Belgian Cobbles

Here is my dilemma. I am training for a stage race in Washington State that includes a hill climb. The hill is approximately 8 miles long and averages 4% (max 10%). Are there any hills like that in the vicinity of Washington DC? Eight miles long might be pushing it but what about the same gradient but only 4 miles? The best I have come up with is up Rock Creek Park then left on Ross Dr but that is only an average of 1% though it is about 6 miles.

I have only lived in DC for 6 months now but I am already familiar with the cycling around the city and the near Virginia/Maryland suburbs. Without a car, that is about the extent of my knowledge.

Thanks!

joshandlauri

I don't know of anyhills in DC, but if you can drive to Frederick I know theres some good climbs out there.

Belgian Cobbles

I have heard that about Frederick. I might be able to con a friend into driving me out there for a weekend or two. Is there anyway you can give me more specifics about the climbing out there? Do you ever use mapmyride.com?

I looked at some google maps and kind of got a sense, but I would be interested to hear what people have done and liked.

Thanks!

JimF22003

If you can drive west, you can't beat Skyline Drive. The entrance from Front Royal is a six-mile 6-7% grade, and there are other good sections like Hogback this side of the Elk Wallow wayside.

joshandlauri

I'll ask the baltimore guys and get back to you.

brandenjs

You can try the route for the Civil War Century. It takes you out through the Myersville area. I have not been there but there is a hill called Harp Hill that is supposed to be a bit of a challenge. Not many long hills in this area, mostly shorter steep ones. I would recommend Skyline Drive also, It's really beautiful out there also.

Belgian Cobbles

Yeah, I think I am going to have to steal a friend's car and go out there. Several people here and otherwise have mentioned it. Though I needed to know the start point. So Front Royal, then 6 miles of good climbing, that sounds like it will do it for sure!!

Thanks!

songfta

Some of the best climbs:

- Skyline Drive (Front Royal, VA). As mentioned, the first 5 miles are a consistent 5-6% grade to Dickey Ridge, with more climbing until mile 21 (Hogback). Probably the closest approximation of western-style climbing in the area.
- Park Central Road in Catoctin Mountain Park, MD. This is a long (3-or-so miles) climb that tops out at 12-13% and rides past Camp David. Easily accessed from Thurmont, MD, this road is closed whenever POTUS is in residence.
- Foxville Road/Rte. 77 West out of Thurmont, MD. This is the first climb in the Civil War Century, long, with a consistent 5% grade and pitches up to 7 and 8%.
- Catoctin Mountain Road, just south of Thurmont, MD. This is a low-traffic climb, about 5 miles long, averaging 6% with pitches up to 11%. Easily connected to Foxville Road and Park Central Road.
- Hamburg Road out of Yellow Spring, MD (north-northwest of Frederick). This is about 2.5 miles of fairly steep stuff (6-8%).
- Harp Hill Road, running south out of Wolfsville, MD (north of Middletown). Good, steep 2 mile grind.
- Middlepoint Road and Coxey Brown Road, both of which climb up to Gambrill Park Road, both east-southeast of Harp Hill. These, along with Harp Hill and Hamburg, are some of the climbs on the Potomac Pedalers' "OMGWTF?" ride, which is a sick exercise in hill climbing.

There are others, too, but these are the big ones in terms of long climbing. Skyline is certainly the longest, most west-coast-style of the lot.

ETA: also look to Mt. Weather and Naked Mountain in Virginia. Both are on a cued ride called "The Blue Ridger" (starts with flat-to-rolling terrain, then does Weather and Naked from the north) or "The Backwards Blue Ridger" (same ride in reverse, starts with Naked and Weather from the south, ends with flat-to-rolling terrain). BTW, many of these roads and routes are listed on MapMyRide and Bikely.

ks1g

The simplest start point for Skyline Drive is to get there early enough to park on the access road into the park. My 2nd choice is park in the K-mart center strip mall on 55 in Front Royal and bike to the park (a mile or so, pretty flat). 3rd choice would be to drive in (paying the car fee instead of the bike fee) and park at a marked pull-off or the Dickey Ridge visitor center and continue from there. Depending on how fast you are on climbs, the climb up Hogsback (or the return from the Elkwallow center) is going to take 25-30 minutes. There are elevation plots and the like on bikely and mapmyride, etc.

Closer in, I've read comments on other forums about the climbing on McArthur Blvd coming out of DC and the return climb from Great Falls Park. Unsure of length and grade but you could always do repeats. In Loudoun County, a loop from Waterford ES using Loyalty, Taylorstown Rd, and Stumptown Rd will give you rollers on Loyalty and sustained approx 10 min climbs @ 8-10% on Taylorstown and Stumptown (clockwise is steeper, counter-clockwise gets more rollers on Loyalty). Reston Century usually uses this loop in some version. It's reachable by bike via W&OD to Clarke's Gap and Clarke's Gap Rd from Simpson's Circle and Rt 9 (watch the cars!) into Waterford. No stores on the loop, though. Refuel at the gas station/convenience store at Rt 9, or go east to Rt 15 in Lucketts before going up Stumptown Rd.

balto charlie

If you want to drive 30 miles north you can bike in Catonsville('burb of Baltimore). Here' a bikely link with one of my rides. 30 miles with lots of steep stuff. some are in the 18% grade. The steepest are Illchester, College and Hilltop. They crisscross each in the river valley.
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/hills-catonsville

joshandlauri

Charlie, whats the elvation gain of that route?

songfta

Nice suggestions by all for the myriad hills in the area! We're not lacking for terrain variation here in the greater DC area, that's for sure!

I'll still stick by my assessment that Skyline Drive is the only climb within a 2-hour radius of DC that approximates the style of climbing that you'll see in the west. I grew up in Utah, and have also done quite a bit of riding in California and Oregon, and the climbs out there are, for the most part, longer and more gradual than the pitches here. The climbs here can be more fierce, for sure: Stumptown, Coxey Brown, Park Central and their ilk have far steeper pitches than most of what you'll find out west. And while it's good to train on these kinds of climbs, the sustained effort isn't quite the same as you'll see out at Skyline, which mirrors closely what you'll see on the ride out in Washington State.

If you want to simply pile on the climbing feet close to DC, a friend of mine cued out a "Hellbent On Hills" ride that stays entirely in Arlington County, VA. It's got a lot of twists and turns, but over 43 miles it features almost 5,000' of climbing. Almost all of these climbs are short, but they're one after the other and relentless. Click here to see the route on Bikely - it's quite the challenge and close to DC (riding from the District to the ride's start point adds about 10-12 miles to the round trip).

You could also create something similar within Rock Creek Park and the roads that feed it and meander through it (Ridge Road, Ross Drive, Sherrill Drive, Joyce Drive, Tilden Street, Park Road, Morrow Drive, Bingham Drive). This would be fairly repetitive, and the climbs would primarily be short bursts, but it's possible to rack up the vertical if you try.

Back to Skyline Drive: there's another parking option that's now encouraged by the Front Royal Police and the Warren County Parks & Rec Department. Luray Landing is the boat launch at Front Royal Park, and the area was improved over the winter to include a big parking lot with available port-o-let and water taps for folks to use. In particular, they invite cyclists to use this lot as a starting point for rides like Skyline Drive and Edinburg Gap. I tried it out last weekend, and it beats parking along the entrance road, at K-Mart or by the old Warren County High School. You won't see it on any maps yet, but it's easy to find: take 55 into Front Royal, turn left onto 340 southbound, then right at the next traffic light (West Criser Road - 7-11 on the corner). Follow West Criser for 1/2 mile until the intersection with Luray Avenue. Take a left at the sign for the boat launch, and follow the road under the railroad tracks, where the parking lot will be on your left. To get to Skyline from here, backtrack onto West Criser, take a right at 340, then a left into Shenandoah Nat'l Park.

JimF22003

Thanks for the tip on the new parking option. Is it shaded? One of the things I hate about parking at the entrance turnout is coming back in the late afternoon to a HOT car and having to change out in the sun.

Trivial I know, but sometimes these things matter. The Port-O-Let would also be a big draw

balto charlie

Hey Josh: I don't know but the hills are generally 500-600 ft above the valley floor. The climbs are not long but are steep

So did I, many many moons ago. In fact I am heading back this month for some camping and hiking. Might even rent a mnt bike for a day or 2. I really miss Utah.

riderx

I have a bunch of Frederick routes up on Bikely, many with plenty of climbing and cue sheets. We've got great riding out here.

For Patapsco hill riding, I put together a rough cue sheet on this thread that hits all of the major hills in the area without repeating anything. It's dubbed the Patapsco Valley Leg Breaker. There's also a hilly route I have on that thread called the West Side Fixed 50.

There's plenty of parking and hills in the Fort Valley area of the George Washington National Forest, just a bit west of Skyline Drive. Great MTBing down there as well. Beautiful area and low traffic roads. Google "Elizabeth Furnace".

Belgian Cobbles

Okay, so I think I can truthfully say that there is plenty of climing to be had in the DC area. Thanks for all the beta. I am now itching to get out to Skyline Drive. I honestly don't think it is physically possible to do all the routes suggested in my remaining time before the race, but I am sure as hell going to try!!

songfta

There could be some shade along the western side of the parking lot, but the whole thing is close to the Shenandoah River, so it should be cooler, overall, than the access road. There are also picnic tables if you want to pack a lunch. But it's a newly developed area, and was cleared of big trees where they graded the parking area. Given time, this should improve.

Belgian Cobbles

So a friend of mine is doing a triathalon near lake anna. She has suggested that if I join her for the trip down I can use the car and go out to Skyline while she is racing. Lake Anna is MUCH closer to the southern end of Shenandoah NP near Waynesboro. I mapped on mapmyride the Skyline from Waynesboro about 25 miles into SNP (which is about all I think I will have time for) and it looks like the kind of up down up down that might be good training. So far everyone says starting in Front Royal is best, is the Waynesboro side worthy at all?

songfta

Waynesboro should be fine - good training for you. The reason that Front Royal is offered up before Waynesboro is its proximity to DC; the climbing on the other end is long and very western-style, too.

JimF22003

If you're starting from the Southern end (Rockfish Gap) you also have the option of heading South on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can park at the tourist info station right between the end of Skyline Drive and the start of the parkway. A ride from there to Whetstone Ridge is a nice out and back. You can get water and use the restrooms at Whetstone Ridge. That's about 29 miles in if I recall.

You might want to try this first, and then save Skyline for later.