Here’s a fun escape from the automotive-industrial complex. This loop out of Shady Grove only has a couple of miles of on-street riding. Less than a mile if you take the sidewalk on Crabb’s Branch.

There’s a bumpy, steep utility corridor trail; a few smooth, shaded miles on the Rock Creek Trail; then some old grassy pavement and gravel around Lake Bernard Frank. The singletrack starts at the Kengla Trail, which seems to have seen some love from M.O.R.E. in the last couple years and is in incredible shape. The North Branch Trail is not quite as silky, but still quite rideable. The Agricultural History Farm Park has a lot of grassy trails, which are bumpier than they look but worth it for the scenery.

Gear notes: some rooty and rocky bits, so bring your biggest tires (32s will be fine though you may have to do a bit of pushing). Also some sidewall-slashy-looking rocks, so if you’re bought into the whole supple tire thing like me, make sure you’ve got a spare tube and something to boot a sidewall.