"How about the Beltway Burger Bikeride?" This was my reply to my sister Mary's plea to do something fun when she returned stateside this summer. After evacuating from Mumbai in the spring of 2020, and then getting stuck in multiple COVID lockdowns in Rome since then, my international teacher-sister (and everyone) needed to do something fun. The official sounding Beltway Burger Bikeride was already an unofficial running joke among our siblings, but in this moment it found the impetus to become reality. For those who like adventures and burgers, I hope this write-up gives you an outline to make your own ride. For those who don't like adventures and burgers, we'd never be friends anyway. I wish you a good day.
The bikeride began at the Forest Glen Metro Station in Silver Spring. I parked there and Mary biked the mile plus from our childhood home. We reminisced about riding the Metro system for free when the station first opened. The fare cards they handed out that weekend were meant to let us travel for free from Forest Glen to Wheaton, the other new station. Our father, ever the opportunist, took us all the way to National Airport and back, careful never to leave the system, in order to stretch the free adventure out all day. As adults, we also figured Metro was a good alternative way back if we could not finish the ride. Don't get me wrong; we had confidence in our legs, but we had less confidence in our old bikes, and with good cause.
From the metro station we coasted east down Forest Glen Road, in sight of the real Beltway. We passed Holy Cross Hospital where we were both born and used to sled in the winters. Turning right at the bottom of the hill brought us onto the Sligo Creek Parkway and Trail. We passed Colesville Road (mile 2), Wayne Avenue (mile 3), New Hampshire Avenue (mile 5), and Riggs Road (mile 6) all in the shade and relative quiet of the parkway. Large parts of the parkway were closed to cars and many people were out taking advantage of this opportunity to walk, bike, run, and rollerblade. As far as we could tell, no one else was doing the Beltway Burger Bikeride, probably because we made it up. This section, and much of the first half of the day’s ride, was slightly downhill and easy on our fresh legs.
Around mile 7, Sligo Creek flows into the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River and the Sligo Creek Trail joins the Northwest Branch Trail. The trail here travels along and atop the levees that flank the river before coming to Route 1 / Road Island Avenue. We headed north on Route 1 toward downtown Hyattsville, discovering the sidewalks oddly begin a few hundred feet north of the trails. A bit over 9 miles into our day, and just in time for elevenes, we made our first stop at Franklins Brewery.
Franklins started as a General Store and Deli in 1992 but has since evolved to include a fantastic Brew Pub, all in the old Hyattsville Hardware Company building. We secured our bikes on the rack in front and snapped a picture. Inside, we ordered and made quick work of the Franklin Burger with Bombshell Blonde (for Joe) and Morracan Sliders (for Mary). Satisfied, but not full thanks to skipping breakfast, we cruised back down Route 1 to re-join the Northwest Branch Trail and continue the adventure.
Hyattsville is located where the Northwest and Northeast Branches merge to form the main Anacostia River, so, shortly after we returned to the trail, we merged onto the Anacostia River Trail. We turned south toward downtown with the river on our left before crossing over to the east bank. The Anacostia River Trail was much more exposed to both sun and sites compared to the quiet shady Sligo Creek and Northwest Branch Trails. We rolled passed the Bladensburg waterfront park, full of boaters (mile 12), the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, full of birders (mile 14), and the former horse track turned Mayfair Mansions, full of bikers (mile 15). At mile 17, in River Terrace, we passed two guys helping a huge turtle cross the path and at the Anacostia Skate Park and Pavilion we saw an assembly of tailgating dancers.
At mile 19 and halfway through our trek, we re-crossed the now wide Anacostia River on the 11th Street bridge. We took advantage of the lookout platforms built on top of the old bridge's leftover piers to take a quick picture. Rolling along the Navy Yard waterfront we heard the unmistakable sound of a blown tired on Mary’s bike. Fortunately we were just a few hundred feet from Conte's Bike Shop where a technician quickly replaced the tube. Now, about 21 miles since our start, we found our second stop at the Salt Line, tucked between Nationals Ballpark and the river.
Arguably no part of the city (region?) has seen as much development as the Navy Yard (a.k.a Capitol Riverfront). Unrecognizable compared to 20, 10, even 5 years ago, the development fortunately also brought wonderful dining options. We settled on the Salt Line because of their New England Smashburger, a small hat-tip to the gaggle of Red Sox fans milling about before a Boston game versus the Nationals. We enjoyed selections from DC Brau and briefly debated starting a Sweet Caroline sing-a-long, but then our food showed up. We split the burger and salad (I guess stop #1 was filling), non-verbally acknowledging that, after riding downhill for 21 miles, we soon would need to repay a debt to gravity and should eat lite.
Leaving Navy Yard, we followed on-road bike paths across Buzzards Point, which marks the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. The paths skirted Fort McNair before rejoining the shoreline at the hidden, but wonderful, Titanic Memorial (mile 22). We followed the Southwest Waterfront and Wharf up to Independence Avenue which took us between the Tidal Basin and the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial (mile 24). We passed the Kennedy Center (mile 25) and arrived at the always-busy Georgetown waterfront (mile 26). Here we met the Capital Crescent Trail which took us seven miles up hill to our third stop in Bethesda.
The last time Mary and I biked this way had been after a concert. We were ill-prepared for night cycling and had to use our phones to light the way. This time we could see clearly. We paralleled the C&O Canal and Potomac River for the first few miles, passing Fletchers Boat House (mile 28), before veering inland toward the Dalecarlia Tunnel as we climbed back into Maryland (mile 30). The River Road bridge was surprisingly hard after 32 miles (and hundreds of calories) but it marked the home stretch into our third stop at The Dog Haus, in Bethesda.
As with Navy Yard, there is an embarrassment of burger riches in Bethesda and, perhaps, a hotdog place is not the logical choice. While substitutions are welcome in the future (provided they serve burgers), we went with a family favorite for this inaugural Beltway Burger Bikeride. We ordered the Holy Aioli burger with sweet potato fries and another light beer - this time Alagash White. We took our time, savoring the adventure and refreshment, or perhaps regretting not starting in the Navy Yard so the final leg was not all up hill. With stop #3 and 34 miles under our belts, we set off north.
Exiting Bethesda northbound on Wisconsin Ave, we turned right on Jones Mill Road (mile 35) and came to Connecticut Ave on empty sidewalks. We enjoyed a long coast down Kensington Parkway to Beach Drive (mile 36). We passed under the real Beltway two times before facing our final climb on a few small backroads around mile 37: Forsyth, Newcastle, and Linden Lane. On Linden Lane we crossed over the Beltway, pausing for a picture and to take in the 'Surrender Dorothy' railroad bridge. We rejoined Forest Glen Road, passed the historic Old St John's Catholic Church, were our sister Liz was married. With a few more peddles, we finally arrived back at the Forest Glen Metro station. Mary, to her credit, turned down a ride home and so clocked in an additional three miles for the day.
After 38 miles (41 for Mary) and two burgers/three beers each, we probably broke even on calories but we felt great. If you're expecting anything sentimental or some sort of life lesson, I'm sorry to disappoint you. We did it for the adventure and for fun. We are fortunate our region provides us the infrastructure, both trails and burger joints, to have a Beltway Burger Bikeride and much more. I hope some of you are encouraged to take your old bike for a spin, using whatever stops you need as motivation to tackle your very own adventure as a break from this long year and a half. If you’re up for it, you can also join Mary and me on the Potomac River Pizza Paddle next summer - details TBD since I just made it up!
Beltway Burger Bikeride - mile marker notes
Start - Forest Glen Metro Park and Ride (in case we need to metro back)
1 - East Forest Glen Road, pass Holy Cross, and right onto Sligo Creek Parkway.
2 - 29/Colesville Rd
3 - Wayne Ave and Piney Branch Rd
4 - Maple Ave
5 - NH Ave
6 - Rigg Road
7 - Sligo Creek flows into NW Branch, begin Northwest Branch trail
8 - the loudest wooden bridge ever, trail is on levees
9 - Rt 1 / Rhode Island Ave
*** STOP 1: Franklins in Hyattsville
10 - Rt 1 south to return to trail
11 - NW/SW Branches form the Anacostia Rivers, begin Anacostia River trail
12 - Bladensburg Waterfront
13 - Anacostia River trail
14 - Kenilworth Acquatic Park -
15 - Mayfair Ave (50+ group)
16 - Anacostia River trail
17 - River Terrace (Turtle)
18 - Over railroad, people partying
19 - 11th Street Bridge
20 - Navy Yard waterfront (flat tire)
21 - Nationals Ballpark
*** STOP 2: Salt Line in Navy Yard
22 - Titanic Memorial
23 - SW Waterfront
24 - Lincoln Memorial
25 - Kennedy Center
26 - Georgetown Waterfront (begin Capital Crescent Trail)
27 - CC Trail
28 - Fletchers Boathouse
29 - C&O Canal Bridge
30 - MD Line
31 - Mass Ave
32 - River Road Bridge (ugh)
33 - CC Trail Ends in downtown Bethesda
34 - Bethesda
*** STOP 3: Dog Haus Bethesda
35 - Jones Bridge Rd and Walter Reed
36 - Connecticut Ave, Kensington Pkwy to meet Beach Drive Trail
37 - begin last hill by Surrender Dorothy Bridge
38 - Finish!
Comments