C&O Canal ride in October

[Toni]

I'm at work, but was laughing so hard I had to find this (I see WAY too many of these in Houston)..
http://bullsballs.com/

[Kalidurga]

I'm at work, but was laughing so hard I had to find this (I see WAY too many of these in Houston)..
http://bullsballs.com/

No way... I thought Kano was joking, but I should have realized that someone, somewhere, would have actually created such a thing. Ladies, I promise you, I will not be riding around with fake balls attached to my saddle. Thanks anyway, Toni.

I love driving the area of your Routeslip, divingbiker, those are some very fun roads for a car. As a matter of fact, as I was cruising (ok, flying) along the backroads yesterday on my way to a hike along the Seneca Greenway near Riley's Lock, I passed a group of about 6-7 male riders on Montevideo Rd. That's a seriously narrow road, and these guys were all in the middle of the lane as they headed up a hill and around a bend. I ended up driving along behind them at 10-15mph because there was no room to pass. That's my concern: On some of these roads that are so narrow that there's no center line, what do you do if a driver comes up behind you who's not as considerate of road riders as I am? With all the hunters who drive those roads, I'm sure there's a chance of some dude in a pickup getting impatient to pass. Or, as in the situation yesterday, what if a car came around that bend at normal speed and suddenly found a bunch of riders in the middle of the narrow road, going half the driver's speed?

I know I sound paranoid, but I've heard drivers complain about bikes on the road (my own father has threatened to run over bikers who ignore the stop signs at road crossings along bike trails), and I don't wanna be the one they decide to get their frustrations out on. There are parts of that route I'd consider riding, but other parts I would just not be comfortable on. I think I'm going to stick to the C&O and rail-trails for the rest of this season, and make road riding my goal for next year.

[Selkie]

Kali -- I don't blame you. I think, if you ride defensively on the trails, you will be fine. I usually ride on the Custis & W&OD, and through trial and error, I've found riding times when the traffic is lighter & traveled mostly by the fellow trail-savvy types.
Even though Arlington is supposed to be "bike friendly" on the roads, there are so many "tourists" from Fairfax/PW/Loundon Counties on the weekends who drive like they are in the 'burbs, not the city, that I won't ride on the roads outside my neighborhood.
All that said, I avoid riding the trail south of the Key Bridge Marriott for the reasons I cited in an earlier post. UNLESS I can get out extremely early and avoid the worst of the dorkus oblivii who don't know trail etiquette.

[Kalidurga]

"Dorkus oblivii"... I love it

I've been riding the C&O from Riley's Lock all the way out to Cumberland and other suburban/rural rail-trails for years, and I've never had anything worse than extreme annoyance in dealing with fellow trail-users. The only reason I have for wanting to expand beyond those trails is that, aside from the W&OD in Loudoun County, there are no hills. To be a well-rounded, strong rider, I need to do hills. For hills, I need to take to the road. I can get a bit of road/hill training at Antietam and Gettysburg Battlefields (anyone wanna join me at one of those spots?), but once I get used to the hills then those routes won't be long enough for me. By that point, I'd better be willing to deal with auto traffic. Blah...

Wow, we've had a bit of thread drift here, haven't we?

[divingbiker]

Really, it's not bad at all on the roads on that route I posted. The worst part is on River Road right at the beginning, but even then there's not much traffic. And if you stay way to the right, car drivers don't seem to get too irritated. You WILL get your hill work in!

Maybe I'm more willing to tolerate traffic since I commute into DC on a busy, narrow street every day, but it seems like trail riding to me.