Road rides for the D.C. crowd

[7rider]

Hiya.
Kalidurga, DivingBiker, etc...
Was wondering how meeting at Riley's Lock was for a ride. Was it convenient enough to use again for a road ride? A friend and I will be doing the Peach Tree loop tomorrow from the Urban Escapes list off of: http://www.bikewashington.org/routes/
That route leaves from Riley's. It's a 25 mile loop. I'm wondering if folks would like to meet up again there for an autumn road ride.
Thoughts?

[Kalidurga]

I'm still out in western Md and totally pooped from the last two days of riding but, yeah, once I've recuperated I'd be up for a road ride leaving from Riley's.

That Peach Tree route does seem pretty popular. Montevideo Rd is where I encountered a bunch of road riders all strung out in the middle of the road coming up a curvy hill not too long ago. If we take that route, I'll definitely be hugging the side of the road, so I don't piss off any drivers like me who might come along behind us

divingbiker's route goes for 40 miles through the same territory. There are so many back roads in that area, it'd be easy to put together multiple routes of varying length and hilliness. I might have to spend next season exploring that area from my bike instead of my car.

[divingbiker]

Meeting at Riley's Lock works great for a road ride, except for having to climb the hill on River Road at the very beginning of the ride. I read in a book at the bike shop today that even people who like to climb hate that hill because it happens so early in the ride before you're warmed up. I'll be up for a road ride this fall.

[7rider]

Yeah, I read that on the cue sheet and wasn't too keen on that!
Tomorrow we're actually parking near the orchard (Gads...can't remember the name - apples, hay rides, pumpkins, etc) that we plan to hit on our return (they won't be open when we leave). We plan to pick up the route at Darnestown and Whites Ferry roads. So, it looks like the route we do may actually avoid the lock and its hill. I'll find out if my friend's parking location is better or as convenient as Riley's and maybe we could just use Riley's Lock as a rest stop (there are facilities, there, right? Always important!). That way, we'd hit that hill warmed up.

[Kalidurga]

I probably missed your ride report, Regina, but did you and your friend do the Peach Tree loop over the weekend? I'm curious to know where you parked in order to begin at Rte 28 and White's Ferry Rd, and which direction you did the loop in. Even without starting at Riley's Lock, it looks like you hit a few decent hills on that route!

[Jen]

My riding buddy and I live in that immediate area. We can ride with you sometime. My friend likes that ride. I havn't done it yet. I an kind of a newbie but a strong one.

[7rider]

I probably missed your ride report, Regina, but did you and your friend do the Peach Tree loop over the weekend? I'm curious to know where you parked in order to begin at Rte 28 and White's Ferry Rd, and which direction you did the loop in. Even without starting at Riley's Lock, it looks like you hit a few decent hills on that route!

Hi there.
Yeah, I discussed the ride a bit in the Oct 21 ride report.
We did the loop. It was really nice. The hills were moderate - nothing killer, I think. What was there was pretty short.
We parked at a plaza at the corner of Darnestown Rd and Muddy Branch. It was good because there was a Starbucks there (P-break before we even got on the road!) and a bagel shop and Spring Mill Breads for snacks when we got back! Yummm...
We left around 7:30 a.m., so the traffic wasn't bad, and there's a bike lane on Darnestown. We took a right out of the plaza and rode with traffic for about 5.5 miles before we hit White Grounds Rd. From that intersection of Darnestown and White Grounds, we picked up the route from the cue-sheet. On River Rd, we took a left onto Montevideo, so we didn't hit Riley's Lock (or that hill) at all.
Downside of where we started: It's actually a slight downhill for the ride down Darnestown, so it's an uphill slog (overall) at the finish. Rollers, but the overall direction is UP. Always a bummer to end a ride with an uphill.
Also, because the plaza was on the opposite side of the road, to get back to my truck, we needed to cross Darnestown Rd, take a left at the light onto Muddy Branch and scoot into the lot. It wasn't horrible, we took a lane behind some cars and boogied with the green, but if that makes you uncomfortable, it would probably be good find a start point on the opposite side of the street (I'm sure there are some other locales) so you end the ride on the same side of the street as where you're parked.
There was a park further down Darnestown (I think it's "Darnestown Park" just past Rt 112/Seneca Rd) where there was a parking lot and restrooms. That could be a workable alternative, perhaps, and shave the ride down to about a 30 mile loop. It's still on the "wrong" side of the street - but it's quieter there and probably easier to cross.