Looking for an easy 25 mile ride in DC Metro area

This topic has 24 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 7 months ago by Greenbelt.

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September 12, 2013 at 7:18 pm #981168

Tim Kelley
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Does it have to be on trail? And on just one trail? How is the distance/time measured?

September 12, 2013 at 7:24 pm #981171

dasgeh
Participant

Hey, Maryland people: Would that trail by BWI to Annapolis be helpful here? I’ve done a brick (run/ride) on the loop part and on part of the out-to-Annapolis part and IIRC it was lovely.

September 12, 2013 at 7:27 pm #981173

TwoWheelsDC
Participant

Would laps around Hains Point work?

September 12, 2013 at 7:27 pm #981174

jabberwocky
Participant

The Cross County Trail varies wildly in surface, and can be somewhat difficult to follow. Northern sections are mostly singletrack; doable a cross bike but more pleasant on a MTB. Through Fairfax you’re riding roads (some major ones, like Jermantown Rd). South it varies between gravel, pavement, singletrack and road. Its doable, but if speed is an issue I’d not recommend it.

I’d recommend against the FFX County Parkway trail. I live right off it in Reston; its not of the same quality of the W&OD, and a lot of the road crossings are terribly designed and quite dangerous. And its simply not that pleasant, since it parallels a multi-lane highway for its whole length.

Honestly, given your requirements, I’d recommend the W&OD, just out to the west. Once you get away from Reston, its very pleasant. The section west of Leesburg is rural and lovely and rarely what I would call crowded. For training, drive out to the lot off 28 and head west. From Reston to Purcellville and back would easily satisfy your 50 mile requirement.

September 12, 2013 at 7:28 pm #981175

DismalScientist
Participant

10 loops of Hains Point?

September 12, 2013 at 7:30 pm #981176

dbb
Participant

I’d vote for the Arlington Loop that you could add a run to the Wilson Bridge or Hains Point (or both). Safe, pleasant, and convenient.

September 12, 2013 at 7:37 pm #981177

Tim Kelley
Participant

How about Purceville to Arlington. That’s a net downhill, right?

Or Capital Crescent downhill, to Hains Point, to Mount Vernon to Fort Hunt, which has some variety. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3339362

September 12, 2013 at 7:44 pm #981178

CaseyKane50
Participant

@dasgeh 64052 wrote:

Hey, Maryland people: Would that trail by BWI to Annapolis be helpful here? I’ve done a brick (run/ride) on the loop part and on part of the out-to-Annapolis part and IIRC it was lovely.

I think you might be referring to the Baltimore and Anapolis Trail. My wife and I did the ride earlier this summer. It is nicely shaded, the riders on the trail were very polite, calling out passes and slowing down when passing. It is relatively flat with just a few short climbs. Park headquarters has restrooms and there are places to eat along the way. There is an easy connection to the BWI trail. The trail is 13.3 miles in length.

September 12, 2013 at 7:48 pm #981179

Kolohe
Participant

There’s a loop that starts on the Georgetown waterfront (under the Whitehurst freeway) goes up the Capital Crescent Trail to Bethesda (a good destination to stop), then over the Georgetown Branch Trail to Rock Creek park, then back down Beach Drive (closed to motor traffic on weekends until military road) then through the lower park of Rock Creek park back to Georgetown – it’s about 20 miles

http://goo.gl/maps/dmzoi

Things that are at somewhat variance with your specs

1) It’s uphill for about 2 and half miles strait all the way from Georgetown to the Mont county line. (then a more or less flat grade to Bethesda – then slightly downhill to Jones Bridge Road crossing, then a steeper downhill into the Rock Creek basin, but can be mitigating depending on which path you take)

2) The last part of the Rock Creek Trail between Military Road through the zoo and onward to the Penn Ave / M Street is fairly atrocious. Narrow with a few short but steep inclines and curves, and roots in somewhat abundance. (I myself normally just climb up to the old Walter Reed and take 14th street bike lanes all the way back – but that’s more hills and traffic)

3) It’s obviously short of 25 miles. One could add a counter loop though, going along the Potomac down past the Lincoln & Jefferson memorial’s to Haines point http://goo.gl/maps/R1mX4 or along the SW waterfront to the Anacostia trails (the South Capital Street bridge is a bit of a pain, but not a really big obstacle – just stay on the narrow sidepath on the east side of the bridge) and then back through the bike lanes (very ok for beginners) that run through Capitol Hill and Penn Ave. http://goo.gl/maps/QszfV. Or you can add a bit of out and back when you get to Rock Creek http://goo.gl/maps/kIEMb but I’m not personally familiar with anything north of the Mormon temple on this last route.

September 12, 2013 at 8:03 pm #981182

eminva
Participant

I just shepherded 15 scouts to completion of the Cycling Merit badge this summer. Here are my recommendations:

-Indian Head Rail Trail — flat and quiet, lovely scenery. It is only 13 miles so you’d have to do a couple of loops.

-The Torrey C. Brown & Heritage Trails — these trails together are about 40 miles, so you could go 25 out and back. We found them much quieter than the W&OD, Mount Vernon and other local trails.

-W&OD from Purcellville to Four Mile Run Trail to Mount Vernon Trail (whatever distance you need to get to 50 miles) — yes, there are some uphill sections, but net downhill (this requires someone to do drop off and pick up).

-I wouldn’t rule out the C&O; we had 14 scouts and eight adults ride 54.2 miles on the C&O from Brunswick to DC in 7 hours, 37 minutes elapsed time (5 hours, 22 minutes moving time per Strava) on the fourth day of our C&O Trip. That was the leg we used for the 50-miler for the badge.

-The Cross County Trail was good for the shorter rides (we used that a lot for our training for the C&O trip) but not so great for the 50 miler. There is a section between Thaiss Park and Rolling Road (in Springfield) that is passable for an occasional cyclist, but it is only 11 miles, so you’d have to go back and forth a lot. There are water crossings, deep gravel, and other things to slow you down; I’d not recommend this.

-Fairfax County Parkway Trail: NO.

Is this just for you and your son, or a whole group of scouts? If the former, where are those other boys?!

Let me know if you need blue cards signed.

Good luck!

YIS,

Liz

September 12, 2013 at 8:09 pm #981183

KayakCyndi
Participant

Ok. This ride is NOT 1 hour from DC but well worth the drive in my opinion.

Go camp at Chickahominy River Front Park in Williamsburg VA. From there bike the Greensprings trail to Jamestown Island, loop the Island. Then ride along the Colonial Parkway to Colonial Williamsburg. Have Lunch. Keep riding out the Colonial Parkway until you hit the mileage you need (it goes on to Yorktown). Then turn around and ride back to Chickahomiy.

Very few hills on the Colonial Parkway although few small ones near Williamsburg. While it is a road it is a “colonial” and touristy road with very few cars and most travel slowly. Ride hybrids or road bikes with big tires the Parkway is bumpy pavement. Lots of stuff to look at along the way.

PM me if you are interested and need details/routes etc.

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September 12, 2013 at 8:28 pm #981185

mstone
Participant

Remember that there’s a bonus point each time you say chickahominy because, wow what a fun word.

September 12, 2013 at 8:38 pm #981186

mstone
Participant

Where/why on the C&O did you have to portage? Knowing that would help calibrate the advice; there aren’t many unrideable spots, but there might have been a transient problem.

Also take a look at the Western Maryland Rail Trail. I think it’s a bit shy of 20 miles, but you could tack on a bit of towpath. That trail has some climbing (more than the towpath but less than W&OD) but almost no vehicle conflicts.

September 12, 2013 at 8:41 pm #981187

KLizotte
Participant

I second the Western Maryland Rail Trail. It’s actually longer than the stated length because the trail continues for another 1.5-2 miles beyond the official end of the trail. It’s very shaded and almost flat. There are a few restaurants right on the trail in Hancock. The best thing about the trail is how few people use it even on the weekends. You can go as fast or as slow as you want. There are some road crossings but they were all easy. The tow path parallels the paved trail and there are connecting trails. It will be very pretty when the trees change color.

September 13, 2013 at 12:35 am #981204

KS1G
Participant

I’d consider C&O, too. For a 25 mile out & return, I think it would work well. Just give the towpath a day or two to dry out after today’s rain! Need to check a map to see how far upstream that takes you, but Great Falls should definitely be included. Further west, WMRT is very nice and I’d recommend stopping at Ft Frederick (hopefully they will have ice cream). Also out west, there is a Antietam battlefield loop on the bikewashingtondc web site. Uses the autoroad on the north side of the the battlefield, there are ways to get to some of the other attractions (Burnside’s Bridge). The full loop starts at the Antietam Creek campsite, so there will be hills climbing up from C&O to the battlefield area, and to get up from the Burnside Bridge area. You can include an ice cream stop at Nutter’s in Sharpsburg. We took 7-8 scouts on this loop over Illumination weekend in early December a few years ago, so it’s do-able with that age group.

A more ambitious loop (overkill for the 50 miler) would be W&OD to Leesburg, Rt 15 (briefly) and White’s Ferry Rd, take ferry across, ice cream & snacks at general store, than back via C&O. Adjust start and end points for mileage if someone can provide transportation.

Good luck!
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