Looking for a Rental (Road)

[OutsideTheLaw]

The C&O is, as Dismal says, unpaved. It’s also on the other (Maryland) side of the River. You can get there via Leesburg (off the WOD, up US Route 15) or, far nicer, via White’s Ferry (also accessed via Leesburg). And if you want to stay paved, you can ride the Maryland roads out of Whites Ferry back south to Washington/Georgetown, and finish in Crystal City, but now you’re up in the 80-90 miles area.

[PotomacCyclist]

Sections of the Mt. Vernon Trail run along the Potomac River. The trail also veers over into wooded areas but never too far from the river. You could get most of your miles on the W&OD and the more scenic part of the ride on the MVT.

Both are paved. As I noted above, much of the MVT in Alexandria is on local streets, either with bike lanes or sharrows. In off-peak hours, the traffic conditions are safe for cyclists. (I haven’t ridden through there during peak hours too often, so I don’t know what the traffic patterns are like then. I still don’t think it would be too bad.) The eastern part of the W&OD does have a few grade intersections where you’ll have to stop and wait for traffic lights or car traffic to clear. It’s not that bad though.

You can do out-and-backs to add up as many miles as you want to ride. You can easily ride a century by combining the W&OD, the MVT and perhaps East Potomac Park (Hains Point).

[Amalitza]

@PotomacCyclist 32652 wrote:

Sections of the Mt. Vernon Trail run along the Potomac River. The trail also veers over into wooded areas but never too far from the river. You could get most of your miles on the W&OD and the more scenic part of the ride on the MVT.

Both are paved. As I noted above, much of the MVT in Alexandria is on local streets, either with bike lanes or sharrows. In off-peak hours, the traffic conditions are safe for cyclists. (I haven’t ridden through there during peak hours too often, so I don’t know what the traffic patterns are like then. I still don’t think it would be too bad.) The eastern part of the W&OD does have a few grade intersections where you’ll have to stop and wait for traffic lights or car traffic to clear. It’s not that bad though.

You can do out-and-backs to add up as many miles as you want to ride. You can easily ride a century by combining the W&OD, the MVT and perhaps East Potomac Park (Hains Point).

The MVT can be pretty crowded on weekends, so if you’re looking to enjoy scenery rather than ride an obstacle course (its own kind of fun:cool:, but maybe not what you’re looking for), I recommend a weekday if you have the choice (it is a nice scenic trail, both for river views and woods, which I’m sure you don’t have much of in AZ). Old Town Alexandria is safe to bike through any time of day, just stay off of Patrick, Henry, and Washington streets. The MVT has two official routes through old town; Union Street and Royal Street. Union is better marked (both as part of the trail and with sharrows) but a little more heavily trafficked– if you *really* want to avoid cars, you can ride up Royal. Just check the map first and don’t expect trail signs.

[americancyclo]

You cloud do a ride like this, from Crystal City, head north to the Custis Trail, West out to Vienna, VA (Whole Foods or Vienna Inn for refreshment), East on the W&OD, South on the MVT to Mount Vernon, then back North to Crystal City. That would get you a solid 60 miles with all off-street, paved trails
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1777437

[Nemisys]

@americancyclo 32673 wrote:

You cloud do a ride like this, from Crystal City, head north to the Custis Trail, West out to Vienna, VA (Whole Foods or Vienna Inn for refreshment), East on the W&OD, South on the MVT to Mount Vernon, then back North to Crystal City. That would get you a solid 60 miles with all off-street, paved trails
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1777437

PERFECT!

And also thanks for the link. That Ride software looks badass, looks like I can sync it to my Garmin watch.

Thanks again!

[Author]

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