Bike Riding - Anyone else go out on one today?

[MarquisDeSade]

It being such a nice day I finally dragged my bike out of storage and went riding.  Still pretty weak/out of shape but I managed to do about seven miles before throwing in the towel.  Any suggestions on short (<10 miles) trails in the DC/northern Virginia area?

[tomterp]

I'm not a huge fan of the trails out here.  The W&OD is the granddaddy, of course.  Fairfax County Parkway has a connector trail to that one.  Fairfax Cross County trail is pretty entertaining in places if you have a mountain bike.  

Living in Alexandria was more fun - I had the Mount Vernon trail, Four Mile Run trail (which eventually becomes the W&OD) Custis trail, then you could cross into DC on any of the bridges and bike all around the mall / tidal basin / Hains Point areas.  Awesome people watching.

Stopped for a moment on the Memorial Bridge, looking down and saw substantial nudity in a boat crossing under the bridge  - definitely not allowable on the WNFamilyF   

[Nathan]

Yeah, that was a nice addition tt

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

The Capital (Capitol?) Crescent trail can get really crowded on weekends, but it is wide and has long sightlines, so it is better than most so-called bike trails. And it is a really nice ride that goes from Georgetown along the river in a gradually ascending arc that takes one to Bethesda (and then on crushed gravel over the Rock Creek trestle bridge to Silver Spring).  I used to bike commute on the CCT every day and got to know every inch of it very well. You even get to know particular deer after a while.

[MarquisDeSade]

Thanks guys, I'll have to add the CCT to our list of places to bike this year.  We're trying to at least 500 miles before Labor Day so having new places to go will be great.

[tomterp]

The Capital (Capitol?) Crescent trail can get really crowded on weekends, but it is wide and has long sightlines, so it is better than most so-called bike trails. And it is a really nice ride that goes from Georgetown along the river in a gradually ascending arc that takes one to Bethesda (and then on crushed gravel over the Rock Creek trestle bridge to Silver Spring).  I used to bike commute on the CCT every day and got to know every inch of it very well. You even get to know particular deer after a while.

Living in Alexandria for nearly 2 decades, one of my favorites rides was up the Mt Vernon trail to the Roosevelt Bridge, across and then up Rock Creek Parkway, and then up Beech Drive all the way to the Md line.  Beech Drive is closed on Sunday, so you had the whole road to cruise on.  It's a long uphill grade all the way out, then a nice easy downhill coast all the way back to Georgetown.  Great ride.

[MarquisDeSade]

It's a long uphill grade all the way out, then a nice easy downhill coast all the way back to Georgetown.  Great ride.

How steep are we talking?  Right now we're going to try to do 20 miles a weekend at Burke Lake Park but the Mt Vernon trail sounds really good to, assuming the grade isn't too much for us. 

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Not steep. There's one steady uphill that's about a 1/2 mile shortly before you hit the MD line, but it's otherwise flat or a gradual incline. And the windy lower part after Broad Branch is very pretty, especially if it has rained and Rock Creek is full. South of Broad Branch the trail is pretty narrow, though they have repaved large parts of it recently, so at least there isn't the nut-crunching shock of tree roots pushing up the asphalt. 

 

[tomterp]

How steep are we talking?  Right now we're going to try to do 20 miles a weekend at Burke Lake Park but the Mt Vernon trail sounds really good to, assuming the grade isn't too much for us. 

You can park at Gravelly Point (at the end of the runway at National Airport) and ride either south to Mount Vernon, or north/NE into DC.

http://bikewashington.org/trails/vernon/index.php

It's always entertaining to sit for a while at the end of your ride at Gravelly point, have a snack and watch not only the planes taking off just over your head, but the rats cavorting on the rip-rap along the shores of Roaches' Run.  I would not recommend reclining on the rocks along the creek, especially if you had entertained thoughts of enjoying a peanut butter sandwich or some sunflower seeds.