Questions for the DC ladies?

[aicabsolut]

I'll probably be doing a team ride on Saturday then.

Big Wheel Bikes (there's one in Georgetown) rents bikes of all types. From there, you've got access to 2 paved and 1 unpaved MUP and some decent roads. The traffic can be unnerving. Avoid rush hours on the road and the paths if you can.

In the evenings, you can do some laps around Hains Point (East Potomac Park). Better during cherry blossom season down there, but it's a decent place to get out and move the legs. You can get there via sidewalk paths if traffic is heavy (at least past the parkways, Ohio Dr is pretty tame).

[HillSlugger]

Here's hoping my knee will have improved enough by then to participate!

[Kalidurga]

Cool, this gives us 2 months to plan a really good route and pick a spot for lunch (with vegan options!). Livin, are there any particular things you'd like to see on the ride?

[Livin the Dream]

Cool, this gives us 2 months to plan a really good route and pick a spot for lunch (with vegan options!). Livin, are there any particular things you'd like to see on the ride?

Overall, I think a bike would be a great way to see DC, so plan a route that makes sense! The one monument I have only seen from a distance is the Iwo Jima Memorial. If it's not difficult to get there, I would love to see it up close. I'd also like to ride along the Potomac. Is there a good route to ride along the river?

This is going to be great! I hope the weather is reasonable!

I did some searching last night. It looks like a good place to rent a bike is at Bike the Sites in the Old Post Office Pavilion. It's close to my hotel and it looks like that have Trek bikes, road, comfort & hybrid.

What kind of bikes will most of you be riding? I'm thinking a hybrid might be a choice for a sightseeing ride. What do you think?

[Zen]

Cool, this gives us 2 months to plan a really good route and pick a spot for lunch (with vegan options!).

I've always wanted to eat at Ben's Chili Bowl. Fried okra is vegan

[Kalidurga]

Livin, when we did our monument ride earlier this year, we rode across the Potomac to the Iwo Jima memorial, then back across the river and along it down to Hain's Point. Personally, I'd love it if we included that section again.

Zen, where's Ben's Chili Bowl?

[Zen]

It's nowhere near where we'll be, I think it's up on U street

[divingbiker]

It's nowhere near where we'll be, I think it's up on U street

That's only a mile or so north of the White House. Not hard to get to at all, and there's a metro station nearby.

[Livin the Dream]

I had a few minutes at work today, so I called Bike the Sites to ask about what kind of bikes they have, etc. Their road bikes are Trek Pilot 1.2's; my road bike is a Pilot 1.0, so I'm definitely going to rent the road bike. She said they don't have a lot of them, but I'm thinking the first Sat. in November, bikes rentals aren't going to be terribly popular. Plus, I plan to be there when they open.

Do you think meeting at the Old Post Office pavilion would work to start the ride? It's right across from the Federal Triangle Metro stop. Bike the Sites doesn't open until 9:00, so that would be the earliest I could get started.

[Kalidurga]

Do you think meeting at the Old Post Office pavilion would work to start the ride? It's right across from the Federal Triangle Metro stop. Bike the Sites doesn't open until 9:00, so that would be the earliest I could get started.

That'll require a transfer at Metro Center for those of us taking the Red Line into the city but, as you pointed out, it'll be early on a Saturday morning, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Has anyone come up with any other lunch ideas? If we start and end near the Old Post Office, that should give us some good options. Here's a list of possibilities: Yelp.com: Federal Triangle restaurants.