We loved this trail! It’s about as far from a Zen trail as can be, but the combination of parks and water views on one side and the bustle and vibrancy of New York City on the other made this one of our favorite rides.
Hudson River Greenway – NYC
Georgetown-Lewes Trail plus Lewes-Rehoboth Loop, DE
First of all, these can be very confusing trails based on all of the complicated and contradictory information we found online. Despite the first leg being called the Georgetown-Lewes Trail, it doesn’t actually reach Georgetown, yet (and we’re guessing it will be a while until it does). Opened in 2016, only six of the eventual 17-mile trail has been completed, but when it is, it will be the single longest trail in Delaware. (Keep in mind, Delaware is the country’s second smallest state, so it’s all relative.) But it would seem that a certain powerful politician in Washington who hails from the First State might earmark some funds to finish this!
Bikes & Beers at Victory Brewing, PA
We finally got to do our first Bikes & Beers ride after all of their events were cancelled in 2020. (Sorry, we weren’t interested in paying $100 to do a “virtual ride.”) But we’re glad to report that it was really fun and worth the wait. While the organization hosts rides all over the country, this one, which began and ended at Victory Brewing in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, had appealed to us because…who doesn’t love Golden Monkey?! (With an ABV of 9.5%, it doesn’t take many to get a party started!)
Neuse River Trail – Raleigh, NC
What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to haul our bikes five hours to North Carolina to explore one of the state’s most scenic trails? (Well, that, riding the American Tobacco Trail, and watching the fireworks at the Durham Bulls Athletic Field made it worth the drive.)
Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, VA
This is our home trail. We’ve been riding it together for 36 years and boy, are we sick of it!
Just kidding. Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a 45-mile long rail-to-trail that runs through Northern Virginia from Arlington (across the Potomac River from DC) to Purcellville (in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains). It could also be called the Dominion Energy Utility Poles Trail since power lines loom overhead for most of it (and can sometimes be heard crackling with electricity if you stop to listen).
Anacostia River Trail – Washington, DC
The Anacostia River (or Riverwalk) Trail in Washington, DC and Maryland is, for most of the people of the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia), a hidden gem. That’s largely because Anacostia’s reputation since the 1980’s heyday of DC’s former mayor, Marion “The Bitch Set Me Up” Barry, has been based on its murder and crime rates rather than on its parklands. But we read about this trail a few years ago and have been fans and frequent riders on it ever since (although, for this post, we’ll pretend that we just discovered it!)
Starting at Nats Park (home of the 2020 World Champion Washington Nationals), we crossed the South Capitol Street bridge via a single-lane sidewalk with high railings on both sides. Hopefully, this will one day be replaced by the long-awaited Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge whose high white arches can be seen for miles.
The American Tobacco Trail – Durham, NC
We were excited to explore the American Tobacco Trail, formerly the New Hope Valley Railroad, that runs through North Carolina’s Durham and Chatham counties. It sounded historic and romantic, and we anticipated cycling past old fashioned general stores with carved Indian statues and former tobacco farms and barns.
Not quite.
The High Bridge Trail – Farmville, VA
Twenty miles south of the dead center of Virginia is Farmville, population slightly over 8,000. Its quaint downtown is dominated by the Green Front Furniture company and Longwood College, when, in session, adds another 5,000 to the population. Both times we’ve been here, school has been out, so it has been very quiet.
We’ve ridden the High Bridge Trail twice in the past month, which is surprising since it’s three hours from our home, but it fell along the route of our travels both times. The trail is 31 miles long, with its eponymous bridge spanning 2,400 feet in length and 125 feet above the Appomattox River, making it the longest recreational bridge in Virginia and among the longest in America. (Well, there you go!)
