Disclaimer: This recap of our 45-Mile White’s Ferry Sugarloaf Tour contains affiliate links…

 

Climbing a Mountain, but First Let’s Ride a Ferry

To say that I was excited to ride White’s Ferry across the Potomac River from Virginia to Maryland for the first time after living in Loudoun County for 36 years is an understatement. When Bill and I heard that there would be a ride from Leesburg, Virginia to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland on Saturday we wanted to join in on the fun, but with a 10:30 AM start it would cut into our whole day. Instead, we planned a very similar route and started at 9 AM. A beautiful fall day was on our side and we started our ride with the temperature at 52° and rising rapidly with a clear blue skies and the sun beaming down on us.

Traffic was light as we rolled through Leesburg and up usually busy Route 15 until we turned onto the road leading to White’s Ferry. Once at the ferry dock, we waited as it made its way to the Maryland side of the river before returning to ferry us across the Potomac River – it’s a bargain at only $2 each way per cyclist. Once in Maryland, we enjoyed riding through beautiful yellow and orange tree tunnels and past farms of all sizes as we made our way to Sugarloaf Mountain.

Our 1.5-mile climb up Sugarloaf Mountain was much easier than I anticipated – Sugarloaf is a relatively low mountain that’s only 800 feet higher than the neighboring farmland. Cruising behind cars traveling around 6 MPH has its perks, and one of them was a huge boost to my morale when I had to slow down for the cars. That climb slowed our overall speed down to 13.8 MPH, but I felt really strong which was a nice improvement over my last few group rides.

Once we summited the mountain, the rest of our ride was an easy cruise back to Virginia as the temperature slowly climbed to 76°.

 

Ride Overview
  • • Ride Name: 45-Mile White’s Ferry Sugarloaf Tour
  • • Location: Loudoun County, Virginia, and Montgomery and Frederick Counties, Maryland
  • • Start/Finish: Loudoun County High School, Leesburg, VA
  • • Course Type: loop with a tail
  • • Course Surface: paved
  • • Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
  • • Distance: 45 miles
  • • Time: 3:18:30
  • • Average Speed: 13.8 MPH
  • • Elevation Gain: 2,579 feet
  • • Elevation Range: 182 to 981 feet
  • • Temperature Range: 54° to 81°
  • • Ride with GPS: Link to turn-by-turn navigation cue sheet
  • • Course Map:

 

Fun Pictures From Along the Way

With my GoPro (affiliate link) attached to the front of my bike and Bill’s GoPro (affiliate link) attached to the front of his, we captured most of the following pictures from along the course… A few of the pictures were taken with my phone while stopped…

Cruising out of Leesburg…

 

Waiting for the ferry…

 

Leaving Virginia as we rolled onto the ferry…

 

Our view as we crossed the river…

Photo credit: Amy

Rolling off the ferry and into Maryland…

 

Cruising toward Sugarloaf Mountain…

 

Arriving at our destination…

 

Starting our climb up the mountain…

 

Relaxing at the top while taking in the sights and snapping photos…

Photo credit: Amy

Western view…

Photo credit: Amy

Off the mountain and heading home…

 

Back on the ferry on our return trip…

 

Back in the Old Dominion…

 

Garmin Stats

Post-ride Garmin (affiliate link) picture…

 

Garmin map and graphs…

 

Final Thoughts on the Ride

It’s always fun to ride with our Dawn Patrol friends and it was especially great to have a couple of my women’s cycling club friends joining us. One can never have too many friends, especially when out enjoying a beautiful fall day.

I would do this ride again in a heartbeat and would love to do it next spring when the trees are just beginning to pop. Local peeps, let me know if you’d like to join me!

 

Questions:
  • • Have you ridden a ferry? ~ My first time was riding the Staten Island Ferry at Bike NY
  • • Do you still have fall colors or have the trees dropped their leaves?
  • • When cycling, would you rather climb or ride downhill?

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.