Adventure No. 2: Biking the Capital Crescent Trail — 29.3 miles biked

Miles biked: 29.3

Time on bike: about 2 hours, 15 minutes

Maximum speed: I have no idea

Roads taken: Capital Crescent Trail, Rock Creek trail (on roads and the trail).

On Sunday, May 23, I needed to get out of the apartment and do something constructive, so despite rainy-looking conditions — since when has rain scared me off? — I decided to go for a decent ride before hitting up my man Slava's "Lost" barbecue in Adams Morgan. There were still many trails in the D.C. area I hadn't biked, including the Capital Crescent Trail, which runs parallel to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal trail, a 184-mile multi-use trail that runs to Cumberland, Md.

So I biked over the Key Bridge, part of my normal commute to work, and then walked the bike below the bridge to what I thought was the Capital Crescent trail. But after about a mile of riding on muddy, dirty gravel, I realized that I was on the C&O rather than the CC, which is paved and runs closer to the Potomac river. I backtracked a little and was able to walk the 520 down a path to the CC.

Then I proceeded to ride a good 13 miles or so on a beautiful, well-paved path that took me all the way to Bethesda, Md. It followed a slight grade, but never got hilly enough that I had to use my lowest rung of gears. It was mostly smooth riding on a fairly popular path, especially as I got into Maryland. Even on a cloudy, it-might-start-pouring afternoon, there were a good number of walkers, bikers and dogs on the path.

Overall, nothing really stood out about the path. For a short time, it was right on the Potomac. But as it got toward Maryland, it crisscrossed over the C&O to the east, leaving the water and beginning to weave its way through neighborhoods and parks, trees and intersections. 

Eventually, I emerged from trees to a busy intersection in what looked to be downtown Bethesda, where lots of people milled on a Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of shops lining the streets. But I had no interest. I wasn't dismounting the 520 anytime soon. So I crossed the intersection and rejoined the trail as it led me through a city tunnel, which was kind of cool. 

After passing over Connecticut Avenue, the path became packed-down gravel, which I didn't mind at all. Actually, with the riding entirely flat, I cruised along, going at one of my fastest paces of the day. And within a couple miles, I came to an intersection where there were signs for the Rock Creek Parkway. When beginning the ride, I had hoped to meet up with the parkway, which I could take all the way back into central D.C. 

I asked an older couple, who seemed to know the area well, about the best way to ride back into the D.C., and they told me to follow them. And, sure enough, after a couple miles on a somewhat busy road, we came to a fence in the middle of the road blocking cars from entering. The nice fella told me that we had reached the north entrance of Rock Creek Park, a good chunk of which isn't open to vehicles on the weekend.

Sweet, I thought. No cars on a road that usually allows them? That was something I didn't even experience on my West Coast trip.

So I thoroughly enjoyed a good chunk of miles spent riding downhill on roads only manned by cyclists. It was quite enjoyable and relaxing. 

Then I came to the intersection where Beach Drive ended and busy traffic took over on Rock Creek Parkway. So I joined up with the bike path on the right side of the road, and the riding became much less smooth. For the next few miles, I was on a busy, bumpy, crack-filled, narrow bike path that was inhabited by several cyclists as well as walkers and runners. I had to keep my focus at all times on the road ahead of me, constantly ready to hit the brakes or unclip. Hey, at least I was still riding downhill.

And then that was it. The path took me all the way down to Ohio Drive on the Potomac, just east of Georgetown. I stopped at the river for a few minutes before heading back into town to bike up to Slava's crib a couple miles to the north.

It had been a nice, exploratory ride on a Sunday afternoon — another neck of the greater D.C. area checked out via the Trek 520.