Background
Yesterday was the 2026 edition of the 50 States Ride here in DC. This is the signature event of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association calendar. It was my 18th time and one wonders if I will ever learn my lesson. This ride is hard. It about 61 miles with over 2,800 feet of elevation gain though all areas of DC. The cue sheet is 22 pages long! Because of all the turns, traffic lights, stop signs, and traffic, the ride feels more like 100 miles. Each year the course is tweaked which helps to keep things interesting. The streets are open to traffic but a good chunk of the course is on trails and protected bike lanes and through traffic-lite parks.
The Crew
For the last several years I have ridden this event with Chris, Kevin, and Michael. Michael opted to go scuba diving in Indonesia this year. (He was probably drier than we were.) Sara and Neena joined us as they have off and on in recent years. We were joined by friends Beth, Taylor, Kyle, Mark, Christine, and Chelsea. (I am almost certainly leaving someone out, so let me know in the comments, please.) To a person they were mentally and physically up to the task in addition to being intelligent, witty, and generally nice to be around. (Also, Sara gives out amazing hugs.)
In keeping with tradition, those of us who follow the paper cue sheet instead of the provided GPS file, make at least one wrong turn. I managed to rack up three despite my experience. (Pro tip #1: don’t assume the riders you see down the street in front of you on the course!)
The Warm Up
Although the ride is notorious for its hills, there are long stretches where it is mostly level. The 11 miles to the first pit stop are on the east side of the city. They include a couple of short-ish warm up hills. During this section we picked off Rhode Island, Michigan, South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia. The pit stop was at the new Bridge District development on the east side of the Anacostia River.
The pit stop took a long time because there was only one bathroom for 300, um. coffee drinkers. We were one of the last groups to leave so we knew we’d be near the end of the pack. (Pro tip #2: instead of using the pit stop facilities, use a restroom in one of the National parks.)
Up We Go
Back on the route, we headed up from the river for the first big climbs of the day. We rode up Malcolm X Avenue and then down to Mississippi only to begin a long slog up to the peak of this part of town, mostly along Alabama Avenue. These two climbs amounted to about 450 feet of elevation gain in 4 miles. After a quick taste of Pennsylvania Avenue we rode along the high ground until we descended down Texas Avenue into a traffic sewer on busy Benning Road.
Flat Isn’t a 4-Letter Word
For the next 17 miles we rode on level terrain (Capitol Hill is more of a bump than a hill). We did a couple of yards (no lie) on Minnesota, then back to and across the Anacostia. Re-crossing the river, we wound our way to Maine Avenue in the Wharf neighborhood, picking off Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Delaware in the process.
At this point, I started to feel light droplets of rain. Then it seemed to stop, for a while. Fingers crossed.
We rode into East Potomac Park and cruised nearly four miles on level ground. Half way! Then it was back to reality. A brief cruise along the National Mall took us to Capitol Hill. We rode a circuit picking off Washington on the south side of the Capitol and briefly dabbing on Louisiana at the base of the west side of the hill.
We crossed downtown and, after a few blocks on Indiana, we arrived at pit stop number two. Here, Chris and Chelsea rode ahead and Sara, as she had planned, went home. Onward!
The next seven miles were rolling terrain up through Adams Morgan and Kalorama. As we progressed we picked off New York, Vermont, California, and Wyoming. Rain was starting to fall. Ugh.
A DC Moment
Approaching Embassy Row on Massachusetts, we were beckoned by a woman in traditional dress in front of the Cameroon Embassy. The embassy was having an open house and we were invited in. One of our crew took her up on her offer. As it turns out, he is soon to be stationed in Cameroon for work!
Across Georgetown and the Palisades
We crossed Rock Creek Park into Georgetown where multimillion dollar brick townhomes grow like weeds. We turned right on Wisconsin and, following the directions on our cue sheets, we climb a half mile in rain and very heavy traffic. We were unhappy. And I knew that the cue made no sense. Later we learned that the cue sheet omitted a turn which would have saved us much aggravation. Ultimately we found our way back to the route on Reservoir Avenue which we took two mostly flat miles to Arizona Avenue where the fun began.
To the Heights!
With the cold rain and a breeze, we began the biggest climb of the day. (The Lime bikeshare company offered free shuttles to the top. If you look up “inane” in your dictionary you’ll see a picture of this operation.) In less than a mile we climbed 250 feet, mostly on Arizona Avenue. Huffing and puffing, I made it to the top without an adverse cardio-pulmonary event. (To be honest, I think I had a tailwind but don’t tell anybody.) The crew was waiting for me. Such a nice group of young whippersnappers.
Our efforts were rewarded with a mile-long easy stretch that included Nebraska and New Mexico before we experienced the 150-foot assault on Cathedral Avenue to aptly named Cathedral Heights. Ugh.
Digitally Rolling through Chevy Chase
The ensuing terrain featured a series of mostly short climbs and descents that were interrupted by pit stop number three. With the rain coming down the pit stop crew was itching to pack up. They asked if we were the last riders. Only then did we realize that Kevin had gone missing! He showed up a few minutes later with two Brompton riders that we had been seeing off and on all day. Kevin had also fallen victim to the cue sheet issue in Georgetown so he made the executive decision to use his phone to access the digital GPS file. In any case, my cue sheet was starting to fall apart from the rain.
Our next task was to ride to the highest point in DC at Fort Reno. This took us through the posh neighborhood of Chevy Chase. We covered Nevada and Utah, before descending to Oregon and briefly entering Rock Creek Park.
10 States in the Wind and the Rain
We climbed out of the park and rode on Alaska Avenue, cleverly the northernmost state on the route. We stopped at the last pit stop in a development on the grounds of the old Walter Reed Army Hospital. At this point we were so soggy and cold that we needed to be put out of our misery. Time to roll!
Phone in hand, Kevin expertly led the charge picking off North Dakota, Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, and New Hampshire in four, relatively flat miles before one 150-foot, half-mile climb out of the Petworth neighborhood. At last, we descended to our last state, Hawaii. Book ’em, Danno.
To the Finish
Hawaii felt more like Iceland so without delay we headed to and through the campus of the Catholic University and down 4th Street NE to the finish.
We were given rousing cheers by the finish line crew as we arrived. Despite standing around for hours in the cold and wind, they were incredibly upbeat. Or relieved. Who can say? Surprisingly, they had an ample supply of t-shirts left. This was evidence in my mind, that we were not so much the slowest group as we were the last ones that didn’t quit during the monsoon.
We all decided that going to the post-ride party shivering in wet clothes was not something we featured doing so the crew parted ways. After all, you can only take masochism so far.
Last Thoughts
Course Marshalls: With so much experience, we really don’t need them so they can be annoying. Unlike most other years, however, the course marshals were generally pretty helpful. They made sure drivers were aware of us as we crossed busy streets and were otherwise good natured. Hats off to Ian for staying with us for the soggiest part of the ride.
Safety: Despite the crummy weather, we didn’t see any rider-involved accidents. We had two close calls. Taylor nearly got nailed taking a left turn from the protected bike lane on West Virginia. Screech! Honk! No felony, no foul. He later remarked that it was actually a good thing because it heightened his alertness for the rest of the ride. The second incident came when yours truly started to roll through a signal at an intersection on the way to Indiana. A well deserved honk stopped me in my tracks.
Mecahnical and Medical Issues
Other than an annoying loose fender on Mark’s Brompton and a fidgety clip on Neena’s pedal, we had no mechanical issues.
Chris had planned to abandon the ride when his balky shoulder became too painful. No worries, he did the whole damned thing.
As for me, I have been dealing with an intermittent dry cough. I used my albuterol inhaler (I have mild asthma) and it helped me get through some annoying coughing fits. Alas, after I arrived home I had a super painful leg cramp in the inside of my left thigh. My wife came to the rescue with pickle juice (IYKYK) and a glass of water with a Nuun electrolyte tablet. (Next time I’ll drink more water and dedicate one bottle to Nuun water.)
Friends and Other Nice People
I chatted with several friends during the day. Brian, among many other things a founder of Friday Coffee Club, is usually one of the very first riders to start. We caught him as he checked in. He wanted to finish to meet up with his wife and son in the afternoon. He succeeded. Annette stopped by to say hello. She rode 50 States with us a couple of years ago. She did the 30 miler this year. I see Jeanne at nearly every DC bike event. She is a big supporter of cycling in DC. She has the personality of a born seller which is a good thing since she works for Compass Real Estate on Capitol Hill.
For the second time in three years, an old friend appeared out of nowhere at the third pit stop. Ryan and I haven’t seen each other in years. He and I (and a different Kevin) did a bike tour from Pittsburgh to DC. in 2015. He recently crashed his bike in a race and suffered extensive damage to his collarbone and shoulder. He showed me his surgery scar. Impressive. As was, in an entirely more positive way, his friend Julie.
At the second pit stop a tall rider came up to me and addressed me as Rootchopper. I am sure he has done the same at least at one other event but for the life of me I can’t remember his name or face. (Nothing personal. My fusiform gyrus is defective.) Thanks for saying hello.
The People of DC
In every neighborhood, people yelled encouragement to us. We heard words of encouragement from people on their porches, on the sidewalks, on road construction crews, and, god help is all, from people in cars. I don’t think I heard a cross word all day. Bravo, DC!
The Folks Who Made it Happen
The WABA staff and volunteers did a great job under less-than-ideal conditions. The route designers remarkably avoided any snafus with the unpredictable street closures near the White House.
Constructive Criticsm
Pit Stops: Food was generally rather lame and sparse at the pit stops. It’s hard to tell if this is because faster riders and riders on the 30-mile route are gluttons or if the quantities and types of food need to be improved. (WABA does a much better job of this at the Cider Ride, by the way.) Ditto on the rest room facilities. Riders shouldn’t have to wait 20 to 30 minutes.
Cue Sheets: Maybe I am old school but I much prefer using a paper cue sheet to being guided by a digital device. In my way of thinking. riding is a great way to get away from such nonsense. That said, this year’s paper cue sheet was, to put it bluntly, terrible. Critical turns were omitted. The worst of these was the one in Georgetown. Two states were not mentioned at all: Washington and Indiana. (Having done this ride before I knew where they were but new riders wouldn’t.) Some of the cues were nonsensical. (Left on Wisconsin, Right on Wisconsin, Right on Wisconsin, after the third pit stop, for example. Worse, there is no cue to get from the pit stop to Wisconsin.)
T-shirts: In prior years, late finishers like me sometimes didn’t get the t-shirts they signed up for. This year there were plenty available. I don’t know if this was because of people abandoning the ride or because WABA changed its ordering practices. In any case, I had a choice of sizes to choose from. A better way would be to hand out the t-shirts at the start as is done at the Great Pumpkin Ride in October.
Please, Sir, May I Have Another
Before the day of the event, I thought this year’s 50 States was going finish me. In spite of the weather, I think I did okay this year. 19th 50 at 72? Time will tell.
