CCT – McLean?

[DismalScientist]

Towpath on 25mm tires? Why bother. Sling your bike over the shoulder and take the footpath from the corner of Glebe and Canal right up to the CCT! (You may not want to try this with loaded panniers.)

[elcee]

@DismalScientist 11549 wrote:

take the footpath from the corner of Glebe and Canal right up to the CCT!

What’s this? Something I don’t know about?

[americancyclo]

@DismalScientist 11549 wrote:

Sling your bike over the shoulder and take the footpath from the corner of Glebe and Canal right up to the CCT! (You may not want to try this with loaded panniers.)

I was going to do the rolling hills on Lorcom and Military, but I’m curious about this path from the CCT down to the intersection. does it drop you out here on that six foot strip of asphalt? Is it difficult to cross to the bridge? Maybe I’ll go and take pics. The Lady even called to say its nice out and I should go ride my bike.

[DismalScientist]

I think it is about 50 feet to the NW. Maybe here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=glebe+and+canal&hl=en&ll=38.930354,-77.111815&spn=0.000556,0.000862&sll=38.891919,-77.194731&sspn=0.008902,0.013797&vpsrc=6&hnear=Chesapeake+and+Ohio+Canal+National+Historical+Park,+1850+Dual+Hwy+%23100,+Hagerstown,+Maryland+21740-6620&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=38.930305,-77.11178&panoid=5qeUCGJu_Hl9Us0vrHASyA&cbp=12,69.8,,0,30.26

Caution: the path is really rough!

[consularrider]

@tipitai 11522 wrote:

Pete,

Thanks for the tip! I just rode in to work this morning before seeing this post and ended up taking CCT – Tow Path – Chain Bridge and going up Chain Bridge Road. Not as bad as I had thought, but it will probably be a different story later tonight when riding home in the dark. Any kind of map that you are willing to post would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for the offer and the good advice.

RH

Pete leaves out how nasty a hill 41st Street is. :rolleyes:

[vvill]

@Dirt 11544 wrote:

On days where the trail is dry there’s no problem with riding the C&O on roadie tires. I do it often. If it is muddy, you’ll want to take a different route home.

I’ve done it on 700 x 25s maybe 5-10 times but I’m always worried I’ll get a puncture so I’ve stopped for now.

@DismalScientist 11561 wrote:

I think it is about 50 feet to the NW. Maybe here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=glebe+and+canal&hl=en&ll=38.930354,-77.111815&spn=0.000556,0.000862&sll=38.891919,-77.194731&sspn=0.008902,0.013797&vpsrc=6&hnear=Chesapeake+and+Ohio+Canal+National+Historical+Park,+1850+Dual+Hwy+%23100,+Hagerstown,+Maryland+21740-6620&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=38.930305,-77.11178&panoid=5qeUCGJu_Hl9Us0vrHASyA&cbp=12,69.8,,0,30.26

Caution: the path is really rough!

Yeah that’s the one. It’s not *too* bad walking down/up as long as you have decent shoes, but crossing Clara Barton with no signal can be tricky, especially when you have to hop over the barrier with your bike. One time I ran into a weird random dude just hanging around the path, and he was trying to give me directions and then also asked me why I didn’t just ride down the path, since I had a bike.

[Dirt]

@consularrider 11564 wrote:

Pete leaves out how nasty a hill 41st Street is. :rolleyes:

And by Nasty, you mean AWESOME, right?

[Tim Kelley]

@Dirt 11581 wrote:

And by Nasty, you mean AWESOME, right?

Confirmed. Awesome indeed!

[americancyclo]

I went this way home on Friday, and getting from the CCT down to the bridge was pretty easy. I had figured out what mile marker the path should be at, and kept an eye out for the intersection, since the CCT is above the road and bridge at this point. Conveniently, there is a big wooden fence that begins right at the head of the path, so it’s hard to miss.The path switches back and might be manageable for someone really skilled at moutain biking, but not I, and not on a road bike. Good practice for cyclocross maybe though. I took some pics so y’all could see, if like me, you’re not familiar with where the path is. Don’t know that I’d hike up, but maybe once the mornings get a little lighter.[ATTACH=CONFIG]507[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]508[/ATTACH]

[elcee]

@americancyclo 11629 wrote:

I went this way home on Friday, and getting from the CCT down to the bridge was pretty easy. I had figured out what mile marker the path should be at, and kept an eye out for the intersection, since the CCT is above the road and bridge at this point. Conveniently, there is a big wooden fence that begins right at the head of the path, so it’s hard to miss. …

I finally found this path today. From the CCT, it’s just south of mile marker 7. From the Chain Bridge side, it’s about 50 ft north of the actual intersection, about 15 ft before the barrier ends. I had high hopes for the path but I can’t recommend it. The path itself is very rocky. Crossing Clara Barton Parkway is even more of a challenge; you never have the lights in your favor so you end up waiting for gaps in traffic.

It’s really too bad, as the path would make Bethesda much more convenient.

[Author]

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