Dupont Circle
04-06-13, 03:15 PM
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Dupont Circle
Staying near Dupont Circle soon
Any good road bike routes and/or groups
Looking to bring my road bike and get out for some early morning rides of 20-30 miles
Any good road bike routes and/or groups
Looking to bring my road bike and get out for some early morning rides of 20-30 miles
04-07-13, 03:13 PM
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How long will you be staying in DC, and will you be riding weekdays or weekends or both?
Do you mind city riding or are you looking for something with less traffic?
Do you mind city riding or are you looking for something with less traffic?
04-07-13, 04:13 PM
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3 nights
Weekend mostly
Don't mind traffic (does not have to be a trail)
But taking my road bike so don't want very busy route
Weekend mostly
Don't mind traffic (does not have to be a trail)
But taking my road bike so don't want very busy route
04-07-13, 04:41 PM
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Dupont Circle is a good area to start exploring from.
Florida Ave will take you up to Adams Morgan/ Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant. Meridian Hill Park is a nice stop, and 16th street or 14th street will take you north to Silver Spring.
Q, P of M Streets will take you into Georgetown. If you cross at P, take the ramp on the other side of the bridge to the Rock Creek Trail and head south to the river. These trails will get you past the Lincoln Memorial, Tidal Basin and eventually Hains Point. Very popular for laps and very nice at sunset
If you cross the Potomac at the Key, Roosevelt or Memorial Bridges you can take the Mount Vernon Trail to Old Town Alexandria or Mount Vernon itself.
If you want to do flat out riding, Beach Drive is the best on weekends. The road is mostly closed to cars above Porter to the DC line, and on weekends the traffic that is there is fairly light. Connecticut Ave gets you north to the Zoo and Tilden will take you down (big Hill) to Beach Drive. Head north. You can ride for several miles through rock Creek Park.
If you want an interesting loop, take Beach Drive to where is changes to Jones Mill and the Georgetown Branch of the Capital Crescent Trail crosses. Go west/left on the CCT. Packed crushed stone for a couple of miles, then a wide paved trail through Bethesda and down to Georgetown.
If you want a special experience, try riding Mall and monuments at night. Chinatown is also a good night ride.
Here’s a link to local routes.
https://bikewashington.org/
Have fun
Florida Ave will take you up to Adams Morgan/ Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant. Meridian Hill Park is a nice stop, and 16th street or 14th street will take you north to Silver Spring.
Q, P of M Streets will take you into Georgetown. If you cross at P, take the ramp on the other side of the bridge to the Rock Creek Trail and head south to the river. These trails will get you past the Lincoln Memorial, Tidal Basin and eventually Hains Point. Very popular for laps and very nice at sunset
If you cross the Potomac at the Key, Roosevelt or Memorial Bridges you can take the Mount Vernon Trail to Old Town Alexandria or Mount Vernon itself.
If you want to do flat out riding, Beach Drive is the best on weekends. The road is mostly closed to cars above Porter to the DC line, and on weekends the traffic that is there is fairly light. Connecticut Ave gets you north to the Zoo and Tilden will take you down (big Hill) to Beach Drive. Head north. You can ride for several miles through rock Creek Park.
If you want an interesting loop, take Beach Drive to where is changes to Jones Mill and the Georgetown Branch of the Capital Crescent Trail crosses. Go west/left on the CCT. Packed crushed stone for a couple of miles, then a wide paved trail through Bethesda and down to Georgetown.
If you want a special experience, try riding Mall and monuments at night. Chinatown is also a good night ride.
Here’s a link to local routes.
https://bikewashington.org/
Have fun
Last edited by cc_rider; 04-07-13 at 04:45 PM.
04-07-13, 05:54 PM
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Thanks
Are the above routes you suggested ones I can ride hard with a road bike or are they more sight seeing type rides?
Are the above routes you suggested ones I can ride hard with a road bike or are they more sight seeing type rides?
04-07-13, 06:45 PM
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Most of those routes are more for site seeing, although in early morning they may be clear enough to get some good training in. The trails like Mount Vernon and Capital Crescent are popular and can get crowded.
Hains Point and Beach Drive are for more serious riding. Hains Point is a 3.5 mile flat loop surrounded by the rivers. Lots of cherry trees this time of year. You can even try to do enough loops for a metric or a century. Beach Drive has hills, but if you want to do some real climbing, use the roads that cross the park (Tilden, Porter, Park, Blagden, Piney Branch, Ridge Road) to climb out of the valley and back down to Beach. DC is a pretty hilly town and you'll get a good workout.
Another serious road route is MacArthur Blvd. You can pick it up at the west end of Georgetown, off Fox Hall Road.
Depending when you are in town there may be special events going on. Early May they do two weekends of embassy open houses, and I like to ride a circuit around to a bunch of them. Some of them serve free food, beer, wine etc.
Hains Point and Beach Drive are for more serious riding. Hains Point is a 3.5 mile flat loop surrounded by the rivers. Lots of cherry trees this time of year. You can even try to do enough loops for a metric or a century. Beach Drive has hills, but if you want to do some real climbing, use the roads that cross the park (Tilden, Porter, Park, Blagden, Piney Branch, Ridge Road) to climb out of the valley and back down to Beach. DC is a pretty hilly town and you'll get a good workout.
Another serious road route is MacArthur Blvd. You can pick it up at the west end of Georgetown, off Fox Hall Road.
Depending when you are in town there may be special events going on. Early May they do two weekends of embassy open houses, and I like to ride a circuit around to a bunch of them. Some of them serve free food, beer, wine etc.
Last edited by cc_rider; 04-07-13 at 06:48 PM.
