Rides to Remember

We remember the great rides we have. The ones where you go out and it is the perfect day and you feel like a million bucks. Or maybe it was an epic climb that you have completed or the perfect century.

In many peoples memories of great rides is their first ride. The ride when we set off on our own for the first time free of training wheels and a parents offering hands of support and encouragement. The bike offered us a sense of freedom in our youth the freedom to explore the great outdoors and learn the world around us. For most of us that was just our local neighborhood but back then it seemed a lot larger then that.

I’ll never forget the sense of accomplishment I felt as a kid when I made it up our neighborhood hill the first time without stopping. At the time we lived in a cul-de-sac at the bottom of the hill and my friends all lived at the top of the hill. It was one of those nasty hills, you know, the ones that go up at a steady rate, flatten out a little then make a slight turn and head up again. It’s that hill that you thought you had accomplished only to realize that it has given you a little more to tackle. For me the challenge was never the second part just that first big hill. I used to mark my success of climbing by items along the climb, telephone poles, driveways or houses. I’ll never forget the one house that I always made it to but couldn’t go any further, than one faithful day I broke threw to the top. What a great day that was!

We lived in Devon Pennsylvania just outside Valley Forge National Park. Often our family would head to the park for the weekend and ride. I have fond memories of those rides and days. Not only were they great rides but a lesson about our nations history as well.

It is those rides that made me fall in love with cycling. Cycling is one of the few life long sports that we can participate in. It is healthy and low impact. Cycling is great for the heart, joints and more. The studies show that people who develop good exercise habits in their youth are more likely to stick with exercising as adults.

What I love about this area is all of the great rides that are right in “our backyard”. I often tell customers that if they are willing to travel a little bit I could probably keep them riding in a different location every weekend of the summer.

If you are looking to add a history lesson into your rides the area offers several great rides. First and foremost is our nations capital, Washington, DC. Washington has a great network of trails that go among the monuments and threw the National Mall by the Smithsonian. Then just outside of Washington in Georgetown is the beginning of the C&O Canal that runs 184 miles to Cumberland Maryland. The Canal is relatively flat, only 660 feet of elevation change along the 184-mile route. The C & O takes you by great areas such as Great Falls, Harpers Ferry, Antietam Battlefield and more. Then on the Eastern Shore you can experience Oxford and St. Michaels, Maryland. This area is home to the Bike Doctor Century hosted every September. The roads here offer safe wide shoulders marked as bike lanes. While in St. Michaels be sure to check out the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Bellevue Ferry.

Closer to home there is the B & A Trail which runs from Annapolis, MD and links into the BWI trail, the BWI Trail runs around the Baltimore Washington International Airport. Then there is the WB&A Trail and the Eastern Shore Trail.

For this year I want to work on my climbing skills. A few friends and I plan to start at the Skyline entry point in Front Royal, VA, climb the first thirty to forty miles of Skyline Drive turnaround and enjoy the ride back to Front Royal. Hopefully this will become a ride to remember.

Rides to remember don’t all have to be epic or challenging, they can be as simple and fun as the rides I took in Valley Forge National Park.

The area certainly offers plenty of areas to ride. So gather up your family and friends and get out to create some great rides to remember.

There are a few more ride ideas here. If you need some more ideas stop by and I’ll be happy to help!