As a college soccer coach I am heading to Annapolis to coach soccer camps, running and swimming are no problem but I am looking for places to ride. In between camps I have about 3 days to kill and I want to go somewhere, get a hotel room and ride, but I don’t know where I can go that would get me away from big cities but be withing about two hours or so of Annapolis. Any help would be appreciated.
Skyline drive is a national park that extends for 109 miles. The road starts in Front Royal, VA. By riding to mile marker 50 and back you will complete 10,000 ft of climbing. Little traffic during the week and bearable traffic on teh weekends.
googgle skyline national drive
scrums
Scott
Thanks, anyone have any other ideas?
The eastern shore of Maryland is your best bet. St. Michael’s is a great destination and base for riding. From there you can access the Eagleman course or a variety of rides along the Delmarva penninsula. All of these rides will be pancake flat, but can be hot and windy.
If your going to be in Annapolis then driving across the Bay Bridge and doing the EagleMan course would be nice. There is very little traffic out that way. If your willing to drive to VA, Skyline drive will give you a great ride. If you start at Front Royal you will climb for about 15 miles before the first major decent. Also check out the W&OD trail in Northern VA.
Dave in VA
Three words for you:
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
Gorgeous!
My wife and I stayed at a fabulous B&B in Front Royal, VA called Killahevlin. Couldn’t have been nicer and it is at the north end of the Parkway.
Three words for you:
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
Gorgeous!
My wife and I stayed at a fabulous B&B in Front Royal, VA called Killahevlin. Couldn’t have been nicer and it is at the north end of the Parkway.
I don’t know about the B&B since it’s just me and my bike, but Front Royal sounds great. Thanks
The W&OD trail is another great option, perhaps a ride there before heading to front royal.
You don’t have to go far from Annapolis for some good riding. A good group training ride starts from the Park&Ride just off of Route 50 at Rt 424 in Davidsonville on Tues and Thurs, 6PM and on Saturdays at 9AM. Just take RT 50 west out of Annapolis for about 5 miles.
The Tues/Thurs rides are fast, race-pace rides (~25mph avg) for 34 miles and might not be a good idea if you’re not familiar with the area as they typically don’t stop for flats. The Sat morning rides are more tame as most of the racers are racing elsewhere. The routes go throughout the southern counties and along the bay.
You can get good cue sheets at: http://www.bikepptc.org/cue_sheet_library/ I believe this is close to the Chesapeake - Harwood route; mostly flat, some rollers and traffic is light. Many roadies and tri folks come from Baltimore and DC area to ride here and get away from traffic. If you need more info let me know.
I ended up riding Skyline drive between the first two camps and it was an awesome experience! It changed me as a rider. I then dicovered four cracks in my headset on the first day of my second camp (glad I didn’t see them while I was doing 50mph down the mountains!) and after way too much trouble finally got Raleigh to replace the warrenty frame (now I have carbon seatstays!) though it took about ten calls and a lot of bitching and was told that I was being moved up the list ahead of people waiting since November! So I didn’t get to ride between the second and third camps. Thanks for all of the ideas.
Depends on what you want. If you want hills go to skyline drive.
If you go to the eastern shore salisbury-berlin area the riding through the pokomoke forest is awesome, and at times you won’t see cars for hours. You can also bike down to assateague and go for an open water swim as well
Depends on what you want. If you want hills go to skyline drive.
If you go to the eastern shore salisbury-berlin area the riding through the pokomoke forest is awesome, and at times you won’t see cars for hours. You can also bike down to assateague and go for an open water swim as well
No offense but you obviously did not read my last post, which was obviously after the riding thanking those who gave me ideas.