# Big climbs near D.C.?



## bigpinkt

For the locals this may be a silly question

I am going to be in DC on business next month, have a full Sunday free, will have my bike with me. I am training for the Marmotte and don't want to pass up a chance to do a long ride and some climbing. Any suggestions on some routes? I am staying at the Wardman park area. The only thing I seem to find is Sugerloaf? looking to do 5-7 hours, depending how I fell after my flight from London the day before.

Thanks in advance for any advice


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## MB1

What date are you going to be in town? What is the slowest average speed you are comfortable riding? Are you willing to ride on a few dirt roads? Do you have a triple on your bike? Are you good with starting at 7 am? Do you carry enough food to go 50 miles between stops?

Sugarloaf is fine but it is moderatly short and moderatly easy (for a climb) but we can give you a fairly nasty route to get there-or ride with you there if you are willing to cruise with some old folks.


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## cptab

Check out some of the rides in and around that area (Western Montgomery County, MD, Howard County, MD) on www.bikepptc.org. There may be a hilly group ride the day you are in town. If not, you might be able to go through the cue sheet library and for hilly routes. (Some originate around Poolesville, Sugarloaf, among other places)


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## bigpinkt

MB1 said:


> What date are you going to be in town? What is the slowest average speed you are comfortable riding? Are you willing to ride on a few dirt roads? Do you have a triple on your bike? Are you good with starting at 7 am? Do you carry enough food to go 50 miles between stops?
> 
> Sugarloaf is fine but it is moderatly short and moderatly easy (for a climb) but we can give you a fairly nasty route to get there-or ride with you there if you are willing to cruise with some old folks.


I arrive May 19th so I am looking at riding the 20th. On the flats I ride 18-21 Mph, for long climbs my climbing rate is about 3,000-3,500 feet per hour, much faster for shorter climbs. Love dirt roads. I have a compact. 7:00 am is good, I was thinking because I will be on Euro time I likely be getting up very early, put my bike together, then head out around 6:30 when it gets light. I usually bring enough food for all day and just stop for water. My desire to cruise or not will depend on how the body will react to the traveling. This will be the 3rd stop on a 2 week international trip. Hopefully I feel good and want to do 6 hour of suffering, but you never know. I would be up for meeting up and heading out if you have a group you ride with, the nastier the climbing the better.


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## bas

bigpinkt said:


> I arrive May 19th so I am looking at riding the 20th. On the flats I ride 18-21 Mph, for long climbs my climbing rate is about 3,000-3,500 feet per hour, much faster for shorter climbs. Love dirt roads. I have a compact. 7:00 am is good, I was thinking because I will be on Euro time I likely be getting up very early, put my bike together, then head out around 6:30 when it gets light. I usually bring enough food for all day and just stop for water. My desire to cruise or not will depend on how the body will react to the traveling. This will be the 3rd stop on a 2 week international trip. Hopefully I feel good and want to do 6 hour of suffering, but you never know. I would be up for meeting up and heading out if you have a group you ride with, the nastier the climbing the better.


Point of Rocks "Wild and Wonderful" is May 12, so you will miss that PPTC ride.

The Sky-Mass ride has decent stops, but I wouldn't want to do that solo (80 miles).


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## MB1

bigpinkt said:


> I arrive May 19th so I am looking at riding the 20th. On the flats I ride 18-21 Mph, ........


The wife and I ride a 200k most Sundays this time of the year although I suspect we are 1-2mph slower than you but we could most likely show you a good time and as we know all the roads in the area we could cut it short if the flying catches up with you.

When it gets closer to the 20th send me a private message and we can make arrangements-I figure we would just meet you at your hotel and ride from there.


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## bigpinkt

MB1 said:


> The wife and I ride a 200k most Sundays this time of the year although I suspect we are 1-2mph slower than you but we could most likely show you a good time and as we know all the roads in the area we could cut it short if the flying catches up with you.
> 
> When it gets closer to the 20th send me a private message and we can make arrangements-I figure we would just meet you at your hotel and ride from there.


Sounds great, I will PM you in 2 weeks right before I leave. Some of the places I am going have limited internet access on my trip.


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## fabsroman

I have a race the morning of the 20th, or I would be offering to come along. If you guys do Sugarloaf and want some more hills, head up toward Frederick and try to get on alternate 40 going west toward Hagerstown. There are some pretty good climbs out there. The only issue with that road is that there really isn't a shoulder.

Sugarloaf is a 600 foot climb with portions of it being a 10% grade. It isn't a terrible climb, but one of the best ones in this area. Harder climbs can be found in the Catoctin Moutains up route 15, but that usually requires some driving since they are a little ways away.

Have a great time you guys. I am almost jealous.


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## zeytin

Ride with MB1 and Miss M. and enjoy. I've not had the pleasure yet but it's a goal;-)


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## fabsroman

I did Sugarloaf on Wednesday and it turned out to be just a tad over 500 feet according to my Garmin Edge 305. The bottom and top are around 10% with the middle of the climb being around 6%. In a 41 mile ride on Wednesday in the Germantown/Clarksburg area, I did 3,800 feet of climbing.


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## djg

I'd take the guided ride--I don't know them, except from their postings, but they cover a lot of ground in the area and almost surely will do you right. As others have said, Sugarloaf is a perfectly nice destination, but if you're riding there just to get to the climb, you might be non-plussed. There's plenty of hilly territory in the DC area, but if you want climbs that go much more than a mile, you're best off either heading up into Maryland, west of Frederick, or further up around Thurmont (about an hour's drive for me--I've never ridden there from home); or west from DC to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Park (and other things in that area). Just looking at the ride reports, I'd say that MB1 knows a lot more of these roads than I do.

I think that Wardman Park may be the name of the big Mariott, rather than a neighborhood, but if I have the right place in mind, it's in the Woodley Park neighborhood, which is right by Rock Creek Park. If you're looking for some early miles another day, you might just head out through the park (away from downtown). There are no big climbs in the park, but there are stretches of good short pitch on the roads leading out of the ravine on which you could do repeats. Up toward Silver Spring are a couple of better climbs, although nothing major. Stretches of the main road through the park are closed to car traffic on the weekends. My neighborhood in Arlington is an easy ride from Woodley Park and has a good hill loop (short hills--one third to one half mile--but pretty good pitch and they keep on coming), but it may be a bit out of your way and a bit tricky to get to if you're not familiar with the area.


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## fabsroman

Okay, the length of the Sugarloaf climb is 1 1/4 miles. I actually paid attention to that today.


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## bas

fabsroman said:


> Okay, the length of the Sugarloaf climb is 1 1/4 miles. I actually paid attention to that today.


can you go here and map the road, so i can see the elevation

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com

save the route, and then paste that URL here..thanks


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## MB1

fabsroman said:


> Okay, the length of the Sugarloaf climb is 1 1/4 miles. I actually paid attention to that today.


You need to start the climb from Park Mills and Mt Ephram Road-that gets you a lot more and harder climbing. Most folks start from Stronghold and miss the best and hardest part of the climb. If you just do that last mile and a bit from Comus Road it is not much of a challange.

http://maps.yahoo.com/index.php#trf=0&mvt=m&lon=-77.392856&lat=39.251672&mag=2


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## fabsroman

Okay, I know where Mt Ephram Road is, but where is Park Mills? How does starting the climb there add additional climbing to it? Usually, I come in on Comus road and make that right up the mountain. On the way down, I get to see the Mansion on my left. I have been wondering about climbing in the opposite direction because the descent on the other side would be much faster (i.e., less switchbacks). Let me know where Park Mills is and I will try it from there next time.

Thanks MB1.


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## MB1

fabsroman said:


> Okay, I know where Mt Ephram Road is, but where is Park Mills? How does starting the climb there add additional climbing to it? Usually, I come in on Comus road and make that right up the mountain. On the way down, I get to see the Mansion on my left. I have been wondering about climbing in the opposite direction because the descent on the other side would be much faster (i.e., less switchbacks). Let me know where Park Mills is and I will try it from there next time.
> 
> Thanks MB1.


Open the link I provided and zoom out a click or 2. Park Mills is on the west side of Sugarloaf. If you climb Mt Ephram from there you are basically starting at the Monocacy River so there is a lot more climbing involved. Mixed surfaces though but nothing a road bike can't handle.


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