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