Where People Bike and Run Through Georgetown

As reported by a variety of website (such as GGW), the company Strava released a data map showing in the aggregate where its customers use its app to track their runs and bike rides. It shows, in essence, what routes are the most heavily used by the respective modes.

Above you can see the map for Georgetown using a “heat map” to show the volume of bikes on various routes. GM was somewhat surprised to see M St. with such a heavy use; it’s such an unpleasant place to ride a bike. This is probably the point where it should be pointed out that this map doesn’t pretend to capture all riders, or even a representative slice. It captures riders who are actually using the app, which probably means most riders are riding for exercise, not just transportation.

So perhaps M St. is more popular among confident riders. That said, the data seems to show that there’s a very heavy flow of bikers coming or going by Key Bridge, and its hard to get to or from Key Bridge without riding at least part of M St. 

What’s most interesting in this map to GM is how the back streets get used.  Q and P streets seem to be the most popular east-west routes (probably because they each connect directly with a bridge). Lots of bikers are like drivers in that they cut around Georgetown via R St. to 28th. And riders seem to travel 33rd up to Volta before heading west to 35th. (GM knows some riders who follow this route; they claim its less hilly).

Now check out the running heat map:

It looks similar to the biking one, but there are some big differences. For one thing, there’s far less activity on M St. It seems like that activity shifts south to the towpath. Perhaps it’s because: A. the towpath is more pleasant and less crowded and B. it’s easier to get to and from the towpath as a runner than a biker.

Some other things jump out. There’s lots more activity in Rock Creek Park. And the paths of Montrose Park, Lover’s Lane, and Dumbarton Oaks Park are all lit up (whereas they’re not on the biking map). Finally, there’s a bright ring at the Duke Ellington track.

As a biker and a jogger himself, GM thinks this data could come in handy in terms of transportation planning. For example, runners obviously prefer park trails, whereas bikers seem to be more about getting from point A to point B, even when exercising.