Ride to Washington D.C.

This spring I suggested to our Bike Walk RVA team of Max Hepp-Buchanan and Brantley Tyndall that we should determine the feasibility of organizing an event that would take cyclists on a two-day journey from Richmond to Washington, DC. I was thinking of an event to promote long distance cycling. Now, this initial idea has evolved into something with much more significance.

First, we reached out to other staff members to see if they’d like to join us in exploring our options while we completed our own two day ride. Ashlee Snider, our graphic designer, and her husband Travis decided to join us.  Our newest Bike Walk RVA staff member Shihan Wijeyeratne agreed, along with Brantley, to split the support truck-driving duties as long as they could each ride at least one full day. A former intern and newcomer-turned-contender in the racing scene, Rachel Jordan, also rode along for moral support (she literally rode circles around us).

Because our route was going to include nearly 30 miles of dedicated bike infrastructure on the DC end, we also invited our Bike Walk RVA Academy graduates, or, as we call them, our “Champions”. It turned out five of our Champions could come along, as well as some of their guests (Emily Baker and her dad Billy, Tim Kelly, Mark Peterson and his partner Liz Marshall, Chris Long, and Jason James.) We then turned to our Board of Directors, and Jay Paul agreed to ride with us.

Our intrepid team assembled, and we left early on the morning of July 10th. We had the Sports Backers’ pick up truck (“Tito”) loaded with food and water, which would periodically meet us along the ride as well as haul our overnight gear and transport our bikes back at the end. We even had a small bus pick us up and drive us back to Richmond.

The purpose of the trip had now changed without me knowing it.  I thought we were checking out a future event, but the Bike Walk RVA staff and Champions were instead checking out bike infrastructure for what worked and what didn’t. Max explained, “The poorly maintained bike path along Ox Road was definitely an example of how a good idea could go bad. We also saw how awesome the WO&D trail is first-hand with a host of riders, runners, and walkers streaming up and down the trail. And the Custis Trail acted like a bike highway with underpasses and bridges to keep you separated from the local motor vehicle traffic.”

Riding through the neighborhoods in Vienna was very confortable, and you could see how easily cars and bikes mix in a slow speed setting. The use of speed humps for traffic calming was used in several places, and this greatly reduced high-speed motorized traffic. Even the fine gravel trails in the City of Fairfax, while not ideal, functioned quite well with our road bikes.

What made it all special was riding nearly 30 miles from Manassas to Washington, DC as part of a bicycle infrastructure network that spanned five jurisdictions. It didn’t all connect, and sometimes that was noticeable. For instance, where Nutley Road crossed I-66, the six-lane road was more than a little bit sketchy to navigate by bike. Overall, however, you got the idea that you could move around Northern Virginia on a bicycle network with greater ease than you would expect given its reputation as the center of traffic hell.

Yes, the two-day ride event has some traction. Who wouldn’t enjoy riding through beautiful Virginia countryside, seeing historic battlefields, passing historic homes, and ultimately rolling by the monuments of Washington, DC? We even had a stream that we had to ford on one backcountry road.

But the idea of having a ride that promoted bike advocacy for the state and the country makes this a whole different kind of ride. Brantley summed it up best: “I think the two-day ride to Washington could be more than just an event—it could be a call to action for safe and accessible bike transportation.” We still have a lot of logistics to work out, but we could pull people together to get those organized. To be truly successful, however, we will need people to pedal alongside us so that we can show the power of this movement.

Are you ready to join us for the first inaugural ride to DC in 2016?