NIH. Once there, he talked to his co-workers and they were surprised to find out he took the Red Line when he lived right across the street from that bus stop.

The riding out here is pretty good. The traffic isn't bad at all if you don't ride on the main roads during high traffic hours (i.e., after 5:00 in the afternoon). I even do a 25 mile ride that has a 500 foot climb on it that you can do over and over again. Essentially, it is a small mountain called Sugarloaf. You go up it, and the descent brings you right back to where you started. When I feel really good, I'll climb it two or three times in a single day. You can also extend that ride to whatever distance you want, but it is 25 miles round trip minimum from my place. From Sugarloaf, you can head over to Poolesville and there is hardly any traffic at all over there. If you want some really big climbs, you can jump in the car and head north for about half an hour on I-270 until you get to the Catoctin Mountains. Those hurt.


----------

