cc_rider

Washington DC, Saturday October 11
Annual WABA event. 60+ mile ride around DC to all 50 state named streets.
Normally held in August, often on the hottest day of the year. This year's ride will be when the weather is more sensible.

This is considered a pretty tough ride. Not for the weak and unworthy. All urban and the roads don't close to traffic. DC is on an escarpment and is split by a couple of big stream valleys. The ride goes up and down many hills and if they follow previous year's routes, many of the hills will be near the end.

This year they've added a lunch option. Not sure if they are stocking the rest stops or if you're on your own as in previous years.

https://www.waba.org/events/50states.php

If work doesn't get in my way I'll probably ride this one again.

Cross posted to the other Mid-Atlantic forum.

rizz

From their site:

(Emphasis added.)

Sounds like a fun ride.

J.Lockdown

I would be interested in doing it, but am kinda put back cause I dont know my way around DC to well. If I could find a group of people to ride in I probally would cause I hate navigating on my own. But seems like a fun ride being in traffic and all.

After looking at the elivation profile it actually does not seem so bad. I do more climbing in my regular rides (about 1400 ft worth) over 22 miles. So I figure it should not be to bad right?

JimF22003

I can ride the city roads any time. I'm heading out of town

cc_rider

Looks like I will probably make this one rather than the La Plata ride (This weekend it's Saturday or nothing.)
Here's the route map from the WABA website.
https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...n/739051274338
Except for the start it looks like the usual route.

Weather looks good and maybe this year I'll finish the whole route.

J.Lockdown

What happened last year that did not allow u to finish? Also if you are definitly going to ride would you mind if I tagged along since I have never done a route in the city.

cc_rider

Last year they had the ride on the last weekend of August on what became one of the hottest days of the year. Heat index went up to 110. By the time I got to the 7-11 at CU that many of us used for a rest stop, I knew I'd be wiped out by the big hills still to come. Even short-cutting back I finished with around 55 miles for the day.

I'm still not definite on the ride. Work may still interfere, but I won't know that until after tomorrow night's meeting.

If I'm there you can join me. This is a new start point, so I don't know the layout of the park. I'm not pre-registered so I'd be there early and try to start right at 8:30.
Blue Trek hybrid with rack-and-pack, and I'd be wearing a black helmet with Bikeforums.net stickers on the side (black and white, not blue and yellow unless I get the color printer working.) I'll probably park up in Cleveland Park (Rodman near Reno) and ride down Connecticut to Calvert, doing the last miles first.

J.Lockdown

Wow that is a hot day. Well let me know if you will be or not when you find out. I am either going to come out and do that one or head out to Bowie MD to do a PPTC group ride.

meb

On the way home the night preceeding (actually about 2:30 am) I had a sidewall fail on the rear of the mountain bike I intended to ride. I replaced the rear wheel from another mountain bike, but the cones were worn out so the cone nuts unscrewed themselves. I had a folder back at work that I might have been able to make the ride on, but Metro was down by that time and no time to go to work the next morning and retrieve that bike. Next option was to fix a flat front on a recumbent, but not having used my recumbent in 1 1/2 years, my recumbent muscles were out of shape couple that with the climbs and the heat, my legs cramped out at 26 miles.

I tore a calf muscle 4 weeks ago, so I'm not going to try the 50 states ride, but I might try the 13 colonies. I rode 4 miles Tuesday-the first since the injury, and my leg ached the next day so it may be too soon yet.

meb

Is there a cue sheet on that site somewhere?

Is there analogous info for the 13 colonies ride?

Relaxer

I am planning on doing the 50-state ride. I'm very familiar with DC so if anyone is interested in grouping up, let me know as I'm happy to do so. Have never done this ride, but have logged a lot of city miles. Gonna be great weather too so I'm pretty jazzed about it.

cc_rider

I haven't seen a queue sheet on line, but there is a map of the 13 Colonies route.
https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...n/258393247936

The 13 C is much more knee friendly. The hill back up Mass Ave is long but gentle.

J.Lockdown

Sent you a PM about riding with ya.

I am going to go ahead and do the ride. If I cant find someone to meet up with I will ask around if I can ride with them. I am not a massive hill person but do a rolling route normally and did the 100 mile Sea Gull in 5 hours 34 minutes so I think I should be ok right?

Were is the best place to park my car, I will be coming from Montgomery County using my GPS, but still not exactly sure about the area.

cc_rider

Like I said, I'm parking in Cleveland Park, somewhere around Rodman and Reno. There is usually street parking available once you are back from Wisconsin or Connecticut. Easy ride to the start. The map shows the ride route going down Rodman and I have the option of ending the ride when I get back to my car.

https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2325863 CP to the start.

J.Lockdown

Ah ok cool. Yeah I am hoping I can complete the ride with no problems.

I actually might take the metro down now that I think of it, cause its on the RedLine and Shady Grove is my station. So that might work out better.

cc_rider

If you are not preregistered, make sure you get there early. The line last year was huge and many people were still signing up when the first groups started.

J.Lockdown

I am preregistered, got it done before the 2pm deadline.

J.Lockdown

Just got back home after the great ride. It was nice to meet CC_rider, and sorry Relaxer about heading out without you at the start. I kinda got caught up in the whole starting and forgot to find you in the group of riders.

CC, thanks for the great job navigating and also past history and info on the areas we were riding threw. The weather was great, route was actually not that hard since the climbing was mostly on low grades. Definitely will be their next year ready to ride, and good to meet up with local riders. I will have to make some more trips down to DC to ride.

cc_rider

Enjoyed riding with ya.
I didn't quite finish the whole route. I skipped Arizona Ave. Didn't have any more big hills in me and I didn't want to deal with that climb back to AU.

Was more climbing that I have been doing this season. After the 12th hill I stopped counting.

If they do it again in the fall and there isn't one of my other usual rides opposite it, I'll probably be there next year. Kind of a Bike DC for the serious riders.

Relaxer

Hey guys, great ride! J, sorry we missed each other, but it sounds like you made it through fine.
One observation I had was that when I finished at 1:45, there was NO ONE in the park, as in, no WABA table, no water, no 'welcome home!' I didn't expect a ticker-tape parade, but would've been nice to have someone there to say 'you're finished'. Oh well, still a great ride and I'm jazzed to have the cue sheet as I'm going to try and do the ride again soon. I like how it takes you through pretty much every part of DC (other than G-town, which is just fine by me) and I like the hills. Hope to see you guys next year.

J.Lockdown

Their was a good hill that was after the AU stop. It was down a couple turns, we went down a fairly large hill, and then turned left on the sheet to find another hill to climb back up. We basically made a loop back to AU almost. But I thought the climbing was good, and was actually not as hard as my normal rolling route, but it was still not a walk in the park.

When my group got back, their was a couple other riders but no water. I guess they figure people will just come and go. Also I would definitely do that route again if anyone wanted to do it before next year.

Some comments about the route however. Next year and I forget which bridge it was (the long one across that you take the walkway down to the park were everyone stopped) I think im going to sweep that up before the ride. One of the guys in my group agreed and said he would help out, cause that was a flat tire death zone. TO much glass, one guy walked his bike across.

cc_rider

The long bridge was the Sousa Bridge. It was cleaner this year than I remember from last year.

I used to take Arizona Ave to get back to Virgina from Silver Spring, so I know that hill all too well. If I had gone that way, I'd have kept going to MacArthur.

I think WABA's plan was to have people head over to Bourbon to party. Since I was parked on Rodman I just packed and left.

Relaxer

I'm going to try and do it again in a few weeks. I want to do it soon enough that the route is somewhat fresh in my mind. Two buddies of mine, one of whom did it and the other who wasn't able to, are into it. Thinking mid-November if possible.

J.Lockdown

I would definitely be in as long as the date works. let me know when you hammer out a date cause I definitely would be interested in riding. Going to be a little chilly but still should be fun ha.

J.Lockdown

Thought I would post a photo I found of me on the ride. I dont remember seeing the photographer their, but he managed to get a picture of me as I was putting my phone into m back pockets. Yeah I know I look like a old guy with that pose and face ha. Not one of my best pictures.

I am in the white with blue helmet.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/waba/2944687199/