# Bethesda MD Riding



## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

Hello. I'll be spending the next year in Bethesda and was wondering whether it is worth bringing my road bike out there, ie is there suitable riding areas (safe and long rides) in the Bethesda area?

Thanks. Happy riding.


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## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

Yes. Lots of riding easily accessible from every section of Bethesda.


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## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

OverStuffed said:


> Yes. Lots of riding easily accessible from every section of Bethesda.


Thanks for the response. Really glad to hear about that. Can you direct me to links about rides in the area, esp around the NIH.

Happy riding


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## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

You'll have access to a lot of good riding. I don't do many group rides, if that's what you're interested in. There are some cue sheets at bikewashington.org. There are a bunch of teams that do frequent group rides, and there's also a touring club that does a variety of rides, varying pace and distance They're at bikepptc.org. There are lots of good roads for wandering around a short distance away.

Will you be living in Bethesda and riding from there?


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## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

OverStuffed said:


> You'll have access to a lot of good riding. I don't do many group rides, if that's what you're interested in. There are some cue sheets at bikewashington.org. There are a bunch of teams that do frequent group rides, and there's also a touring club that does a variety of rides, varying pace and distance They're at bikepptc.org. There are lots of good roads for wandering around a short distance away.
> 
> Will you be living in Bethesda and riding from there?


I don't really ride in groups either. I'll be in the Bethesda are and will be rolling out from there. I'd prefer 40-50miles rides, with little/no car traffic or pedestrian traffic.

Thanks again.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

Also check waba.org under "Paths and Trails" for common route information. Starting in Bethesda there will almost always be traffic of some sort, whether car, foot, or other cyclists. You certainly can find some routes where you get into lower traffic areas as you ride, though.


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## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

nate said:


> Also check waba.org under "Paths and Trails" for common route information. Starting in Bethesda there will almost always be traffic of some sort, whether car, foot, or other cyclists. You certainly can find some routes where you get into lower traffic areas as you ride, though.



Thanks for the link nate.

happy riding


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## bjm (Feb 21, 2005)

Plenty of good riding to be found....look up online the W&OD trail (Washington and Old Dominion), the crescent trail (connects bethesda to georgetown), beach drive (part of rock creek park that's shut down on weekends to car traffic) and MacGarther Blvd. 

Capitol Hill bikes has rides on both Sat. and Sunday. The Potomac pedalers are one of the larger clubs you could also check out

My Tri club rides mornings at Haines Point on Tuesday's and Thursday mornings before work and has multiple options for weekend rides on their forum....dctriclub.org. 

The area around the NIH is for the most part very congested...I don't know of any good riding as I don't get to that area very often. My favorite area close to Bethesda is probably around the Great Falls area.

Bethesda is nice....best of luck on your move.


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## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

bjm said:


> Plenty of good riding to be found....look up online the W&OD trail (Washington and Old Dominion), the crescent trail (connects bethesda to georgetown), beach drive (part of rock creek park that's shut down on weekends to car traffic) and MacGarther Blvd.
> 
> Capitol Hill bikes has rides on both Sat. and Sunday. The Potomac pedalers are one of the larger clubs you could also check out
> 
> ...


Great. Thanks for the advice. Happy riding.


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## Ramjm_2000 (Jan 29, 2005)

*Calibiker*

I'll be doing a one year stint in Bethesda myself starting this June. Not going to NIH, rather NNMC/USUHS. I'm not sure where I'll be living yet (hoping to find a decent house to rent) but I'd love to commute. I'm hoping to get alot more riding in this year as this past year has been a bit of a disapointment in terms of saddle time. Good luck on your move, maybe I'll see you out and about. 

JR


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## RobbDC (Nov 4, 2002)

*bethesda*

I used to live in Bethesda and it's awesome for riding. You are really close to the Capital Cresent trail which takes you to Rock Creek Park (more or less), MacArthur Blvd, and downtown to name a few spots. 

Bethesda is also a good place to start from to head out for a ride. About an hour riding time on River Road you'll be in the 'country' and if you go even further, it gets more rewarding. 

There is a great race in downtown Bethesda this Mem Day weekend on the Sunday I think. You should check it out. It's really spectator friendly and you may meet a lot of other cyclist that like science there!


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## Hjalti (Feb 26, 2004)

Ramjm_2000 said:


> I'll be doing a one year stint in Bethesda myself starting this June. Not going to NIH, rather NNMC/USUHS. I'm not sure where I'll be living yet (hoping to find a decent house to rent) but I'd love to commute. I'm hoping to get alot more riding in this year as this past year has been a bit of a disapointment in terms of saddle time. Good luck on your move, maybe I'll see you out and about.
> 
> JR


Cool, where will you be? I worked at USUHS for several years back in the 90's. As for local riding, look at posts by MB1 in the Commuting and Touring forum. He and Miss M cover the ENTIRE area on thier rides and you can get some good ideas of what it is like because they take a million pics. Potomac Pedalers is a local club also. Here is a link to their cue sheet library. http://www.bikepptc.org/cue_sheet_library/

Welcome to the area!


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## Ramjm_2000 (Jan 29, 2005)

*I'll be in...*



Hjalti said:


> Cool, where will you be? I worked at USUHS for several years back in the 90's. As for local riding, look at posts by MB1 in the Commuting and Touring forum. He and Miss M cover the ENTIRE area on thier rides and you can get some good ideas of what it is like because they take a million pics. Potomac Pedalers is a local club also. Here is a link to their cue sheet library. http://www.bikepptc.org/cue_sheet_library/
> 
> Welcome to the area!


the school of Public Health getting an MPH probably specializing in their Interantional Health Specilaist track. What department were you in? How did you like it? What are the chances I can commute in? from North Bethesda or Silver Springs?


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## Hjalti (Feb 26, 2004)

*Ccrc*



Ramjm_2000 said:


> the school of Public Health getting an MPH probably specializing in their Interantional Health Specilaist track. What department were you in? How did you like it? What are the chances I can commute in? from North Bethesda or Silver Springs?


I worked at the Casualty Care Research Center, Dept of Military and Emergency Medicine, from 1994 to 1997. If there was a decent career track for civilians I'd probably still be there. The MPH program is a good program. You'll want to get to know the folks in the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine too.

There should be good routes from anywhere from about 5 to 10 miles around. Silver Spring might be a stretch, but I don't know. I only commuted by bike once in three years ( 42 miles one way, limited, high traffic routes in the outer suburbs). Waba.org will have good info. ADC mapping make the best local map books. You'll want DC and Montgomery County. Maybe Prince Georges County.


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## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

I've commuted between Bethesda and Silver Spring. It was at night, so I stuck to the roads--cedar lane for the most part as I was actually going to Wheaton. It's not to bad. There are a bunch of different ways to get to NNMC from Silver Spring, depending on where you are.


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## Ramjm_2000 (Jan 29, 2005)

OverStuffed said:


> I've commuted between Bethesda and Silver Spring. It was at night, so I stuck to the roads--cedar lane for the most part as I was actually going to Wheaton. It's not to bad. There are a bunch of different ways to get to NNMC from Silver Spring, depending on where you are.


Thanks. I'll keep that in mind


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## Spongedog (Aug 6, 2005)

This is a great site with maps. http://bikewashington.org/ 

The Bethesda Crescent/Rock Creek loop is about 21 miles, but you can add some nice hills in Rock Creek. Also fun is to bail off the loop at M St, ride up to the White House, then down 15th Street to Constitution Ave. Make a Left, climb Capital Hill, Ride down to RFK Stadium, and then back to the Capital, down Independence Ave, out to Haines Point, back to any bridge, then down the river in Virginia to Mt. Vernon, and back, and then come back to DC, hop on the crescent in Georgetown and pedal home! fun fun fun!!


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## Yowman (Nov 6, 2005)

Great commuting from N. Bethesda to NIH/NNMC. There is a bike path, the North Bethesda Trolley Trail that covers this route. See bikewashington for details.

For weekends you can dip into Rock Creek Park (closed to cars) or head north to Potomac. Some of the variables depends on if you are a total roadie or want slower stuff on bike paths.

http://bikewashington.org/

www.waba.org


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## CaliBiker (Sep 7, 2004)

*Thanks*

Hi. Thanks so much for the replies and links, esp bikewashington.com. Really helpful!

Happy riding!


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## djg (Nov 27, 2001)

Folks have given you links to two good web sites. There are also a couple of books about rides around the Washington area, and once you get here you'll find plenty of folks to give you suggestions. So look: one can absolutely have some nice rides starting at NIH. You can hit the roads and head out through Montgomery County; you can head over to Rock Creek Park; you can take the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda to Georgetown (to Haines Point, or to Virginia, or what have you). When I worked at NIH ('97-'98), I'd commute up from Arlington, Virginia by bike a few days a week. At the same time, you should be aware that Bethesda is a pretty good hike from open countryside. A couple of the MUTs are great during the hours (and weather) that they are NOT appealing to the teaming throngs, but during prime time and prime weather, they can acquire some traffic (and the Capital Crescent, in Bethesda, can acquire some shockingly heavy traffic). The roads have cars, and some roads have quite a few cars (although stretches of Rock Creek are closed to cars on weekends). I think that this is a really good area for riding, all things considered, and I'd absolutely recommend bringing a road bike, but it is a pretty big metro center--quiet solo rides down lonely country roads are more than a few miles out.


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## StageHand (Dec 27, 2002)

djg said:


> quiet solo rides down lonely country roads are more than a few miles out.


That depends on how long your rides are. In a 20 mile ride, you won't get much in the way of lonely country roads, but they're about 15 miles away, more or less depending on what qualifies as a lonely country road. It's all relative, but for long rides those roads are extremely accessible.


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