Bethesda, MD · mostly separated · mixed

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (Maryland)

180.1 mi Out-and-back 1050 ft gain

180.1-mile mixed route with 1050 ft of elevation gain, signed as part of the regional cycle network, route reference “C&O”, mostly separated from motor traffic.

Live · updated Nov 7, 3:37 AM ET

Today's verdict

Workable day to get the road bike out.

54°F air — right in road cycling's sweet spot
16 mph wind — noticeable — pacing will shift with the wind.

67 /100

good

67 Road

69 E-bike

Best for e-bike riding today

Route map

Orange marker is the start. Click the map to enable scroll-zoom — the polyline is approximate; use Ride with GPS or Komoot for turn-by-turn.

Atmosphere

Air temp

54°F

Mostly Cloudy
Wind

16 mph

NW
Rain

1%

Next 24h: 0.00"
Air quality

AQI 18

O3 · Good

Surface & daylight

Pavement

dry

mixed surface
Sunrise

6:42 AM
Sunset

5:02 PM

805 min remaining

Best time today

9 AM looks best — 50°F · 13 mph NW wind · mostly sunny. 10 AM is a close second (71/100).

4 AM

47°

Mostly Cloudy

10 mph NW

5 AM

45°

Partly Cloudy

9 mph NW

6 AM

45°

Mostly Sunny

8 mph NW

7 AM

44°

Sunny

10 mph NW

8 AM

46°

Sunny

12 mph NW

9 AM Best

50°

Mostly Sunny

13 mph NW

10 AM

53°

Mostly Sunny

12 mph NW

11 AM

55°

Mostly Sunny

12 mph NW

12 PM

57°

Mostly Sunny

13 mph NW

1 PM

58°

Mostly Sunny

13 mph W

2 PM

59°

Mostly Sunny

15 mph W

3 PM

59°

Mostly Sunny

16 mph W

4 PM

57°

Mostly Sunny

16 mph W

Wind on this route

16 mph headwind outbound — expect a 16 mph headwind on the return.

Currently 16 mph from the NW (315°). Relative to this ride's overall bearing, a quartering headwind.

Leg 1 Bearing 300° · headwind 5.1 mi
Leg 2 Bearing 329° · headwind 4.3 mi
Leg 3 Bearing 300° · headwind 5.5 mi
Leg 4 Bearing 277° · quartering headwind 5.7 mi
Leg 5 Bearing 309° · headwind 5.5 mi
Leg 6 Bearing 27° · crosswind 5.1 mi
Leg 7 Bearing 344° · headwind 4.6 mi
Leg 8 Bearing 316° · headwind 5.2 mi

Elevation profile

4206 ft gain 3629 ft loss Max 876' Min 36' 132.6 mi sampled

Score breakdown

54°F air Right in road cycling's sweet spot

+10

−

16 mph wind Noticeable — pacing will shift with the wind.

-6

−

Quartering headwind 16 mph headwind outbound — expect a 16 mph headwind on the return.

-4

Pavement: dry Clean dry pavement — maximum grip.

AQI 18 Clean air

Advisories & nearby alerts

NWSTest Message

About this route

Distance: 180.1 mi one-way (double for round-trip)
Elevation gain: 1050 ft
Surface: mixed
Shape: Out-and-back
Traffic exposure: mostly separated
Activities: road cycling · e bike
Cycle network: RCN · route C&O
Start: 38.9364, -77.1172
City hub: Bethesda, MD
OSM: relation 1392951

Description sourced from OpenStreetMap relation tags and member-way geometry.