Getting off-road on a cross bike

Lake Fairfax is great. Rode through twice (commute) on the ‘cross bike yesterday.

@gtmandsager 123087 wrote:

It looks like there’s dirt loop that you can go from the W&OD up the CCT, over to lake fairfax and south again to the W&OD

Yeah, this is the commute detour I take when conditions are good. The most direct route adds 6ish miles and 30 minutes to the overall commute. The part that starts with the CCT through Tamarack park from W&OD up to RT 7 does not drain well so it is probably only these past couple weeks that it has fully dried out. The part to west of the CCT that these trails connect to are part of the Lake Fairfax trail system and are much better draining and generally more technical (and more fun) trails. You can enter the Lake Fairfax trails at the Skatequest ice rink. (And other places.) Definitely rideable on CX, but you’ll have to exercise some caution. Smaller the tire, the more caution. With the 42mm tires I have now I can bomb through at close to mtb speeds (I had some PRs or 2nd bests coming home on Friday, compared to my MTB times). With smaller tires I have usually flatted when I try to keep up with mountain bikes.

I rode from the skating rink to Lake Fairfax, then to Great Falls via Colvin Run/Difficult Run today. I’d say a good 85% of that could be ridden on a CX bike if you have decent handling skills. Between LF and GF, it’s mostly singletrack, with a few root-y climbs and some rocky and sandy areas on the stream banks. I then rode into Great Falls park along Difficult Run and was surprised at the nice gravel paths/service roads in the park, which were definitely passable on a CX bike. Some surprisingly wicked climbs in there too. I would’ve spent more time in there, but I took a wrong turn and got dumped back onto Georgetown Pike and just decided to head back.

The nice thing about Lake Fairfax, and why it’ll probably become my go-to ride, is it’s easily Metro accessible if you don’t feel like riding all the way out there and all the way back.

@gtmandsager 123082 wrote:

I was intrigued today to find trails in Montgomery County that connect to the towpath (Seneca Creek Greenway and Muddy Branch Greenway), how’s the single track there without suspension?

I rode Muddy Branch today…it’s mostly flowy singletrack with a few short technical sections, which are mostly confined to the Esworthy<>Query Mill section. The one part that I found most challenging was a short rock garden type thing that is maybe 100m long, with a couple really tricky spots due to the inclines (and my inability to take a good line). The descent from River Rd. down to the C&O is an absolute blast and a great way to end the ride, so I’d suggest starting from the C&O and riding to Rt. 28 and back, for an 18 mile round trip. Overall, I’d say very doable on a CX bike, but expect to walk a couple of short sections. The obstacles are mostly roots, although like I said, there are some short rocky sections. There are also a few short, but steep in-and-out stream crossings, but nothing requiring a dismount. The thing that would scare me most about doing it on a CX bike is there are a lot of fairly steep ups-and-downs with roots, and it seems like that would be a bit freaky with CX bike geometry.

@dkel 123088 wrote:

Much of the Cross County Trail is gravelly goodness. I had a couple of weeks of commuting from Accotink up to Merrifield, and thought it was fantastic. A few paved segments mixed in, but lots of gravel. My CX bike and I both highly recommend it.

+1 for the Cross County Trail.

Sometime this season I rode Vaya (drop bars and 700×40 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires) from Accotink all the way to Occoquan and back. Lots of mixed terrain including several shallow water crossings. It was all really enjoyable, just seemed like the right bike for the job.

And if you get to Occoquan, there’s Mom’s Apple Pie shop.

Yeah, that section from W&OD to 7 is really great right now — so nice and dry. It is the last part to dry and isn’t as much fun when the puddles are all established, but it is probably the part that is most fun on the CX bike. Especially that fast singletrack through the tulip poplars and then the twisty stuff through the pine grove. What a blast.

+1 for tubeless, definitely had several wincing moments today when I felt the rim bottoming out when I flubbed some technical section. I don’t want to damage my rims, but sure is nice to not flat. It is probably worth trying to tape whatever rims you are running right now; chances are decent they will work great.