From the Richmond area (not too far from NOVA, by the way, and a very neat city worth visiting. I never visited when I lived in DC, but now I live here and love it. Can you say affordable??)

The Heart of Virginia is a fun ride, north of Richmond. People come from all over to do the ride: on Sept. 20. Mileage options range from 30-100 miles. See www.raba.org for details if you are interested.

RABA and the Northern Neck Cycling Club are having their annual 4th of July ride in the Northern Neck (3 hours from DC) on July 3. Nice way to discover a new place if you haven't been there before. On the ride calendar of the RABA website.

The River Ride is in September and is also in the Northern Neck. See http://www.riverride.org/ for info.