Umm, sorry...Morgantown is nice enough in its way but there's no way I'd take it over D.C.

Ya know, sometimes you have to put up with certain things if you want to have others...

Another data point... snowfall (less snowfall better, listed from best to worst)


WASHINGTON NAT'L AP, D.C. 16.6
PHILADELPHIA, PA 20.5
BALTIMORE, MD 20.8
WASHINGTON DULLES AP, D.C. 22.3
HUNTINGTON, WV 26.2
DETROIT, MI 41.1
WILLIAMSPORT, PA 41.4
PITTSBURGH, PA 43
BECKLEY, WV 60.2
ELKINS, WV 77.7

I grew up in Potomac...

Corn fields in my back yard...

Beltway had trees and grass between the loops...

DC was a 5 minute drive away...

There was only the Red Line and it ended at DuPont Circle...

Ahh..the good old days...


My brother now lives in Bethesda...

My parents now live in Rockville...

And I got the hell out...


But I still go back to catch a Skin's game once a year...

I grew up in Philly, live in Bethesda, work in DC.

DC is WAY more temperate than Philadelphia. I'll lose maybe 2 months max of outside riding because there will be ice in the shoulders and I'm a total wuss.

Philly does have some nice riding, and it's a bit hillier if you like that sort of riding.

There seems to be less snow and rainfall within the beltway (note the difference between Dulles and Washignton National). I imagine its because of the cumulative effect of all the concrete and pollution. You can see the weather patterns on the time lapse Doppler kind of steer around the beltway many times. We used to call Alexandria "the Planet," because it had a weather pattern like nothing around it, and we joked that they were conducting weather control experiments from the George Washington Masonic Memorial (that huge tower that looks something like the Washington Monument).

I moved from the DC area (Falls Church) to the Bay Area (Cupertino) about 12 years ago and wouldn't consider ever going back.

However....

Depending on your priorities, you might consider Frederick, MD. if riding's high on your list. You said you could live pretty much anywhere. It's not too far from either Washington or Baltimore and closer to Pittsburgh than either of them. The riding used to be great up there plus there are actually some reasonably significant hills within riding distance: Mar-Lu Ridge, Catoctin Mtn, Sugarloaf Mtn.

Not sure what's available as far as nightlife/restaurants in Frederick as I only went up that way to ride.

- SteveE

anyone regularly participate in the madhouse that is shady grove station?

Well, this thread sure narrowed it down for you...!

That's true. We do stuff at the Iwo memorial and we call it "Iwo Dome" because rain will almost always go around it (and if it did rain, it was usually a big storm).

We don't get crap for precipitation in DC because of the urban heat island effect. Back in the Great Plains, we had much more interesting storms to watch. My car's snow tires are nearly worthless here.

HA...

I'll sum it up:

Every place rules.

Every other place sucks.



This is what happens when BF meets the opinion cesspool that is DC.

N. VA is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and the population is outstripping the capacity of the roads to deal with it. The few times I have been to N. VA outside the Beltway it has been traffic congestion hell. In my opinion MD isn't as bad as long as you stay off the highways during rush hour, but maybe I'm biased having lived in MD my whole life. I've lived in Laurel, Gaithersburg, on the N. side of Baltimore, and currently the Germantown area. One place to avoid is E of DC (and I-95) as it lacks many points of interest, is less well planned, has less business and lower income. The Annapolis area is nice, but quite isolated from everything else (and it does have rolling hills, being on the western shore of the Bay...unlike the Eastern Shore which is quite flat). Also forget Frederick, there's not much to do there in terms of social life and its nickname "Fredneck" can be accurate although there is great riding in the region all around it. To have good rural riding and be relatively close to town, Montgomery/Howard Counties are nice. The I-270 corridor is convenient and quick for heading to PA or points west to get to the larger ridges in MD, WV, or western VA. Most of the hills are rollers throughout the entire DC area, although the east side of town is flat until you get well outside the Beltway, the hills on the west side come in closer (Great Falls marks the "fall line"). The larger ridges are west of Rte 15 in MD and VA, but it does get colder to N and W of town also. I love the Germantown area but I am married and prefer more a mix of suburbs and rural areas. Rockville may be a good compromise, as it's large enough to have plenty of restaurants etc, and it's quick enough to drive anywhere in the DC area, but to get a larger social scene *within walking distance* somewhere inside the Beltway is your best bet, but then you sacrifice riding quality due to lights and traffic.

I'd go down and scout it out. If you were commuting to work by car, I'd say avoid the 66 and 270 corridors, but looks like that won't be a problem. So you have tons of options, and it really depends on what you like. If you are purely concerned about rides and won't come into the city more than once every two weeks or so, probably better to be far out past the beltway closer to places like Frederick, MD or Manassas, VA. If you want to be near the city, there are many more options: NW DC, Capital Hill, Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, etc. You probably won't have as nice of rides in that case, and you'll pay more money to live there. So really depends on your personal situation.

Fast growing now? You should have seen the explosion during the 70's. And no roads. My commute home one summer job ('79) from Bethesda to Annandale. 20 miles, 17+ of that was interstate 495. 2 hours, too often.

Just so you know...

Had a great ride from Shirlington to Haines Point for some intervals. We headed down Four Mile Run Trail to the Mt. Vernon Trail and took that heading towards Rosslyn. We crossed the 14th St Bridge and looped around towards East Potomac Park and Hains Point. Four laps around the tip of the park and back before noon on a wonderful day! Doesn't get any better than this.

Afterwards we grabbed a cup-a-joe at Caribou and sat outside enjoying the weather and watching the people go by!

I like DC, but live in Arlington (which I refer to as W. DC and DC as E. Arlington). Like other towns mentioned on this thread (namely, Bethesda and Alexandria), it is not really a suburb. With roads and trails leading directly into DC, you can be in various hot spots w/o much fuss or higher tax rate. For example, I live in Arlington's Ballston-Rosslyn corridor and I can cycle on the good urban streets or paved trails to Georgetown (3 mi?) or the Kennedy Center/Mall (4 mi approx) or Dupont (5-6mi) -- even from the furtherst end of that corridor. If you live in Rosslyn, you're even closer -- the Key and Roosevelt Bridges are blocks away. Both bridges (+ the Memorial and 14th St. Bridges ) connect with the Mount Vernon or Custis traisl (both paved multi-use trails) and have sidewalks wide enough for bikes and joggers. You'll can make it to the popular Hains Point in 6.5 or less miles from the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor.

Additionally, if you cross the key bridge and turn left away from G-town, you can ride through the Palisades section of DC and into Potomac, Great Falls, and rural parts of Montgomery County, Md. If you live in the hipper part of Bethesda, however, you have a longer ride into downtown DC, Dupont and Cap Hill (maybe equidistant to Adams Morgan).

The Ballston-Rosslyn Corridor is metro accessible, pricing is better w/ the housing bust, and you can access all of the major roads to get to other parts of the area or to your family in PA. When driving, I can reach Bethesda in 25 min (even w/ traffic lights), Dupont in 15, etc., but rush hour can change everything no matter where you live. If you live beyond the beltway (VA or MD) the drive/commute time can increase exponentially. By way of reference, I can drive to Atlantic City in 3.5 hrs and return to Arlington about as quickly as someone can to parts of Bethesda. Plus, Arlington is fun, clean, has lots of resources and options. Not to the say the others do not, but this is based on my personal experience. Good luck.

Thanks all.

For those of you suggesting living in D.C., what are the training routes? I've been to Hains Point, even that seemed a bit tight, and had something like a 20 or 25 MPH (posted) speed limit. Where do you go to train?

i live in takoma park and like it a lot. nice little downtown area (only one bar though) and maybe 25 minutes to downtown.

in the city, you're mostly gonna be doing urban riding (lights/stop signs every block) with a few exceptions. hains point is one, rock creek (really only good on the weekends) is another. the national arboretum sucks to get to but is a really nice little loop once you're in there. also the c&o canal is good if you just want to stomp on the pedals (you'll want at least 28mm tires for it though).

if i had to pick a place to live in the greater metro area based on the riding, i'd pick frederick md. no contest. i know this is the road forum but the mountain trails up there are awesome, and i'm sure you could string together some epic road rides as well.

I have read all the suggestions and most of them are pretty good, but your last question is where do you train? Well if you live in the city.... DC you will have to deal with all of that, but DC has a bunch of little cities all around it with their own downtown areas.

Another good location is Alexandria VA, but since I grew up outside of Annapolis area I am biased towards those areas. I live in Chesapeake Beach, MD and commute into DC area every day. Sadly though, not by bike.

I decided to move to the eastern side of DC to get away from all the congestion and type A personalities of DC and western suburbs. I work just outside of the DC line in Maryland but live on the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County. Its only 30 minutes by car to a metro station and bus routes are available as well. The countryside in Calvert County and Anne Arundel near the Chesapeake Bay is second to none for riding in my opinion and I have lived in most parts of the state except Western Maryland. There are a couple great clubs in the area that offer great club rides in both Calvert County and Anne Arundel County closer to Annapolis. The roads here are long and hilly with great woodsy areas and nice views of farmland and the bay in some places.

Here is an example of a relaxing weeknight ride... you can add the speed and heart rate. I do it slow and easy.
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/9359091

Oh, yeah as far as training routes, check out MapMyRide.com, set your city to Bethesda, Arlington, etc. and check out where people ride. Military Road in Arlington is a nice interval/climbing type route. There are plenty of good on-road routes in the area and I know Conte's does shop rides from both Arlington and Bethesda (I've ridden both) which is a good way to familiarize yourself with a bit of the area.

On the MD side - River Rd, Falls Rd, MacArthur Blvd are very popular main riding roads... Just a couple I'm familiar with.

My choice would be in down town silver spring. Its up and coming, not yet the high prices of Bethesda. But close enough to bicycle trails. From the capital crecent, you can pretty much reach anything. And rock creek is nearby.

https://connect.garmin.com/explore#ac...&currentPage=1

Boyds-Poolesville-Dickerson-Sugarloaf mountain -

great cycling, rolling hills, little traffic. Lots of group rides.

That's probably close to the truth... the Masonic Temple is a bit creepy, especially if you have been inside.

You should check out the Kentlands in Gaithersburg, MD:
https://www.kentlandsusa.com/outside_home.asp
From what you describe it may fit the bill. It's a shop and live community. Although in the suburb of Gaithersburg you can walk to all the shopping you would need, including grocery, home improvement, restaurants, movie theater, lots of specialty shops. The housing is town house style.

It's a bit of a hike into DC, if that's your criteria, 20-25mi. But you could take the Redline metro which isn't too far away, about 7mi & mostly I-370.

And there is easy access to more rural haunts that others mentioned, like the Poolesville area (11mi away), where the biking is awesome: traffic is light, scenary is great. If you're a climber, Sugarloaf mountain isn't too far, 15mi away. And Seneca state park has great off-road trails, only 5mi away.

I don't live there so I'm not self-interested. Just know of it as fitting your description quite well.

You couldn't pay me to live at the Kentlands. It's painfully suburban. And there is a dearth of young single women and/or places to meet them. Unless you like high school girls. It is an epicenter of glammed up soccer moms, SUVs and manufactured living.

The access to good riding is right there, though - I parked at my dad's this weekend and rode to Sugarloaf, wound up finding two groups at the top of the mountain and rode back towards Gaithersburg with them. Tho it was a bit sketchy riding with two separate groups who hadn't ridden together before. Lots of great cycling roads out that way, definitely.