50 States and 13 Colonies registration is open today

Pretty torn on whether to do this again. I like the idea of the ride, but in practice I found it a bit frustrating, particularly at the beginning where it got pretty crowded and many of the cyclists were inexperienced. Across the river and in NE and upper NW, the ride is pretty fun, although more challenging than you might think…between the hills, and the constant stopping and starting (and the heat), it’s a lot of work. Also, I found the stops to be somewhat inadequate…the Anacostia stop was cleaned out by the time I got there, as was the Eastern Market stop, IIRC. There aren’t a lot of places to stop and eat during the second half of the ride, so I’d recommend having a lunch spot picked out ahead of time.

I signed up for the ride. I chickened out last year, but this year I’m on track to be able to comfortably (we’ll see on Sept 21 how true this is) finish the 50 States Ride. I’m really excited for this one

I was confused at the end last year. I was expecting some sort of finish line in the park or some sort of huzzah. But the park was empty and I just bumbled over to the free beer and T-shirt at the bar.

@TwoWheelsDC 60045 wrote:

I found it a bit frustrating, particularly at the beginning where it got pretty crowded and many of the cyclists were inexperienced.

One strategy for this is to oversleep your alarm and roll through the start just as they are ready to close it down. Then, smooth sailing, no congestion. Worked wonders for me last year!!

Agreed that this ride is pretty challenging for only 65 miles. But it’s a fantastic way to see new parts of the city and expand your “mental map”, and you’re never more than a few miles from metro if you need to bail.

@Justin Antos 60241 wrote:

One strategy for this is to oversleep your alarm and roll through the start just as they are ready to close it down. Then, smooth sailing, no congestion. Worked wonders for me last year!!

Agreed that this ride is pretty challenging for only 65 miles. But it’s a fantastic way to see new parts of the city and expand your “mental map”, and you’re never more than a few miles from metro if you need to bail.

I think my problem was that I started late and then caught up to the slow people, then spent quite a while working my way past several waves of them. If I do it again, I may actually try to start toward the front.

@consularrider 60250 wrote:

So you can be the one to make the wrong turn and lead everyone astray?

“Trust me, Ontario is totally one of the 50 states…”

@TwoWheelsDC 60254 wrote:

“Trust me, Ontario is totally one of the 50 states…”

That’s a good one, but technically it’s named after the lake, like Champlain Street. Other streets around there that were originally named after lakes: Erie became Euclid, Superior became Kalorama, and Huron became Fuller.

Or the big lake they call gitche gumee.