Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-26

| ~ <H/ con the road" and
~HI for these the keenest
joys of wheeling are
| in store. The asphalt is very smooth and
| nice, but until you are bowling along a
good country road, breathing the pure air
and hearing the boom of hard tires, you
are mere beginner.
In the District and Maryland there are
| few good roads. and this neglect is the
more surprising when consideration is
taken of the army Of tourists to the ma
tional capital. From north and south, east
| and west wheeling parties make their way,
and Washington is generally counted upon
as a stopping place. The northern riders
complain that our roads are the poorest
| they ever met with; the southern wheel
men compare them with the worst of Vir-
ginia roads.
| Some of these northern highways are as
| hard and smooth and level as racing tracks
and extend for miles through country dot
ted with suburban towns and fine resi-
dences. PEOPLE think nothing Of driving
| in carriages from thirty to fifty miles a
day, and northern farmers haul their
| heavy loads with half the power required
| in southern states.
Yet the rational capital, the center of in
| terest for the country, the Mecca Of tour
lists and bridal parties, the home of many
| Of our law makers, is approached over fifty
| to hundred miles Of the merest apologies
| for roads.
But in spite of tie average poor quality
of our roads. there are many pleasant
short rides to be had, and to those of the
| new riders who are not acquainted with
| the surrounding country the following in
| formation about these roads and where
| they lead may be Of interest:
The Famous Conduit Road.
Undoubtedly the best road in the vicinity
| is the Conduit road, beneath which lies the
| six-foot mains supplying Washington with
| water from Great Falls. The entire
length is only about ten miles, and the
| approach through Georgetown and along
the Canal road, rather rough and I'M
| pleasant. but once at the distributing res
| ervoir, on the heights beyond George
| town, the rider has before him a hard,
| level road, rough only in portions, and
| forming a very pleasant afternoon ride.
| The road is cut in the side of the chain of
| Hills overlooking the Potomac. Winding
| around the base of these hills. it is at no
| time more than mile from the river, and
equal to that of the Hudson. Ten miles
| from the reservoir, at the Anglers Asso-
citation Club House, the macadam ends,
and to the right a fair dirt road extends
three miles to the Great Falls.
To Tenleytown.
| Another pleasant ride is over the Tenley-
town road-reached by way of street to
|
nue. and Woodley lane. Probably the for
mer route Is the easier (although either way
| steep grade must be climbed) and offers a
fine view, from Tunlaw Heights, of the
Potomac valley and the Virginia hills.
| About a mile from Woodley lane, going
| toward Tenleytown, the Loughborough
| branches to the left, and running west leads
| to the Conduit road, via the FoXhall and
Chain Bridge roads. From Tenleytown a
branch to the right leads to Chevy Chase,
and the return can be made by way of
Connecticut avenue extended.
Twelve miles from Tenley town lies Rock
vile, reached over a miserably rough
pike ESQ called. For the past ten years
| this road has consisted mainly of humps,
hollows washouts, ruts and boulders as
ing wheels. But unless you are an eX-
perienced rider and know how to spare
your machine you had better leave Rock
willie to its rocky Businesses and the test
ing of wheels to the manufacturers. If
the owners of property abutting on this
road could only realize to what a vast ex-
tent land values depend upon road con-
ditions they would remedy this state of
affairs
Pleasant Circuits.
The Chevy Chase road or Connecticut
| avenue extended offers one side to a num-
Der of pleasant circuits. The road bed is
good in dry weather, ard an excellent path
has been worn on each side close to the
car tracks. To be sure, the hills are rather
numerous, but the rider will find that the
difficulties decrease with each trip. and
there is no better practice for the develop
ment of wind and muscle than hill climb
ing. To obtain the best results on such
roads there should be no coatsing, the
momentum acquired in the rapid down hill
pedaltng being a very important factor
in climbing the following hill The stretch
of five miles from 18th and Boundary to
Chevy Chase Club House makes an ex-
cellent short-dstance training ground for
road racers, the electric cars serving as
good PAGERS.
At Chevy Chase circle turn left to TenIey-
town and thence to the city. by way of
| Georgetown; or turn right to Broad Branch
road, e Rock Creek road and In through
Mount Pleasant; or, again, turn right and
| cross country by way of the Military road
| to Brightwood and to the city over 14th
street road.
Along Rock Creek.
Another good run is out through Mount
Pleasant to the Linnean road to Pierce
Mill; turn to the right at the mill and fol-
low the Rock Creek road, which winds
along the banks Of the creek. Half a mile
up begins the Broad Branch road, to the
left.
These two roads are among the most
picturesque around Washington. The old
Argyle mill, now in ruins, stands silent
and bare about mile above the junction
OF the Rock Creek and Broad Branch
roads. Here the creek makes a sharp
| turn to the left, and Is lost to sight, mar
| rowing and doubling back on itself. Re-
turn to the Broad Branch road, and fol.
low this to Grant road; turn left, past the
Children's Country Home and straight on
across Connecticut avenue to the Tenley-
town road.
Out Seventh Street.
The Seventh Street road was once In very
fine shape. 1t is now dusty, rough ard
full Of holes. Still, the worst part can be
avoided by taking Fourteenth Street road
TO Brightwood; then continue north to
Silver Spring (on the Metropolitan branch
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad). seven