Disclaimer: I received free entry to the DC Bike Ride as part of being a DC Joy Rider.
I participated in my first-ever official cycling event in September — the DC Bike Ride! I was part of the DC and Philly Joy Rider Team for my first year in 2024 and have promoted the events this year. In order to be ready for the event and also create cycling-related content, this event also got me more into cycling.
Since the DC Bike Ride on Sept. 7, I’ve been marathon training and have not been getting in the bike rides — it helped to have an event on the horizon — but I do hope that cycling will become more a part of my regular routine.
My boyfriend, Mike, joined me for the DC Bike Ride, which was a 20-mile ride. We needed to get our packets the Friday before the event, so we headed to Autoshop from our home in Salisbury that day. We made it just in time before packet pickup closed, but there was no nearby parking, so he dropped me off, I went in to get our packets, and he got me once I was done with that. The standard ride registration included a DC Bike Ride water bottle, along with a bib and helmet sticker to wear during the event.
Sept. 7 was a beautiful morning for a bike ride. The ride started at 8 a.m., but we needed to be in the corral much earlier. I’d meant to book us a place right near the start, but I accidentally mixed up Northeast and Northwest. Fortunately, the place I booked in Capitol Hill was only about two miles away, and it was easy to ride to the start. The Airbnb host was participating in the ride, too!
I signed Mike and myself up for the intermediate level — you could pick a level to be put in for the corral, with VIP cyclists starting first, then advanced riders, then intermediate and then beginners. Mike should have been in the advanced level, but I felt like I was in the right spot with the intermediate level.
It was impressive to see the number of cyclists who had come out for the event, completely filling blocks of Constitution Avenue. It took a while to start — about 30 minutes from where we were in the corral — so that we could all spread out and not travel through the city as one enormous, hardly-moving pack.
The ride was closed to cars, which was great and made for a less-stressful experience. I’ve been hit by a car while running, but cycling actually scares me more in relation to cars because you’re going the same direction and also because you can’t hop up on the sidewalk. So, it was great to not have to worry about that during this event. Also, it wasn’t bad cycling in D.C. before or after the event because there were plenty of bike lanes and many other cyclists around.
The map is no longer on the race website, but the ride took cyclists in the area of the National Mall, past the Washington Monument, Tidal Basin and some of the other monuments. We had several views of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. I recalled some of the same scenery as when I’d run the Marine Corps Marathon in 2019.
There were five out-and-backs on the course, so there were plenty of chances to see the other cyclists. This included two bridges that went to Arlington: The Arlington Memorial Bridge and the George Mason Memorial Bridge. This also meant we got a little backed up at times, but for the most part, the ride was smooth sailing. There were a few aid stations, and although I probably didn’t absolutely have to stop, I did stop for a snack at one of them, and I also got a small sample of lemonade from a Shake Shack tent right near the end.
This was not a race, and I took it as a somewhat leisurely ride, completing it in a 9.6 mph pace, which included the stops for snacks/drinks and some photo and video stops. There was also some music along the course, and it was fun to hear people making noise as we went under bridges.
After riding past some monuments, along the Potomac River and into the Georgetown area, we headed back on Independence Avenue SW.
After the aid station stop, it was time to ride around Hains Point. I’d been here before, both for the Marine Corps Marathon and the Veterans Day 10K, which I ran the same year as MCM — 2019. After Hains Point, we cycled out and back on the George Mason Memorial Bridge into Virginia, near the Pentagon and by a large hanging American flag, before making our way back to not far from where we started, near the Capitol.
As a flatlander, I did notice some inclines, but I didn’t think any of them were awful, at least at the pace I was going. It took me about two hours and six minutes to complete the course.
Mike had finished well ahead of me and had gone to a nearby coffee shop. There was a post-race party with food and beer for sale, but I decided to meet him at the coffee shop. We also needed to get ready to check out of our Airbnb.
The DC Bike Ride was a great way to see the sights of D.C., and the welcoming environment made it very non-intimidating. There were kids out there participating with their parents. People who don’t have their own bike can also rent a bike for the event.
As I prepped for this event, I cycled on the 413 Rail to Trail in Somerset County, the paved trails at Assateague and on the B&A Trail in Anne Arundel County, along with in Salisbury. It was fun exploring while cycling.
The DC Bike Ride, sponsored by CareFirst and Events DC, helped raise money to tackle local food insecurity (participants could also log miles ahead of time for this initiative). DC Bike Ride also provided bikes, helmets and locks to 210 second-grade students in DC Public Schools who graduated from Health & Physical Education’s Biking in the Park program, according to this year’s event guide.
Visit the DC Bike Ride website here. If this sounds fun, the Philly Bike Ride, run by the same organization, is happening this Saturday, Oct. 19. To save 15% on any standard ride pass, use code “TEAMVANESSA.”
She Runs by the Seashore 