jeneralist 

The good news is, I've gotten other friends and family members interest in cycling to the point that there's talk of a cycling vacation.

The bad news is, to make this work we would need to find rides that can accomodate a wide range of endurance levels. Ideally, if one person needs a rest day, other folks can still ride and re-converge back at the same B&B that night.

So I'm looking for suggestions for a hub-and-spoke style tour, someplace flat within 3 hours drive of DC. Putting "flat" together with "near DC", I'm coming up with Delmarva -- but I'd be interested in other suggestions, too

Thanks!

IBOHUNT

There is the C&O canal that goes from Cumberland MD to Washington DC. 180 miles of relative flat. Maybe 600' elevation over the 180 or so miles. Vehicle traffic free except 6 miles of back roads due to construction on the canal.

https://bikewashington.org/canal/

jeneralist 

I've done that myself -- but I don't think it will work for the group. With a linear ride, if someone needs to stay behind for a day (headache, tired, etc) there's no way that person can stay behind, the rest of the family ride, and then have everyone meet up again without messing up all the reservations for the rest of the trip.

I'm looking for an area where we can stay in one town for several days, and do a few different day rides coming back to the same "home base" every night.

alan s 

Lots of rides using DC as the hub. C&O, W&OD, MVT, to name a few. Check out this website for some ideas.

https://bikewashington.org/

indyfabz

A few years ago I did a White Clay ride from Middletown to St. Michaels, MD. We stayed overnight at the Best Western and rode back via a mostly different route. I thin Saint Michaels would be a nice place to use as a base for day rides. Everything was pretty much pancake flat. Maybe one day you could incorporate a ride on the Oxford-Bellevue ferry. We took that on the way down.

You might also try getting in touch with someone from the Potomac Pedalers for ideas:

https://www.potomacpedalers.org/default.asp

staehpj1

I have very fond memories of nice family rides there. There are a variety of different loops there that are great rides. There are also a number of potential towns to stay in.

tom cotter

Ah, the Delmarva!!!!! Pumpkin Chunkin and chicken farms!!!!!!!!

OK, I kid, I love the Delmarva. IMO, the best way to go would be to pick a central location or two and do day rides from those locations. Split the trip into two or three central locations. There is a tour listed on Crazyguy that went from B&B to B&B on the Delmarva. They had a great time! Chk that out to get some ideas of places to stay.

One problem is that the Delmarva covers a lot of real estate. Which is why I recco moving central location once or twice. Lots of great little towns and stops. Not to mention the little cubby holes. Chestertown gets you to the upper Delmarva,with day rides to Rockhall for crab lunch or Ridgely for a hang glider ride. St Michaels as already mentioned for some great day rides. Lower Delmarva could include a day trip to Tangiers island via ferry. Janes Island SP and Pokamoke are other areas to investigate. Plenty of riding, with plenty to see and do, from ocean to bay, small town to large resorts. And mostly it's flat.

DCwom

+1 on using DC, in fact we've used DC as a hub, actually Crystal City in VA next to Regan National. Crystal city has access to all of the trails mentioned above and more, plus the business hotels are cheap on the weekends.

Philly Tandem

The Cambridge, Md., area is pretty nice. You have Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge nearby, with miles and miles of nice paved backroads. Also, more "inland" there is a lot of nice riding, too.

Another idea is to do an actual tour, but have a SAG driver along (rent a minivan or something if you don't have a suitable vehicle). Either rotate driving among the group or find a non-riding volunteer to drive the van. That way you get the excitement of doing a "real" tour, along with the low stress and flexibility of having a bail-out option. IMO, newbie riders get more jazzed by doing point-point tours than base-camp tours, as they feel like they are doing something out of the ordinary. Just make sure the mileage is low and the lodgings are nice.

Here's a sample route: Day 1: Start in Chestertown, Md., ride to Easton, Md. Day 2: Loop ride from Easton, ride to St. Michaels, Md., return via Oxford, Md. (cool ferry ride), ~35 miles. See https://www.eastonmd.org/ebmasite/biking.htm. Day 3: Ride to Cambridge, Md., area. Add on ride to Blackwater NWR if you have time, or do the NWR on Day 4.

You might also check out the following website with some other good riding ideas on Delmarva: https://www.bikenewengland.com/delmarva.html