What's your favorite ride outside DC?

[palincss]

Originally Posted by skitlets

Perhaps even worse than gravel! It was a mud fest the last time I road to Cumberland. Impressed you could go on 23.

Conditions should be improving in that respect, thanks to the Towpath Resurfacing Project.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by skitlets

Perhaps even worse than gravel! It was a mud fest the last time I road to Cumberland. Impressed you could go on 23.

Depend on the section and time of year.

Also, this was late 2012 to maybe early 2015, so things could have changed.

Basically, quite rideable during fall to April. Just give it a day or two to dry out. Past May, it was a mudfest like you described. Actually quite nice to ride on it on a sunny autumn afternoon. Given how often it rains in the summer, i wouldnt think it’s that rideable until it hasnt rained for four days straight.

The part west of Great Falls is a lot bumpier, and i’d classify some as double single track (albeit straight single track). Impressive work going all the way to the Appalachia foothills. I went from Poolesville, heading west, and i had enough by the time I got to the ferry crossing.

Originally Posted by palincss

Conditions should be improving in that respect, thanks to the Towpath Resurfacing Project.

Do you know where this is? Looks a bit too wide, so to speak

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by skitlets

If you find some gravel close to DC, please let me know!.

There is really great gravel about 45mins-1hour (non-peak driving time) from downtown DC straight west in Virginia, Fauqier and Loudoun counties. My favorite close-in gravel rides often started in Haymarket to minimize driving time and still start your ride on rural roads rather than the burbs. There are many miles of well maintained low traffic gravel roads North of Rt 66 and West of Rt 15 - it's horse farm country, many roads are lined with stone fences, Blue Ridge views and the hills are mostly gentle although you can find some challenges if you want- this is where I spent many weekend days before I transplanted to Cali. There is a lot of Civil War history along those roads as well, especially some pre-Gettysburg skirmish sites. Look around the area inside the perimeter of The Plains, Marshall (home of UCI World Team pro Joe Dombrowski who used to break people's legs on our winter training rides out there), Upperville, Mt Weather (smile! you're on camera...) Bluemont, Purcellville (home of Velo Classique bike shop, worth a visit to drool on vintage Italian goodness) and Leesburg.

I don't know what happened to all my old routes on RideWithGPS- I haven't used it in several years and I had several great twisty gravel routes from 30-80 miles in and around that area, avoiding pavement as much as possible. I could map out one or two again, let me know, but what's with the damn app? Not as user friendly as it used to be IMHO. The Potomac Pedalers website has a good cue sheet library (probably the best source for the region) but those guys tend to avoid the gravel roads where possible rather than seek them out, but otherwise their routes are well documented. You used to have to join the club to access the library, but you can try.

Edit: I just sketched out one of my favorite 65mi routes from memory that maximizes gravel- it starts at the Bull Run Conservancy parking lot
(17405 Beverley Mill Dr, Broad Run, VA 20137) West of Haymarket- it starts with a couple of miles of pavement but at least 2/3 of the ride is gravel- Bust Head (toward the beginning) and Bull Run Mountain (toward the end) are both challenging gravel climbs, not killers but not easy either. The rest is rolling. Except for a brief stretch along Rt 50, these are all low traffic roads. Water/food can be found in Middleburg, but otherwise you should be self sufficient- carry 3 bottles if it's hot. PM me if you want more details.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33178247

[palincss]

Originally Posted by echappist

Do you know where this is? Looks a bit too wide, so to speak

The National Park Service web site doesn't specifically identify the location, but it does say

Where is work currently taking place?

The current phase of resurfacing stretches from Whites Ferry (Mile 35) to Brunswick (Mile 54). This phase of work has been completed as of April 1, 2020. The 30-day temporary closure for horseback riders is in effect between Culvert 82 (Mile 52.5) and Brunswick (Mile 54).

so it's fair to assume it's somewhere between mi 52.5 and mi 54.

[skitlets]

I'm looking forward to another C&O DC to Cumberland (maybe Pitt to DC) tour when the campsites re-open, especially if the surfaces are in better shape. Some parts just never dry out.

Thanks Zenn for the quickly posting a gravel route. No car here but worth renting one with a buddy for a good day of nice riding. Looks like we switched locations -- Bay Area <-> DC

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by skitlets

I'm looking forward to another C&O DC to Cumberland (maybe Pitt to DC) tour when the campsites re-open, especially if the surfaces are in better shape. Some parts just never dry out.

Thanks Zenn for the quickly posting a gravel route. No car here but worth renting one with a buddy for a good day of nice riding. Looks like we switched locations -- Bay Area <-> DC

You can also ride the metro Silver Line to Wiehle and ride the W&OD trail to Leesburg to access rural gravel. You should link up with the Bikenetic shop guys in Falls Church and get on their Facebook list, they do frequent group gravel and MTB shop (that's close to the W&OD) rides out in that direction, a really fun bunch of bike geeks and other misfits. I'm loving the East Bay hills, but I still miss Virginia and MD riding!

[Smitty2k1]

Since there seem to be quite a few DCists here I just want to say I'm itching to ride with other people should anyone feel comfortable doing so. I've only got 6 weeks left until my wife is due and I'm sure my cycling is going to go waaaaayyyy down once that happens.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

Since there seem to be quite a few DCists here I just want to say I'm itching to ride with other people should anyone feel comfortable doing so. I've only got 6 weeks left until my wife is due and I'm sure my cycling is going to go waaaaayyyy down once that happens.

You might want to start a thread for this. Where are you in the area?

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by zennmotion

There is really great gravel about 45mins-1hour (non-peak driving time) from downtown DC straight west in Virginia, Fauqier and Loudoun counties.

Beautiful description, with a great story!
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...71#post2748971

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by zennmotion

You can also ride the metro Silver Line to Wiehle and ride the W&OD trail to Leesburg to access rural gravel. You should link up with the Bikenetic shop guys in Falls Church and get on their Facebook list, they do frequent group gravel and MTB shop (that's close to the W&OD) rides out in that direction, a really fun bunch of bike geeks and other misfits. I'm loving the East Bay hills, but I still miss Virginia and MD riding!

Hill is a 4-letter word, but I agree on the East Bay thing. ...and Morgan Hill. ...and Salinas. ...and...

I'm outside Manassas if anyone needs a guide round western PWC

M

[tourmalet]

Thank you to The Paceline's Brain Trust for such wise advice! I have a long to-do list for the remainder of my vacation here, but I definitely kicked it off with a bang yesterday.

I rode the Antietam Scout loop out of Urbana. It featured dozens of punchy little climbs interspersed with beautiful farmland. I was glad I started around 7am, since there's not a lot of shade to hide under once the sun comes out. Maryland is hottt!

[mokofoko]

I used to love riding the W&OD trail when I lived in the area. From the Reston/Herndon area, going north or south was fantastic. Roundtrip, I could easily get 75+ miles going through DC. Never ever got tired of it. I know it connects with another trail and goes all the way up into Baltimore... pretty much flat the whole way. As much as I hated the traffic living in VA, the trails almost made up for it...

[abmrb]

Here is a link to Reston Bike Club's route library which pretty much covers the entire region:

https://ridewithgps.com/organization...oin-us/routes?

[zap]

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

Since there seem to be quite a few DCists here I just want to say I'm itching to ride with other people should anyone feel comfortable doing so. I've only got 6 weeks left until my wife is due and I'm sure my cycling is going to go waaaaayyyy down once that happens.

We moved from metro D.C. (Potomac) almost 4 years ago (gosh time flies) .....but if you ever come down to NC (triangle) let me know.

[Smitty2k1]

Originally Posted by zap

We moved from metro D.C. (Potomac) almost 4 years ago (gosh time flies) .....but if you ever come down to NC (triangle) let me know.

I drove past you this last weekend, spent the 4th at my in laws in New Bern, NC. Got out for a few hours on Saturday and tried to bike a lap of the Croatan Buck Fifty but ran into very muddy and overgrown ATV trails for the first 5 miles, followed by a washed out bridge over a 15' gorge after that. Managed to get through those obstacles and wound up doing about 15 miles of nice gravel in the Croatan before hitting a corn field that prevented any further progress. I suppose in March when the race was supposed to happen there wouldn't have been 8' high corn!