Military Road

[KLizotte]

Hi y’all, I’m thinking of trying out the Custis – North Quincy – Military Rd – C&O – C&O loop for the first time this weekend. I want to see the infamous 41st hill for the first time (albeit going down); I may or may not attempt it going up (it is supposed to be ungodly hot this wknd after all).

Google streetview shows parts of Military Road as torn up by road construction. Anybody know if that is all finished?

It also appears that Military Road has a lot of long hills; somehow streetview makes it look easier heading west than east. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Topic

[TwoWheelsDC]

I do the reverse of this on my commute home on the days I’m feeling saucy…123 to 41st St. to Military, to Nelly Custis, to Lorcom, then get on the Custis by the Giant. It’s no joke as far as hills go (5% grades or so), but it’s all short and steep…no grinding climbs. I actually prefer to go up 41st St because going down can be tough on the brakes and you can’t really let yourself build up any speed. There’s no construction on Military from Nelly Custis to Glebe, but I’m not sure about the sections south of that.

Here’s the section in question from my ride from Tuesday:

And 41st St (crappy pic, sorry)

[creadinger]

Going down 41st St isn’t any picnic either. Your legs will get a break, but your forearms will burn from having to brake so hard.

[Mark Blacknell]

Military’s just fine. Only construction around there is the County finishing up milling and repaving part of Old Glebe Rd.

[jabberwocky]

Instead of going down 41st, I’d personally just go straight down Glebe. 41st is steep and rough and rutted (and very gravelly at the bottom). Fine to climb, but a waste of elevation to go down since you’ll need to go so slowly and carefully.

[Megabeth]

What I like about Military is that for every uphill there is a nice long awesome downhill awaiting on the other side.

[KLizotte]

Thanks for all the info, even though I’ve lived in Arlington for 10+ years I have never driven or riden through that part of town (!). It looks like I’ll skip the ride down 41st; doesn’t sound all that pleasant or anything to brag about though I may eyeball it from the top. I will tackle the rest of the hills provided I get my clipless shoes in time (they are on special order).

The 41st St pic by TwoWheelsDC is funny – makes it look like a speed bump!

[Tim Kelley]

@KLizotte 20506 wrote:

It looks like I’ll skip the ride down 41st; doesn’t sound all that pleasant or anything to brag about though I may eyeball it from the top.

It’s not quite as bad as it’s made out to be. Just be careful to not let your speed get away from you. And going up is manageable–it’s the little sidewalk s-curve part at the very top that gets most people.

[Mark Blacknell]

When you descend Glebe, *take the lane*. It’s not a particularly pleasant place to get passed closely, and drivers will do that there if you give them the opening.

If you end up deciding you’d like a look at 41st from the bottom, slow and signal well in advance – drivers don’t expect anyone to turn left there.

[Tim Kelley]

@Mark Blacknell 20509 wrote:

If you end up deciding you’d like a look at 41st from the bottom, slow and signal well in advance – drivers don’t expect anyone to turn left there.

And watch that turn–over the weekend there was some gravel there that a rider went down on. Just take it easy.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Tim Kelley 20507 wrote:

it’s the little sidewalk s-curve part at the very top that gets most people.

Honestly, I walk this section…not so much because it’s too steep, but it just makes me uneasy given my level of handling skills. I did see a guy on a fixie (not Dirt) do the entire climb though, which was pretty impressive. Maybe I’ll try it one day when I ride my road bike instead of my commuter+pannier.

[txgoonie]

@Mark Blacknell 20509 wrote:

When you descend Glebe, *take the lane*. It’s not a particularly pleasant place to get passed closely, and drivers will do that there if you give them the opening.

If you end up deciding you’d like a look at 41st from the bottom, slow and signal well in advance – drivers don’t expect anyone to turn left there.

This is a good idea, but you do have to watch your speed riding Glebe no matter what. If you plan to take the sidewalk to go over Chain Bridge, you have to get left at the light and you’ll totally overcook it if you’re not prepared. Jabber warned me about that the first time I did it, and I was SO glad he did.

[vvill]

@KLizotte 20506 wrote:

Thanks for all the info, even though I’ve lived in Arlington for 10+ years I have never driven or riden through that part of town (!). It looks like I’ll skip the ride down 41st; doesn’t sound all that pleasant or anything to brag about though I may eyeball it from the top. I will tackle the rest of the hills provided I get my clipless shoes in time (they are on special order).

The 41st St pic by TwoWheelsDC is funny – makes it look like a speed bump!

Here‘s an old poorly made/unedited video I took climbing 41st earlier this year. Camera is mounted on the left of my helmet so it’s a bit shaky. Gives you a better idea though.

[DismalScientist]

@vvill 20520 wrote:

Here‘s an old poorly made/unedited video I took climbing 41st earlier this year. Camera is mounted on the left of my helmet so it’s a bit shaky. Gives you a better idea though.

Where are the required expletives?

[KLizotte]

@txgoonie 20513 wrote:

This is a good idea, but you do have to watch your speed riding Glebe no matter what. If you plan to take the sidewalk to go over Chain Bridge, you have to get left at the light and you’ll totally overcook it if you’re not prepared. Jabber warned me about that the first time I did it, and I was SO glad he did.

Do you mean stay left if you are heading from VA to DC over the bridge?

[KLizotte]

Thanks a lot for the video. It’s not at all what I thought it would be like. I’m sure I’d feel like dying getting to the top at my age/fitness level but we had hills like that all around my house where I grew up. I lived next door to Fitchburg, MA* so I was expecting something much worse. Fitchburg is also home to the 4 day stage Longsjo Classic.

*supposedly the second hilliest city in the US after San Francisco.

[Author]

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