Arlington’s toughest hills list

[DaveK]

@Brendan von Buckingham 7291 wrote:

Pennsylvania eastbound over Anacostia. Minnesota northbound. Massachusetts eastbound. Long steady climb up to 200 feet (pretty much same as Courthouse in Arlington). Enter Fort Dupont Park for some rolling hills. Return. Massachusetts on the return is long and straight so you can really bomb down the hill, which is good for getting back to the office.

The bridge and Pennsylvania/Minnesota intersection are little hairy, but Mass Ave is low traffic with bike lanes and Fort Dupont is quiet, shaded and very low traffic.

If you want more urban, a great climb is Morris Rd from MLK up to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Your rewarded with one of the best view of the city from one of the least known overlooks.

Pretty much what I would have answered… I love the descent down from Fort Dupont on Massachusetts, there’s not another one like it in the city. Good Hope Road up to Alabama Ave is a steady leg-burner. So is MLK heading uphill from Anacostia into Congress Heights, but I’m not sure I’d do that one alone… goes right by Barry Farm.

Best suggestion to find routes EotR is to join the WABA 50 states ride. That’s how I found my quick circuit out there.

My goal is eventually to string together a good ride out there, south maybe on Alabama into MD then back over the bridge. I really haven’t had time to scout out that area though for roads that are safe to ride.

[RideTheWomble]

dirt;292 wrote:

one of my favorite rides is the 50+ mile loop called kill bill from the potomac pedophiles cue sheet list. I modified it to include the path coming up from chain bridge. The only thing it really misses is walter reed coming up from 4-mile run.

kill bill!

[dasgeh]

@americancyclo 7021 wrote:

I was hoping some of these might be closer to DC so I could get in a quick hill ride during lunch. I managed to find some small hills over in Rosslyn, but would appreciate any more tips leaving from Capitol Hill
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/45600606

Cross the Memorial Bridge, take the trail beside 110 up to Iwo Jima and continue straight through Fort Myer. Not the longest hill, but oh so steep. Coming back you can cruise down through the cemetery, and the view is stunning. At Fort Myer you’ll have to stop at the gate, and show either a government ID or drivers license. Usually the stop’s not that long, and the worst (best?) part of the hill is after the stop.

[thepowersthata]

If your friend doesn’t mind crossing the river, head over to BicycleSpace for the Hills of Anacostia ride. Here is one of the past ride routes.

[DaveK]

@thepowersthata 7437 wrote:

If your friend doesn’t mind crossing the river, head over to BicycleSpace for the Hills of Anacostia ride. Here is one of the past ride routes.

This is excellent… if I were here this weekend I think I’d join up.

[Jsnyd]

@mpoethig 315 wrote:

Coming home from work I ride from the Roosevelt Island parking lot to the top of Upton Street off of Old Dominion near intersection with Lorcom Lane. At first this long uphill killed me–not being much of a bicyclist–but now I’m much stronger and it’s not so bad. Does anyone know what the elevation is for that stretch?

Margaret

From min/max altitude its only 386ft but the climb is a total 678ft. A total of 4mile distance. Assuming you take the Custis trail to N Taylor, Lee hwy and across Lorcom. “Route Planner” is a good app if you have a smart phone. You can plan trips or just track your position via GPS. Itll show you the best way for bike (Like google maps) as well as the elevation, distance, average grade % and total climb. You can also save your route and email it to others. Living about 10 miles from all those nice trails made it hard for me at first to just grab and go without getting lost. Route Planner lets me map a route for the best way through the city and around town. Knowing where the climbs are makes them fun because Im ready for them… most of the time.

[Dirt]

Kill Bill Century Loop is starting to take form. I had to split it into 2 GPS routes since most GPS can’t handle all the turns needed to navigate this. It is questionable whether the first part can work in my Garmin Edge 705.

Part 1: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/710705

Part 2: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30554466

I will at least try to get the 2 routes mapped in the same system later this week. I have a few tweaks to do on Part 2, which I will do using RideWithGPS instead of MapMyRide. MapMyRide’s elevation projections are not accurate.

A few of us rode Part 2 this weekend and it is brutal. There are a few sections of mellow rollers that seem out of place, but connect things nicely and will actually be much appreciated because the hills at the end of this ride are some of the worst.

I think our current plan is to ride this October 9th. People are welcome to join in on this, but please come prepared to navigate and support yourself. I can try to keep the group together, but it will not be easy. This will likely be a 10+ hour ride, most of it in Arlington. I’ll post up details as we get closer.

This ride is arguably one of the most difficult and diabolical rides I’ve attempted. There are virtually no sustained climbs. They’re all short, most are steep and there is no rest between them. On the 60 mile loop people start to complain at mile 35 about the downhills because they mean that an uphill is soon to follow. I didn’t complete the 60 mile loop until my 3rd try. The 100 mile loop, though only 40 miles longer, will be more than twice as difficult.

I will be scouting some of these areas in the next week or two. There are a few sections that I added to get to a hill I love, but I don’t know exactly what the streets are like.

I know there are some great hills left out of this loop. Mark, Tim and Eric helped me identify some hills that are further south… The problem is that they add a lot of rolling mileage that pushes the ride distance up closer to 120. That will have to be a ride for next summer.

Enjoy.

Pete

[jabberwocky]

@Dirt 8032 wrote:

Enjoy.

As someone who has ridden this loop with you a few times, I just want to say that I sometimes watch CSI just to get pointers on how to kill you and get away with it.

[Dirt]

@jabberwocky 8033 wrote:

As someone who has ridden this loop with you a few times, I just want to say that I sometimes watch CSI just to get pointers on how to kill you and get away with it.

Awwwww… That’s sweet! I’m watching documentaries on WWII Pacific campaign to plan my next ride.

I love you too.

Pete

[jabberwocky]

@Dirt 8034 wrote:

I love you too.

I get an involuntary nervous tic everytime you say this to me.

[vvill]

@Dirt 8032 wrote:

Kill Bill Century Loop is starting to take form. I had to split it into 2 GPS routes since most GPS can’t handle all the turns needed to navigate this. It is questionable whether the first part can work in my Garmin Edge 705.

Part 1: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/710705

Part 2: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30554466

I will at least try to get the 2 routes mapped in the same system later this week. I have a few tweaks to do on Part 2, which I will do using RideWithGPS instead of MapMyRide. MapMyRide’s elevation projections are not accurate.

I think our current plan is to ride this October 9th. People are welcome to join in on this, but please come prepared to navigate and support yourself. I can try to keep the group together, but it will not be easy. This will likely be a 10+ hour ride, most of it in Arlington. I’ll post up details as we get closer.

Niiiiiiiiice. I recognise quite a few parts of Part 1, but I’ve never strung them into a 60 mi ride, let alone 100 mi. Usually < 20mi is plenty! Don't know any of the riding around Lake Barcroft. October 9th – I might be interested. I also prefer ridewithgps to mapmyride. Actually I prefer anything to mapmyride.

[Dirt]

The stuff around Barcroft is truly painful… especially since it comes late in the ride. There is a few miles of mellow rollers to get there, then some truly sadistic, short, steep climbs. They’re lovely.

[consularrider]

Sounds like a good challenging ride. However, I’ll be on my way to the hills of southern Indiana that weekend. Heading to the Hilly Hundred, two days, 100 miles, 10,000 feet of climbing.

[Dirt]

@consularrider 8055 wrote:

Sounds like a good challenging ride. However, I’ll be on my way to the hills of southern Indiana that weekend. Heading to the Hilly Hundred, two days, 100 miles, 10,000 feet of climbing.

Sounds like a great ride. Enjoy it!!!

[JimF22003]

@Dirt 8046 wrote:

The stuff around Barcroft is truly painful… especially since it comes late in the ride. There is a few miles of mellow rollers to get there, then some truly sadistic, short, steep climbs. They’re lovely.

That’s my ‘hood

[Author]

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