DC & Baltimore Century (~106 Miles) Saturday, March 19, 2016

I’m up for riding with you! I’ll have to do some training to make sure I’m in shape for it, though, but it’s a great goal for early in the year.

I’m interested in a ride to Baltimore & back.

Doing so may call into question my sanity, but if my legs feel up for it, I would also consider rolling to Hains point as well that evening.

While I’ve done a few centuries, its a personal goal to see how far I can ride in a day this year

@Tim Kelley 135033 wrote:

There’s more daylight in the summer: http://total200.com/

I’d like to do the Total200, but I’m concerned I cannot maintain a fast enough pace for that long to avoid getting swept.

Just seeing if there is still interest in this ride. After riding 120.1 miles last Saturday, I think I have proven to myself that I can handle a ride like this, so I’m still in!

Ideas for routes to take:

• Looked at BikeWashington http://bikewashington.org/routes/dc2balt/dc2balt.htm and Crystal Bae directions http://www.crystalbae.com/2012/12/03/washington-dc-to-baltimore-ride/
• we could always use one route to get there and another to return

Three options I have mapped out in Strava (mostly similar, but let me know if something stands out above the others; I arbitrarily chose 4MR Park in Alexandria as a starting point just to create the routes)

1. BikeWashington directions only: https://www.strava.com/routes/4372301
2. Crystal Bae directions only: https://www.strava.com/routes/4372424
3. Crystal Bae-BikeWashington hybrid directions: https://www.strava.com/routes/4372516

Even though the ride will start in Alexandria, we could meet with folks in DC along the route, say at the Jefferson Memorial (only 30 minutes from Alexandria). Maybe we start at 8:00 in Alexandria then meet with folks at the Jefferson Memorial at 8:30? Let me know what works best for everyone.

@Tim Kelley 136885 wrote:

What kind of pace are you thinking of doing?

The plan is for a relaxed pace, somewhere around 12-16 mph on average with multiple breaks including lunch.

I’m in. Can meet at the Jefferson at 8:30

We made it! We left the Jefferson Memorial at 9 a.m. and didn’t return to Arlington/Alexandria until 10 p.m., but it was quite a challenge. 30-40 degree weather with rain that neither of us were truly prepared for (it’s sorta our faults for that) meant that we had some potential for hypothermia. We had to stop at a bike store (Light Street Cycles) in downtown Baltimore to get new gloves as ours were all soaked. Later, we stopped at a Popeyes (the one near the Greenbelt metro) to try to warm up with some hot food while wringing the water out of our gloves in the bathroom. Luckily, as it got dark outside, the rain let up for the rest of our way, zooming through the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, DC, and back across the Potomac into VA to get home. My final mileage was around 117-118 for the day.

For directions, we used the CrystalBae route to get to Baltimore http://www.crystalbae.com/2012/12/03/washington-dc-to-baltimore-ride/ which had us riding on what I believe is the WORST bike lane in the region. Queens Chapel Rd between NW Branch and East-West Highway has a bike lane, but the paint is almost completely faded, and the bike lane features a crazy amount of potholes and debris that just makes you feel the pain for your bike when you ride over them, all while drivers a few feet away is going bonkers because, well, drivers. The BikeWashington directions http://bikewashington.org/routes/dc2balt/dc2balt.htm to me are the best, and I would recommend using those to get to/from Baltimore. We used it to get back from Baltimore and found them a lot nicer due to the lesser highway riding and greater trail riding with it getting late in the day.

Also, I got to ride on the BWI Trail, and I think it’s an awesome trail to use. I like the loop around BWI that even has one part at the top of a hill that gives a full view of the airport and provides a great view for watching planes.

Crazy to think, but here’s the list of all trails that we rode on for this trip:

• W&OD Trail
• Four Mile Run Trail
• Mount Vernon Trail
• Metropolitan Branch Trail
• College Park Trolley Trail
• Paint Branch Trail
• BWI Trail
• Jones Falls Trail
• Indian Creek Trail
• Northeast Branch Trail
• Northwest Branch Trail
• Levee Trail

Thank you, Dave, for coming on this crazy ride with me! I will likely do this ride again, but first I need to get rid of the Popeyes from my system (I really cannot eat at that place anymore, and I can still “taste” their grease as I type this).

Rob, thanks for having me! I concur, the Bike Washington route’s preferable and Light Street Cycles, was a fortuitous find. My mileage total came to 114.6 for the day which is a new distance PR for me.

According to my Garmin, the temperature held around 40 or so until we were almost to downtown Baltimore and then nosedived to right around freezing and unfortunately stayed there for the rest of the ride. It’s been years since I’ve found myself that soaked and some of my gear’s still damp, but at the end of the day, it makes for a more memorable ride.

I’d like to try and turn the ride into a loop and follow the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail to Annapolis, then returning to DC from there. Google Maps lists mileage from the Jefferson Memorial at about 115 miles if riding all the way in to the Inner Harbor and about 100 miles if skipping downtown Baltimore and heading to Annapolis after looping around the airport on the BWI Trail. However, I do think I’d prefer to wait to do it on a day without freezing temps & rain.

Yea, Popeye’s was definitely not one of my better decisions, but I am glad they had a hand dryer in the bathroom.