Southeast - may be moving to MD (near or in Washington DC area)

:NOTE:I know that Maryland are not part of the southeast forum but there are a possibility of me living near the northern border of Va and the Va members here may be able to give me some answers too :NOTE:

A friend (in Va) last week offerred to pay for my flight tickets to visit him and to check out Gallaudet (which is a deaf university in Washington DC and in case you didn't know, I'm deaf) in April. I've accepted because I haven't seen my family in a long while and I'm actually curious to see if they (gallaudet) have any culinary major or at least have a program for the deaf to use other nearby university for the culinary art major.

Here the thing, i have to "reside" in Colorado Springs, CO until August cause my friend here really need a roommate and if I leave her, she would basically be homeless in a hurry. At least by August, she can find another roommate and a better apartment when her lease have ended.

So this April trip is just a visit for now, I'm not sure how long the visit will be but I hope that it will be about 3 weeks long. More than enough time to visit my family, friend, and Gallaudet.

So is there anything cycling related going on in April that you all think i should check out? Are there good routes/roads around Washinton DC and surrounding areas? Is there any particular cycling club that might do me good to check out during the trip? Is there anything at all I should know about Washington D.C. (Cycling-related or not)?

What is the housing situation for students there like if anybody knows? Is there any particular everyday costs that I should watch out for there?

If everything checks out ok for me, I may be moving there around this august.

I'm not really sure what else to check out. This is my first time really trying to look into and research my next move and since I'm only 22, i don't have alot of experience moving around on my own (my parent was always the one in charge of the moves since my family was a military one)

P.S. Since I'm not really sure which one to post in, I will be posting in both the northeast and southeast forum since I know that many students and commuting employee could be from the northern border of Va.

I grew up in the DC area and the one thing that I miss more than anything is riding on the C &O Canal towpath. You can start in Georgetown (right under Key Bridge) and follow the path up out of DC, through Maryland, and into West Virginia – somebody correct me if I’m wrong -- I haven’t gone that far for a long time. There are occasional breaks where you have to carry your bike for a very short distance.

The great thing is that you’re out in beautiful wilderness almost right away… you would never know that you’re still in a city. Also -- since the path is pretty wide, you have plenty of room to get around slower traffic – you hardly ever have to break your pace – except maybe in the busy summer months when it gets crowded. You can go to Great Falls, MD (a nice place to see) from Georgetown for a 34 mile round trip. If you want to really hammer for 2 to 3 hours, that’s a good ride.

It’s a dirt surface, so you wouldn’t want to do it on a regular road bike, but unless it’s wet all you need is a wider tire (say, 700x35 would be fine.) You don’t need suspension.

The area is part of the national park system and they have rules regarding riding at night – I believe that it closes at sunset, but I may be a little off on that.

Hi Curious,
I lived in DC for six years, just moved away last summer. DC is a great place for cycling, with lots of miles of bike paths and good riding farther out (if you have a car or know someone who cycles and has a car). The area around Gallaudet is rough though; I lived just over the Maryland line about 3 miles from the University. I regularly rode my bike past Gallaudet on my way to work in Virginia (and back). There is a newish Metro stop near Gallaudet, which has really helped that area. Housing prices are very high, however, but Gallaudet does have on-campus housing, so ask them about it.

April is a pretty month in DC, and the cherry blossoms might even be blooming when you are in town. Best of luck and have a good visit.

Hi CW,

April is perfect for cycling in the DC area. The whole area is lit up with blooming trees, including the famous cherry blossoms, and the weather is great. There are a bunch of nice trails, which you can see at this link:

http://bikewashington.org/trails/

I would check with Gualladet about housing. Generally, housing is expensive in the DC area. The University itself is in a sketchy area of DC.

I used to know some deaf people who went there, and I went to a few events. It was quite an experience going to a completely silent basketball game where people could have signed conversations to each other from opposite sides of the court. And I went to a concert too - the loudest band ever was playing but deaf people were standing right in front of the speakers, signing. I cringed in the back for a while with my ears aching, and finally I figured out what to do. I stuffed tissue paper in my ears and tried to sign like everyone else.