[rideit]

So, it looks like I have to be at a shindig in Gaithersburg, MD, the first weekend of August. (Big family reunion type thing).
Anyhoo, what’s good?
Trailforks shows a bunch of stuff up in Frederick, anyone ridden up there?
Anyone wanna rally and get some riding in?
What’s the ‘best’ in MD?
(Willing to travel a bit for the goods, maybe up to an hour away?)

 

[rideit]

Frederick Watershed on Trailforks

The Watershed is a treasured jewel to area mountain bikers. It has has fantastic riding opportunities but like Gambrill the trails are rocky and technical. Due to advanced...

www.trailforks.com

 

[jstuhlman]

@zdubyadubya what says you?

 

[MikeD]

Right around the corner is this place, which I recall being a pedal-y set of swoopy buffed singletracks, fairly flat...fun, but nothing really remarkable.

Schaeffer Farm Trail

Popular multi-use trail near Germantown, MD Schaeffer Farm is a popular hiker/biker/equestrian trail complex near the South Germantown Recreational Area and Soccerplex. The yellow trail is the longest of five color-coded trails. Using multiple trails, many variants are available. The trail...

www.alltrails.com

The 'shed is always mentioned as the DH-y/freeride-y place in MD. Never been. Heard it's good to have a local guide there. There's some riding in northern VA, but nothing probably worth making it down if you're only in MD for a weekend, and my guess is there's more hidden up in MD than in NoVA. Charlottesville has good rides but is too far from MD.

Elizabeth Furnace out in the Blue Ridge is, I'm told, an epic techy east coast singletrack adventure.

 

[rideit]

Yes, assuming my recovery goes well, I hope to find the chunkiest, rooty, rocky EC goodness I can find.

 

[jstuhlman]

Yes, assuming my recovery goes well, I hope to find the chunkiest, rooty, rocky EC goodness I can find.

you're gonna need to venture down to at least harrisburg/roanoke then....if not good ol' nc.

 

[rideit]

No can do, after my latest vacation, I’ll be on a short ride leash.

 

[MikeD]

Fountainhead Park in Fairfax County is pretty chunky, bike-specific trails. But hardly round the corner from Gaithersburg, and still up-and-down lowland VA terrain, not real mountains.

And I think there's still mo' better closer to you, so I'll shut up.

 

[rideit]

Elevation isn’t so critical to enjoyment for me, but it’s nice. I get plenty of vert at home.

 

[6thElement]

Fountainhead Park in Fairfax County is pretty chunky, bike-specific trails. But hardly round the corner from Gaithersburg, and still up-and-down lowland VA terrain, not real mountains.

And I think there's still mo' better closer to you, so I'll shut up.

I used to enjoy post work laps at Fountainhead years ago when working in Fairfax.

There was somewhere else in that region under powerlines, but the name currently escapes me...

 

[Westy]

Ditch the family and head to Harrisonburg VA. Massanutten mountain and the George Washington National forest for proper chunk.

 

[MikeD]

I used to enjoy post work laps at Fountainhead years ago when working in Fairfax.

There was somewhere else in that region under powerlines, but the name currently escapes me...

Wakefield/Accotink, perhaps? That's my local.

 

[6thElement]

Wakefield/Accotink, perhaps? That's my local.

Wakefield sounds right, probably 12ish years since I was at either spot.

 

[Westy]

Also, don't break anything.

 

[Jozz]

I've ridden there, was fun!

Patapsco Valley State Park on Trailforks

Patapsco Valley State Park - The riding at Patapsco Valley is 3 Star fun. Its good quality riding with a little bit of tech and plenty of good flow. The hills are not steep so...

www.trailforks.com

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Right around the corner is this place, which I recall being a pedal-y set of swoopy buffed singletracks, fairly flat...fun, but nothing really remarkable.

Schaeffer Farm Trail

Popular multi-use trail near Germantown, MD Schaeffer Farm is a popular hiker/biker/equestrian trail complex near the South Germantown Recreational Area and Soccerplex. The yellow trail is the longest of five color-coded trails. Using multiple trails, many variants are available. The trail...

www.alltrails.com

The 'shed is always mentioned as the DH-y/freeride-y place in MD. Never been. Heard it's good to have a local guide there. There's some riding in northern VA, but nothing probably worth making it down if you're only in MD for a weekend, and my guess is there's more hidden up in MD than in NoVA. Charlottesville has good rides but is too far from MD.

Elizabeth Furnace out in the Blue Ridge is, I'm told, an epic techy east coast singletrack adventure.

Yup, there's chunks, rocks, and roots at Elizabeth Furnace...

 

[rideit]

One issue that I am finding is that the closest place to rent a decent bike will be in Frederick.

 

[Montana rider]

I've ridden there, was fun!

Patapsco Valley State Park on Trailforks

Patapsco Valley State Park - The riding at Patapsco Valley is 3 Star fun. Its good quality riding with a little bit of tech and plenty of good flow. The hills are not steep so...

www.trailforks.com

TITCR -- didn't JBP just swing by with a write up on his trip south?

I used to ride there back in the mid-90s, lots of short punchy climbs up and down drainages.

Should be able to find a bike somewhere close-ish -- i don't know much about either shop but they're close:

Ellicott City Location - Race Pace Bicycles | Baltimore Bike Shop

Come to our Ellicott City store for the same friendly, knowledgeable service as you've come to know in our other Race Pace Bicycles!

www.racepacebicycles.com

I'd avoid (F)red-neck but it's been a while since I've been out those parts.

 

[stevew]

Fountainhead Park in Fairfax County is pretty chunky, bike-specific trails. But hardly round the corner from Gaithersburg, and still up-and-down lowland VA terrain, not real mountains.

And I think there's still mo' better closer to you, so I'll shut up.

there are woods in fairfax county....must be hiding...i never remember seeing any in the 11 years i lived in the area....

 

[rideit]

Thanks for the tip on that shop, they have one of the bikes I really enjoyed, worth a little drive to not be on a Stumpjumper. Still focusing on riding in Frederick\Gambrill if anyone wants to join. It looks good.

 

[zdubyadubya]

Thanks for the tip on that shop, they have one of the bikes I really enjoyed, worth a little drive to not be on a Stumpjumper. Still focusing on riding in Frederick\Gambrill if anyone wants to join. It looks good.

Dude. I live in Ellicott City. I lead group rides 3x a week in Patapsco and Frederick. I also work part time at the Race Pace Bikes mentioned above. We have a full range of Santa Cruz, Scott, Trek, GT, and Cannondale rigs to demo. Just hit me up when things get closer and we will show you the goods.

 

[zdubyadubya]

Yes, assuming my recovery goes well, I hope to find the chunkiest, rooty, rocky EC goodness I can find.

Frederick is your ticket then. Although you need a guide, otherwise its easy to mix up the fun trails and the not so fun trails. Like I said though, I'm more than happy to ride wit you and show you around. Patapsco has its own fun stuff too if you know where to look.

 

[rideit]

And this, my friends, is why RM is still relevant and awesome!
Thanks so much. Do you guys have any demos a little better than the rental bikes on the site?
Interested in a Hightower LT, but would be happy to pay a bit more for better components, suspension and wheels. I’m a bit spoiled.
Looking at the Gambrill stuff, it looks way easy to get skunked if you didn’t know your way around. Probably avoiding jumps and anything man made due to a new knee, but the chunk I love.

Ooh...do you have a medium Ransom?

 

[Westy]

You should PM Konabum

 

[zdubyadubya]

And this, my friends, is why RM is still relevant and awesome!
Thanks so much. Do you guys have any demos a little better than the rental bikes on the site?
Interested in a Hightower LT, but would be happy to pay a bit more for better components, suspension and wheels. I’m a bit spoiled.
Looking at the Gambrill stuff, it looks way easy to get skunked if you didn’t know your way around. Probably avoiding jumps and anything man made due to a new knee, but the chunk I love.

Ooh...do you have a medium Ransom?

we differentiate between our "rentals" and our demos. demos are priced a little higher $75/day or $150/3 days (i can friends and family a week out of the 3 day rental if you need me to) and are structured that if you buy a full sus mtb you get your demo fee back towards the bike. they arent usually shown on the website because we rotate through them too often.

Most our demos are GX or X01 builds with carbon wheels if so desired (we have a couple sets of ENVEs kicking around and can pull a santa cruz set off another bike if need be).

By August we may have a Ransom in size medium (not sure if we have sold last years yet), but will definitely have a 2020 hightower (moar better than hightower lt), 2020 tallboy, Genius, GT Sensor, and Fuel EX 9.8 in a size medium. You are also welcome to ride my Revved GG Smash (size 2) if you want to one of the days.

 

[jdcamb]

One issue that I am finding is that the closest place to rent a decent bike will be in Frederick.

Thats OK. Pretty Cool place.

 

[rideit]

we differentiate between our "rentals" and our demos. demos are priced a little higher $75/day or $150/3 days (i can friends and family a week out of the 3 day rental if you need me to) and are structured that if you buy a full sus mtb you get your demo fee back towards the bike. they arent usually shown on the website because we rotate through them too often.

Most our demos are GX or X01 builds with carbon wheels if so desired (we have a couple sets of ENVEs kicking around and can pull a santa cruz set off another bike if need be).

By August we may have a Ransom in size medium (not sure if we have sold last years yet), but will definitely have a 2020 hightower (moar better than hightower lt), 2020 tallboy, Genius, GT Sensor, and Fuel EX 9.8 in a size medium. You are also welcome to ride my Revved GG Smash (size 2) if you want to one of the days.

Wow, this is even better than I expected. There might/will be some beer flowething your way if we can get this together. I *probably* will only have one day to ride, how do you feel about dawn patrol so I don’t get divorce papers served on the trip?

 

[zdubyadubya]

Wow, this is even better than I expected. There might/will be some beer flowething your way if we can get this together. I *probably* will only have one day to ride, how do you feel about dawn patrol so I don’t get divorce papers served on the trip?

the earlier the better, especially in friggin August.

 

[rideit]

Damn tootin’. I’m skeered of the afternoons, it rarely gets above about 85 here with 10% humidity. I hear the rocks can be slippery/slimy in the humid?

 

[canadmos]

I hear the rocks can be slippery/slimy in the humid?

Just don't use your brakes.