Offseason Adventure Rides

Are you yearning to ride your bike into the woods during Coffee Outside DC’s yearly winter hiatus? Fear not! Great Eskape welcomes you to join us on a short series of offseason (and mostly offroad) adventure rides to bridge the gap before we resume Coffee Outside DC in mid-March. There are three routes, each getting progressively more “adventurous” than the last. As with coffee outside rides, the OAR rides are not sanctioned or formally organized by Great Eskape and participation is at your own risk and direction. Riders are expected to be prepared, have downloaded the route, have the sufficient bike handling skills, and be capable of making their own in field repairs or securing transportation from the route as necessary. There is no registration and these are not races. These routes are on public roads and trails, and can be ridden at any time. Group rides dates will be announced a week in advance for those looking to add some socializing into their winter riding. All rides start and end at our typical Coffee Outside DC meet up spot.

The Fireside Ride
Group Ride Date: TBD

An out and back on the C&O canal to Marsden Tract Campground for a bonfire and hot beverages. BYO camp stoves / coffee making supplies and or thermos of hot beverage. Alcoholic beverages are illegal in national parks. Riders must be comfortable riding in groups and handling a bike on gravel surfaces. 40mm tire width or wider recommended. Average moving speed of 12 MPH expected. We will plan to stop at the turnaround point to make a small bonfire and fire up stoves for hot cocoa or coffee. BYO hot beverage supplies!

Canal Singletrack Exploro
Group Ride Date: TBD

Wedged between the north bank of the Potomac River and the busy streets of MacArthur Boulevard and Clara Barton Parkway is a (semi)secret world of Paw Paw trees, horsetail, and unmarked, twisty single track trails. Easily passed by and missed, these trails offer a fun and accessible singletrack escape a short ride from Georgetown. Whether you’ve never seen these trails or know them like the back of your hand, come join great eskape for a guided tour of these twisty, surprisingly challenging unmarked trails right out our back door. We like to enjoy these trails on gravel or cross bikes, but they are more technical than you might assume and require good bike handling skills, care and caution through rockier sections. We recommend tubeless tires at least 42mm in size or a mountain bike. Exercise caution where the trails enter and exit the C&O canal and recommend dismounting to avoid collisions with runners and cyclists on the canal.

Beach-Cabin: An Underbiker’s Delight
Group Ride Date: TBD

A classic characteristic of some of our favorite routes is being on the wrong bike for half the ride, so why not be on the wrong bike for the ENTIRE route? This route takes you north on paved surfaces through DC and Maryland suburbs, using a mix of open roads, roads closed to cars, and dedicated bike infrastructure. During the paved first half, we will attempt to ride as a tight group and take advantage of some drafting opportunities. The route reaches its half-way point at Cabin John Regional Park where it transitions from pavement to singletrack, doing a short warm up loop on the Cabin John Campground loop before turning south to descent back towards the river on Cabin John Trail. Cabin John is proper east coast, stream valley single track and demands confident bike handling skills - especially for those riding a cyclocross or gravel bike. There are some shallow stream crossings, a few short rock gardens, and some roots. The route concludes with a few miles of gravel on the C&O canal. Road, trail, gravel - all in 30 miles. This route is probably ideal on a hardtail cross country mountain bike or bikepacking-adventure-style bike, but some people will prefer an cyclocross or gravel bikes for easier pedaling road section and some “underbiking” on the trails, or to put in the effort on the road to pedal up a full suspension bike to more effortlessly rip the trails. Either choice is bad but also good. A few of the foot bridges require a dismount and the route includes frequent regroup points. Use good trail etiquette.