Around the Beltway Century?

[TwoWheelsDC]

I mentioned this on twitter a while back, but I was thinking of attempting some sort of Beltway circumnavigation and turning it into a century ride…has anyone ever done something like this before? I know there’s WAGBRAD, but that just does the DC boundaries. Obviously, there are some obstacles, primarily the Potomac up at the American Legion bridge, but I think the ride could run up Macarthur, hang right and do a clockwise loop, then come down at Gtown Pike and back into Arlington (or the reverse of that). My extremely rough go at it on GarminConnect puts the route around 110 miles (the Beltway itself is 64 miles), with diversions around places like Andrews AFB and going out of the way to cross major roads like I270 and I95. I’ll probably reconnoiter the dodgier parts of the route on my motorcycle just to get a feel for how the roads will be for cyclists, as I’m not familiar with most of the Maryland sections. Many of the roads are designated bike routes, but some are major-ish looking roads that may not be wise to ride on…particularly in the 2-5 o’clock positions. Most of the VA stuff I know fairly well and is relatively easy to navigate though.

Anyone interested in making this a group ride of some sort? I know it’s not as wild as Kill Bill, but I think riding a big circle around DC’s most infamous traffic icon has a special meaning. Even if you aren’t interested in riding, I’m happy to get route advice as well.

Topic

[rcannon100]

just highlights how balkanized the bike infrastructure is

If you were so predisposed, this would be an excellent publicity stunt to highlight this exact fact… and highlight the fact that you cant get across the river, north of chain bridge, on anything but a car. Could be a great way to highlight the need for better infrastructure (and those parts of the city that get it right)

Tour de Beltway

[Tim Kelley]

@rcannon100 25539 wrote:

and highlight the fact that you cant get across the river, north of chain bridge, on anything but a car.

Well, you can…but it involves a boat: http://app.strava.com/rides/13507408

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 25539 wrote:

If you were so predisposed, this would be an excellent publicity stunt to highlight this exact fact… and highlight the fact that you cant get across the river, north of chain bridge, on anything but a car. Could be a great way to highlight the need for better infrastructure (and those parts of the city that get it right)

Tour de Beltway

I thought about doing it at rush hour and “racing” a car around the beltway, sorta like the cyclists in LA did during last year’s carmageddon when the 405 was shut down…I think if the distances were equal, a bike could win, but since you have to tack on 40 miles to do it safely by bike, it wouldn’t work very well.

[Author]

Replies