Moving to DC
 

Hi I just joined this community which was suggested to me by a friend on LJ. I will be moving the end of November and hopefully if all goes well living in DC (anyone who can suggest a nice apt. complex that allows pets, is relatively roach and rodent free, has parking, is near mass trans., and is not over $1000 a month please let me know, I am fine with a Studio apt for now). I am new to road riding in that I was a mt bike racer for many years and I trained on the road but never seriously. Now I am more of a roadie, but I still love the woods and trails. I would like to hook up with a group that rides at ~15-18mph for rides of either 20-50 miles. Right now I live in Central NY and I am quite used to climbing etc. I am winding down my training on the road to about 3 days a week due to daylight issues. When I get settled I want to find a decent gym to start my weight training, any suggestions on a good gym?, my routine is mostly free weights, and I wouldnt mind taking spin classes a couple times a week so I dont go crazy on my trainer. Anything else you all can think of to tell me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Karen

Hi Karen,

I can't help much on apartments downtown. But I can suggest this site for lots of ride information:

www.bikepptc.org

Go to the ride schedule button and you'll find lots of ride info. The good thing about DC versus central NY is you can ride through a lot of the winter here. Better than spending hours indoors on a trainer or even in a spinning class. Many of the rides originate in DC or close by you can ride to the start. In fact one ride I regular do Saturday mornings in the winter that starts at Belle Haven marina has several DC people that ride to the beginning.

You can also get some good deals on gyms in your situation where I assume you'll be using them primarily in the evenings and weekends. Many of the downtown clubs cater to day workers at noontime, morning or early evenings. They really thin out in the evenings and offer discounts to locals that use them in non-prime time.

Stan

i've lived in DC for 2.5 years, and am a transplant from central ny, too.

for housing, i'd recommend checking out craigslist: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/

i think that if you want to live downtown you might need to get a roommate to live for less than 1000 a month.

i used to ride in some really rural areas up in central ny, so i was shocked at how much traffic is down here. that being said, if you know where to look, you can find some pretty good rides. without a car, though, to get you to the start of some of these rides, the choices are a lot more limited. you can also go out and ride in the blue ridge, which is a lot more vertical than just about anywhere in central ny.

the pptc website suggested above has some great rides listed, and if you join the club and go to group rides, there are even more rides that they don't have listed. also, you can check out this site: www.bikewashington.org

the rides i like the most on bikewashington.org are these: Peach Tree Loop, Mason-Dixon-Double-Cross, anything near Sugarloaf mountain, the Blue Ridge Challenge and Skyline drive. Most of those are a drive away, though.

In my personal opinion, living nearer to maryland is better for biking options. (and if you like to ski, the closest stuff is in pa, so living to the north is closer to that, too)

mtbchica - welcome to bf. Glad you made it over.

I won't repeat my lj post, but I hope it helps.

PPTC and OHBTC (Oxon Hill) are both good clubs. You don't need to be a member, just go to the ride lists on their websites and try them out.

Your requirements for a place to live might be tough to fill. You might have better luck in the suburbs, and you'll probably need a roommate.

Lots of choices on gyms. I belong to a Bally's, but that is because they are close to home, inexpensive and have a pool and hot tub. Most have trial memberships to let you try them out.



Hey, Stan. That is one of my regular winter rides (or as regular as I get in winter.) Planning to be there next Saturday, weather and schedule depending. Blue Trek hybrid with rack-and-pack, bar extensions, black helmet with either a green sweatshirt or yellow vest.

What'cha ride? I'll look out for you.

My wife and I are moving to the DC area by the end of November. We're looking to move to Georgetown. From what I've seen, DC and the surrounding area are very bike friendly. Good luck on the apartment search, we're doing the same thing. If your looking for somebody to tinker around with on cyclocross bikes, shoot me a PM.

Welcome to DC, almost. Check out www.artemisracing.org for a good club in Baltimore. I've lived in DC for 4 years, and it is possible to find a studio for less than $1000 (like $5 less), but rarely anything larger. Craigs List is definitely the good way to go.

If you would like more info on the city and locations of the apartments you are considering, send me a PM. There are great neighborhoods throughout the city and in surrounding areas.

For a 1k/month apartment with parking & pets allowed, check out basement apartments on Capitol Hill. That is, if you don't mind basements, and being a bit cut off from the nightlife part of the city.

I won't make it for a few more weeks. I'm in southern Maryland on weekends until it gets cold - most likely the beginning of December. I'll watch for you. I have a Red Seven.

Stan

The wife and I are looking to be in the area of Georgetown / Foggy Bottom within walking distance of the Kesher Israel synagogue on 28th & N in Georgetown. I'm looking forward to hitting all of those bike paths along the canals and to seeing what the urban cyclocross scene is like in DC.

I don't do cyclocross, but maybe this will help you. http://www.potomacvelo.com/
The Bike Lane in Burke, VA and City Bikes seem to sponsor teams.

From Georgetown you'll be adjacent to several good paths and trails.

In terms of dog/cat-friendly apartments in the center of DC, look at these buildings (if you have a cat, it's probably a little easier to find a place, but I wasn't sure...):

-The Shawmut Apartments (at 19th + Columbia, on the Western side of Adams Morgan). This is a nice vintage building on the quiet side of Adams Morgan, which is very convenient to Dupont, as well. It has very good transit connections, groceries and a gym nearby, and a nice park across the street for walking your dog (if that's what you have). A studio there would probably be somewhere around $1000/month (not sure...)

-The High Towers (1530 16th St. NW, near 16th + Q, in Dupont). This is a very nice older building, as well. Studios here might be a bit pricier (I'm really not sure what they go for...), but it's a very good/convenient location with good transit access, and shopping/groceries nearby.

-The Barclay and Ravenel (1610 + 1616 16th St. NW, between Q + Corcoran Sts, in Dupont). These are two older buildings that are pretty basic (and might be more roach-prone), but very convenient (great transit access) and cheap, and at least one of them allows dogs. Studios would probably be in the $900-950/month range. Shopping/groceries/gyms nearby, too.

I doubt that any of the above have parking (in fact, I know that the High Towers, Barclay and Ravenel don't), but if you can ditch the car (easy to do without if you're also working downtown or near Metro), they're decent places. I live next to the High Towers, and a block from the Barclay/Ravenel, and it's a great neighborhood.

Otherwise, the suggestions above about basement apartments in Capitol Hill or searching on Craigslist are good ones. Also, look at the apartment listings in the Washington City Paper (washcp.com).

Welcome to DC, and good luck with everything.

For housing,Craigslist might be your best bet. You could also check out these links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=apartment+locator

DC is an expensive town,so getting into a decent neighborhood for $1k/month may require at least one roommate or shoehorning yourself into a crackerbox. Avoid anything in SE(southeast) and don't forget to check VA and MD;we have a pretty extensive Metro system,so you may do better outside the actual district. http://www.wmata.com/ will show you where all it goes.

DC is a good place to ride,you just have to watch the traffic. I was here before in the 90's and it's gotten worse. The drivers don't give a fig about what's going on outside the shell of their car. Keep your eyes open and a finger on your brakes and you should do alright. We usually don't get much snow,so biking year-round isn't a prob. If the weather's too bad to ride,then everything is shut down anyway.

There's lots of gyms around(I always get a kick out of seeing folks drive their SUV's to the health club so they can ride the stationary bikes. :p ). Get a yellow pages and call around for the best rates.

There's lots of trails around here,althought if you really want to get muddy you'll need to hit the burbs. Everything in the city is paved,gravel,or hardpack. All the dirt trails I've come across didn't allow bikes. The paved trails are MUPs,so they can turn into zoos on weekends,but in the daytime during the week and after the weather cools off they're fine. If you're looking for some truely fun rides,you could always become a Pirate. ;) Check out the "DC Pirates' Pillages and Plunders" thread in the Singlespeed/Fixed forum for our doings and Yahoo list.

Welcome to the District of Columbia. Remember: keep to the right when standing on the escalators!

I won't repeat what the other DC-types have been saying, but have a couple of thoughts. For a grand a month you can still find places in Columbia Heights near a Metro with lots of revitilzation going on. Parking will be a real issue. Do you know about Zip Car and other car sharing companies? They are a great deal and you only have to pay (by the hour) when you use the car/truck of your choice (www.zipcar.com or www.flexcar.com). Also have you checked washingtoncitypaper.com for places to live? Finally, the biking is great. If you are a roadie there is the Capitol Crescent Trail, Mt. Vernon Trail, Washington & Old Dominion, 4 mile run...and if you like gravel there is the nearly endless C&O Towpath. Many good bike shops in town and as previous posts have mentioned, several good clubs. Welcome to the District!

Any reasons for D.C. proper? Any of the burbs will be cheaper, and a better value. Find an area near metro, or marc but not too close, and save alot of money. Consider Takoma Park MD, almost D.C., Silver Spring, a beautifull neighorhood is Cheverly if you can find a place to rent there. Just my 2 cents worth.