Best Century Bike Rides in Washington DC-Arlington Area

 Welcome to DC Century Rides.

In the course of training for two Iron-distance triathlons, I did a fair number of 100+ mile training rides.  Since a century ride takes a big enough chunk of time without another three hours driving and loading/unloading bikes, I was determined to find good rides that started at my house.  In addition, I really enjoy pouring over maps and satellite images trying to create exciting new rides through unknown territory.  Considering how close to the center of the metro area I live, I think I found some pretty decent rides.

For the Common Good I list below some of the rides I've done, in rough descending order of quality.  Although these maps all show a starting location near Clarendon where I live, any can easily be modified for someone who lives in DC or, often, elsewhere in the greater metro area.  (Drop me a comment if you try any of these and like them.)

1. BYOB

Up Rock Creek, across Montgomery County, Under I-270, down to River Road along the Potomac, and back to DC via MacArthur Blvd.  Flat for first 35-40 miles, followed by 50 miles of pretty consistent rollers.

This is the first century ride that I mapped, and rode, and remains a favorite!  Our crew has done it numerous times, making tweaks and improvements along the way, and loved it each time.  It starts with the usual ride up Rock Creek to Viers Mill Park at Garrett Park Road -- but then keeps going north up along a bike path and streets through the creek watershed to Lake Needwood.

After crossing Randolph Road, riders can choose to follow the bike path, which runs all the way to Lake Needwood, or take surface streets for a spell.  The bike path is a beautiful and fun trip through the woods that feels a million miles from civilization, but can be twisty, with rough spots, and is sometimes busy with packs of runners-in-training. Personally I don't mind it.

After Lake Needwood, the route continues north through Patuxent River State Park, westward across roads north of Damascus and Clarksburg, under I-270, down to the Potomac river through the gorgeous roads near Poolesville, and back to DC through Potomac and MacArthur Blvd.  Warning; in some ways I did almost too good a job of finding a route that avoids congested areas; the first real place to buy more drinks is at about mile 60 (at store on right along Route 355 before turn onto Old Hundred Rd).  So pack plenty of water.  Map of BYOB Century.  103 miles (a few less from DC). Download BYOB Century cue sheet

Note: for the origin of the name of this ride, see here.

 

2. Tridelphia 

 Follows the BYOB century route up Rock Creek for the first 25 miles, then heads east, circumnavigates the Tridelphia reservoir, and then returns through Gaithersburg to River Road and MacArthur Blvd.

This is somewhat of a variation on the BYOB route.  It follows the same route until mile 28 (or 25 depending on whether you take the bike path via Lake Needwood, or Avery Road to get to Muncaster Mill), and then heads east instead of north. It then circles the Tridelphia Reservoir and circles back south just to the west of Gaithersburg, rejoining the BYOB route at mile 82 at the Travilah store on Glen Rd.  While there are unavoidably some busy roads around miles 70-80 where this route nears Gaithersburg, it is a really fun route with many miles of gorgeous pavement between mile 30 and 70.

Map of Tridelphia century

 

2. Patuxent River Area Century 

Across the Wilson Bridge from Alexandria to Maryland, across PG County, and into Charles County south of Hughesville.  One of the flattest rides, though has some rollers between mile 50 and 80.  

Since the opening of the bike path along the Wilson Bridge between Alexandria and Maryland, I have explored a number of rides in Prince George's County with mixed results. With this ride (which actually extends south into Charles County) I finally found a  great route. Map of Patuxent River Century.   Cue sheet. This route travels through mile upon mile of remote country roads, extending south of Hughesville, MD (near a little-known Amish  community that resides there).  Other than a few stretches of pavement that are a bit on the rough side, it is a really great ride, with the only busy portions being the first and last 5-10 miles from the starting point on the Maryland side of the Wilson bridge.  You will also need to get yourself to that point, and add that distance (and of course the return) to the 92-mile loop from Oxon Hill shown here.  (From Clarendon, it is exactly 10 miles, making it a 112 mile route for my group).  An alternate route is to go through Anacostia following the route shown on the Smallwood Century, which is fun but includes some very rough pavement -- though I understand they have upgraded the Oxon Hill Farm bike path.  This ride has numerous excellent shortcut options; simply pinch off the loop by following one of the many available roads.  To cut 12 miles from this route, for example, simply turn left on Charles St (Rt. 6) at mile 33 and rejoin the route by turning left on Keech Rd.  The ride has only one or two hills in the first 60 miles, then becomes rolling around mile 60.  Overall it may be the flattest century listed here.  For refueling I highly recommend a stop at the Ice Cream Factory and Cafe at the intersection of Brandywine and Route 5 - we happened upon this place and found a big menu of good food and ice cream, a charming store and a warm reception from the owner-operator.

 

3. White's Ferry

Through Arlington and McLean on Old Dominion to Great Falls to W&OD for a few miles into Leesburg, cross river on the ferry (fun!), and then around Sugarloaf Mountain and back to DC via MacArthur.  Some of same roads as BYOB after mile 73.

When my riding group discovered that Old Dominion Road from Arlington to Great Falls is nearly deserted on Sunday Mornings, it was a revelation.  It opened up a precious new quality route out of the metro area for us (joining Rock Creek, MacArthur Blvd, and Mt. Vernon -- and now the Wilson Bridge).  This route uses Old Dominion to get to some nice roads in Great Falls, then through Sterling to the W&OD to Leesburg. From there you can take a trafficky but short route to White's Ferry.  There you take a barge across the Potomac ($1 fare for bicycles), stop at the store at the other side to fuel up if you wish, and then pedal through gorgeous, rolling roads around Sugarloaf Mountain, back to MacArthur Blvd and home.  The ferry is great fun!  Map of White's Ferry century cue sheet.  This route can easily be shortened by taking a more direct route home after crossing the Potomac instead of going around Sugarloaf (try this route). About 107 miles.

 

4. Point of Rocks

Similar to White's Ferry ride, but continue North from Leesburg on Virginia side of Potomac River to the bridge at Point of Rocks, then return through Maryland to MacArthur.  

One downside of this route is that it sticks mostly to Route 28 on the Maryland side, even though that somewhat busy road is surrounded by far more gorgeous and little-traveled roads.  However, taking the more scenic roads (as does the White's Ferry ride) would add up to a ride significantly longer than 100 miles, so something had to give.

With both this ride and White's Ferry I suggest doing this route clockwise so that you hit Old Dominion early when there is little traffic.  If you do go counterclockwise , you can follow the route of the final part of Rodolfo's Ride (below) back to Arlington/DC.   Partial map of Point of Rocks Century.  Complete ride is an estimated 107 miles.

 

5. Rodolfo's Ride

South through Alexandria to the North side of the Occoquan River, west through Clifton, circling west of Dulles Airport to the W&OD trail east of Leesburg, back to Arlington through Great Falls and McLean.  

This is the only ride on this list that I did not draw up myself (credit belongs to my riding buddy Rodolfo Luzio).  It features a lot of really gorgeous roads, especially between approx. miles 20-60.  It starts with a ride out to Mt. Vernon, briefly follows Route 1 through Fort Belvoir, then picks up some really sweet roads through the Occoquan river valley, cuts just north of Manassas, then runs north just west of Dulles Airport, and into Leesburg.  From there it is 10 miles along the W&OD trail, through Great Falls and McLean, and finishing up with the two humps of Military Road in Arlington.  Map of Rodolfo's Ride Century. 116 miles, a few more from DC.

I heard a rumor that bicycles are not allowed on the Mt. Vernon Parkway between Alexandria and Mt. Vernon.  First of all, if that's true it's shameful -- at least on Sunday mornings when traffic is very light, they should be permitted (don't think I'd ride on the parkway any other time).  I have ridden on the parkway numerous times and never had a problem.  If you don't want to go that way, however, the alternatives are not nearly as attractive: 

• Ride on the Mt. Vernon trail, which is twisty and turney and really not great for quality road cycling.  
• Ride on surface streets to Mt. Vernon or another spot where you can join 235 to Route 1.  I don't have a suggested route for that yet but there must be some at least somewhat decent roads.
• Take an inland route through Arlington to Telegraph Road and follow it to Route 1. Simply cross Route 1 onto Old Colchester Rd. 
• Take another route through Arlington and Alexandria.

 

6. General Smallwood

Heads south from DC through Anacostia and then towards Indian Head, past the General Smallwood state park, and then loops back north further to the east.

So-named because it brings you down to General Smallwood State Park (where there is a triathlon some friends have done), this ride features some very nice roads between approximately miles 20 and 80.  From the DC Mall, it heads south through Anacostia to an ill-maintained newly renovated bike path that leads to Oxon Hill Farm just north of the beltway.  The opening of the bike path across the Wilson Bridge provides an alternate route to this point.  Then this route runs south towards Indian Head, past the Smallwood park, and then back north along other nice roads.  I don't think this ride is as nice as the Patuxent Area Century -- some of the roads are busier -- but does have lots of stretches of uninterrupted cycling, is relatively flat, and is worth trying if you're looking for fresh pavement.

  Partial map of Gen. Smallwood Century (Complete ride is ~110 miles; less from DC). 

 Doing these rides will give you an amazing view and knowledge of our metro area and its surrounding countryside and a renewed appreciation for just how great DC is for biking.  Overall, there is nothing better than a nice adventure ride, and if you are training for an ironman or just looking for lots of long rides, and live in DC/Arlington or thereabouts, you'll want to do all of these rides!

Comments

[anon]

Rode your white's ferry century on a friday afternoon with a friend who does an iron distance a year. The route through maryland/macarthur is just fantastic, and finishing at the ferry is great. We then rode 15 into leesburg, and headed north on w and od, and since it was a weekend (and by then well into rush hour) we passed on the NOVA roads. I used to ride that trail a lot in law school; to put it mildly the views have changed. It was a bit of the bataan death march coming back; one trades a lack of traffic for monotony. (It was also the longest ride I've ever completed). I'm going to try to put together a 50-60 miler out in poolesville, though; those roads look like they are from postcards.

Many thanks for posting it.

[Jay Stanley]

Dear anon, thanks for letting me know you tried the ride & congrats on completing your first century. That route is much better done clockwise. The BYOB Century route finishes in the Poolesville area so you & your friend might try that one next.

For a 50/60-miler near Poolesville, this is a great route:

http://www.mapmytri.com/workout/united-states/md/potomac/669850656

Happy riding!

[anon]

Many thanks. I just finished my first olympic, and I think I might be hooked. Next year, perhaps a half. Definitely another olympic. And I'm glad you posted a new route. I haven't been over the Wilson bridge, and this would be a good way to explore (without going the whole hundred--by the time we got to white's ferry we both felt like we had the s--t kicked out of us by the hills coming out of potomac. Better in the beginning than the end, but still).

[Dan Blah]

Thanks for putting these together! Looking forward to trying them out.

[Michael]

hey this is great, but what happened to the maps? I used to refer to this page... seems like the maps are gone?

[rumpole]

No links to maps?

[Jay Stanley]

Glad you find this page useful. I started to transfer it to a separate page with its own URL but had technical problems and it got stalled halfway. I have restored the links to the maps and the fuller descriptions. I have started using RideWithGPS instead of MapMyRide for mapping as I now prefer the former, so most of the links now point to that site.

[Stephen Szibler]

Thanks, Jay! But I was wondering if they all have cue sheets available - like Smallwood and Rodolfo's? Maybe I'm missing something or maybe you have to be a paying member at these linked sites?

[Jay Stanley]

Stephen, has nothing to do with membership anywhere; I write these cue sheets by hand (never trust the automated ones as I've seen them make glaring errors plus they often lack the right level of detail - too much or not enough). I will see if I have cue-sheet writeups lying around for those rides that I can post.

- Jay