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How do you tell the inner loop from the outer loop?
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Anonymous
| My DH can always tell whether we are on the inner or outer loop. I can't tell unless I see a sign. Is there some trick to this? |
Anonymous
|
Um, one's on the inside of the circle, and the other one is on the outside.
Inner is clockwise, outer is counterclockwise. DC in the middle. |
Anonymous
| The outer loop travels counter-clockwise and the inner loop travels clockwise. Plus if you're on it, you can see if you're on the inside of the circle or on the outside of it. |
Anonymous
| Really? Not to be harsh, but do you have a bad sense of direction? B/c to me it's really almost self-evident. Best I can describe it: Inner loop = the one that's closer to DC. Outer loop is "outside" the inner loop. |
Anonymous
| I can't tell either |
Anonymous
| Me either ...so 495 on the Tysons side leading to 270 is considered what? |
Anonymous
Not sure what you mean by "Tysons side," but if you mean VA and you are heading to 270 you are going north and therefore on the inner loop. |
Anonymous
| I ask my husband at least once a week. I drive on the beltway every day, and I'm never sure which loop I'm on...I have a terrible sense of direction. |
Anonymous
| I really don't get how this is confusing. There are two directions. You are either on the inside ring or the outside. Not much more to it than that. As PP said, the inner is closer to DC. |
Anonymous
| But how do you know if you are in the inner? |
Anonymous
| If you are on the inner loop, DC is to your right. If you are on the outer loop, DC is on your left and the inner loop is in between you and DC. |
Anonymous
|
This thread is cracking me up!
To the posters who keep saying the inner loop is closer to DC - that only helps if you know this area pretty well. It's not like you can actually see DC from the Beltway. To the posters who can't tell which loop they're on - I get it. This confused me to no end when I first moved here. What helped me was just learning the geography of the area and looking at maps and then figuring out which loop it would be. |
Anonymous
| All I see is a highway moving the other direction next to me. I can't tell where D.C. is in relation to where I am. I get confused by this too. Especially on the Baltimore Beltway aka 695. It's not like you see a big city on the inside of a ring. There is shit on either side of you. |
Anonymous
I have lived in this area for my entire life and I still have no idea.They both seem to be going clockwise to me- one headed toward 6 o'clock, one headed toward 12 o'clock. I also can't tell what is north, south, east or west. To me, north is always straight ahead of me. I am reading these responses to my husband, because he can't believe there are other people out there as directionally challenged as myself 
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Anonymous
| If you imagine yourself driving around a large circle, see if you feel like you are driving slightly to the left (curving left). Then you are on the outer loop. If you feel like you are driving slightly to the right (curving to the right), you are driving on the inner loop. Of course, it's not a perfect circle, so there are segments that go straight. But that's a general rule. HTH. |