Need route suggestions for Thanksgiving Sat am ride

[withm]

I'm in DC for the weekend and can slip away from family obligations for a couple hours on Saturday morning for a chilly ride. Can anyone suggest a route starting from the Chevy Chase area - maybe 20-25 miles? Of course company is always welcome too.

Martha

[divingbiker]

You could get on the Capital Crescent Trail (which cuts through Chevy Chase) and take it down to Georgetown, see the sights in DC, then go up the Rock Creek Trail back to the Capital Crescent.

[Velobambina]

I hear Saturday might be our coldest morning this fall! Bundle up.

If you have a bike that can go offroad, you also can access the C&O canal towpath in Georgetown. You can get to it by using the Capital Crescent Trail. Since there's still plenty of pretty fall foilage around here, it will be a beautiful ride.

[aicabsolut]

Yeah, Saturday is supposed to be BRUTALLY COLD. I will be curled up under some blankets. No team ride with the holiday anyway.

I believe the CC trail is gravel through a lot of Chevy Chase.

Um, you could head over to Beach Drive and do an out and back down through Rock Creek Park. Or you can do some hills up towards the big temple out at the Chevy Chase end.

You could also head west on Tuckerman down to Seven Locks, then over to Democracy either direction. There are some good neighborhoods to wind through to the east, and you can head out to Potomac to the west or down to Great Falls. You might get a little more warmth from the sun that way than riding through the park.

[divingbiker]

I believe the CC trail is gravel through a lot of Chevy Chase.

Martha, the gravel part of the trail heading west is pretty hard packed, and I see road bikes on it all the time. The easternmost part toward Silver Spring can get a bit rough on skinny tires, but I think you'd be fine heading west toward Bethesda if you pick your line carefully. I forgot about that part, though, so it was good aicabsolut pointed it out.

I'd ride with you but I'm going to be raking leaves on Saturday.

[withm]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I think I'll try the CC trail. I have 25mm tires so maybe it won't be so bad in the unpaved parts. If it is, well I'll guess I'll get off and go somewhere else. The idea of riding up Tuckerman and 7 Locks is interesting cause I grew up near there, and could go ride through the old neighborhood out on Bradley Blvd. for old times sake.

You guys are scaring me with the dire weather forecasts though. 42oF is not so bad as long as it's sunny, and not windy. I could stand that for a couple hours, but as it gets colder, my rides get shorter. I'll give it a try anyway. Then Sunday when I leave, I'll make a detour by driving to Easton or St. Michaels, and riding there down to Tilghman Island and back, then continue my drive back to Delaware. It's sort of a Thanksgiving tradition of mine to do that.

I keep saying I'll do this, but someday I'll organize 35-60 ride there including a stop at the St. Michael's Winery afterwards for a tasting, followed by dinner somewhere else in that neck of the woods.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Martha

[divingbiker]

I keep saying I'll do this, but someday I'll organize 35-60 ride there including a stop at the St. Michael's Winery afterwards for a tasting, followed by dinner somewhere else in that neck of the woods.

OK, I'm going to hold you to this! I love riding out that way.

[withm]

ALthough I planned to do the Capital Crescent, I'm afraid I never made it out on Saturday - got hung up with Christmas shopping with my sister and by the time we got home at 3 and it was too late (and cold) to be heading out biking.

But today I did stop in St. Michaels and did the run down to the radar station on Tilghman Island and back. Got 33 chilly miles and stopped at the little gourmet store - Market House Gourmet Grocer (www.markethousegourmet.com) )for a cup of the absolute best hot chocolate I've ever had. Ever. It was so good, I bought a very expensive ($$$) can of the stuff - it's called Sarabeth's Hot Chocolate Pariesienne and it is really rich and creamy. I'm embarassed to say how much it cost but it was a lot.

Anyway the St. Michaels winery is not open on Sunday but the Market House Gourmet will do a wine tasting at their shop with some advance notice. So I'm thinking the first Saturday when it's SUNNY, 55o or better, and not windy will be a good day to do that ride. If it's warmer, could get more miles in but at this time of year with early darkness and the remoteness factor, I'd think about 35 miles is long enough, and save the 65 mile loop for nicer weather.

Martha

[aicabsolut]

Where's your old 'hood? I ride on Bradley and through some neighborhoods off it (just W of 7 Locks) when I head out towards Seneca or Poolesville that way, and of course the NCVC "Espresso ride" spends a long time on Bradley (from Goldsboro on west). ... some nice roads out there.

[withm]

Corner of Bradley & Fernwood, moved away 30 yrs ago. Next time I'm in town, will have to ride out that way, and on to Seneca - are Bradley and River suitable for riding traffic and shoulder wise these days?

[aicabsolut]

Yeah, they're fine, as busy roads go. River has a bike lane in parts. I generally don't like River, so I'll go out a different way (like Glenn) and then come back to town via River. Farther out towards Seneca it's not as bad, especially midday on weekdays.