How to get to Washington D.C.
I’m sure you’ve all heard the classic joke about the tourist in New York City asking the New Yorker “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” to which the New Yorker answers “Practice, man, practice!”
Well, we’ve been wondering how do you get to Washington D.C.? Pedal, man, pedal!
Our next Dream Tour event is an American Diabetes Association conference in Washington D.C., June 9 through June 12.
Now that it’s only a couple weeks away, Pat and I are wondering about the specific route we’re going to take to get there.
Our original route had us riding through the Appalachian Mountains from here to the D.C. area on roads that I have no idea as to their suitability for bicycling. Well, a few days ago, we stopped by a bicycle shop in Athens, Georgia to pick up some supplies. The very helpful employee there pointed us to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a beautiful drive, we’re told. The Parkway’s web site says it’s “America’s Favorite Drive.” In any case, we can take it all the way to Front Royal, Virginia at the north end of the Shenandoah National Park. From there, we’ll have about a days worth of riding to Leesburg, Virginia which is about as close as I want to get to Washington D.C. on bicycle.
On the plus side, the Parkway is very scenic, no trucks are allowed, and the speed limit is 45 miles per hour (or less). It’s also easy navigation all the way to the Washington D.C. area. It would be nearly impossible to get lost and we won’t have our daily struggles with route selection.
On the minus side, services on the Parkway are limited and you generally have to get off the Parkway to get water, food, and lodging. It’s also some challenging cycling. Someone put together an elevation profile which is a little bit scary for me to look at. Note that on the elevation profile, we are headed in the direction of smaller mileposts. That is, milepost 0 is the north end of the Parkway and we’re in Asheville right now and it’s at milepost 382-392.
So that’s what we’ve decided to do. We can do rides of 50 miles or so each day (with a rest day every fourth day) and get to Leesburg, Virginia on June 9. Stay tuned to see how it goes.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:58 am
I wondered why you hadn’t picked up the Blue Ridge in Asheville - it sounded like you were fighting the hills anyway. Tip - don’t wear your dark shades into the tunnels. I did this once driving and almost wrecked before I could get them off. Some of those tunnells are long and dark (not too long).
Robbby
May 26th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Let’s hope you keep that schedule! I’m looking forward to meeting you guys in the ADA exhibit hall.
May 27th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Pete, I’ve ridden several of the approaches. I recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have been on it from Harrisonburg (or Harrisburg) to Front Royal. The major climb is up to the Parkway. Once on the Parkway, it just rolls and is much easier.
Then there is a hilly small road to Purcellville where you get on the W & OD trail and it’s easy the rest of the way. You have 42 miles to the end, then you can connect with the trail south to Mt Vernon (past Reagan Airport, along the Potomac, across the many bridges into DC, and there is a connection to RockCreek Parkway starting at Georgetown. The W & OD is a rail to trail conversion and a linear park with a slight downhill all the way to DC. You can find maps on the web.
Just back for New Orleans. Got in about 120 miles around the city and surroundings. Very interesting.
May 27th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
I love the Blue Ridge Parkway… So glad you are taking that route!
When living in the DC area, it was one of our favorite outings… even took it the entire route once when we were driving to Florida. What a beautiful trip. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Sorry that you don’t feel safe riding into DC on your bike. There are some beautiful bicycle routes in the city.