Originally Posted by TK LP

I'm a little farther north in Frederick County. Near Gaithersburg, and Germantown you are getting into northwest Montgomery county, and there is plenty of nice rural, rolling riding there. If you want some climbing, Sugarloaf Mountain is practically in your back yard, you can probably see it from just about anywhere in that area. It's actually a pretty popular ride. If you want more, come up a little farther into Frederic county, you can spend all day in the hills. It's a bit farther out, but the Skyline Drive/ Blueridge Parkway area in Viginia is great rural riding, that can get very demanding. Olney is more east, and while still rolling, considerably flatter.

Like any large metropolitan area, DC and the surrounding vicinity is going to pose most of the safety hazards you would experience just about anywhere. The farther out you go, the less dense the population, the more rural the riding.

Potomac Pedalers is the largest cycling club in the DC area, and they do lots of rides in the area at any level.