The Start Line area is located near the West Potomac Park on Ohio Drive SW, just south of the MLK Memorial at 121 West Basin Drive SW, Washington, DC.

There are two entry points to the Start Line: the first entry point to the Start Corrals is located at the intersection of Independence Ave SW and West Basin Drive SW, and a second entry point is at the intersection of Independence Ave SW and Ohio Drive SW at Ericsson Circle.

Drop-off Zone: When navigating to the Start Line, please reference the map in this page to view the location of the “drop-off zone” – between 18th St NW and 23rd St. NW, on Constitutional Ave NW. Important: Roads directly surrounding the Start Line, including Independence, will close at 6:30am, so plan accordingly.

Transportation to DC Bike Ride

The following directions will get you to the vicinity near the Start and Finish Lines. Please note that on the day of the event, streets directly surrounding the Start and Finish lines will be closed for the event. Also note that it is a 1.5 mile, 10 minutes bike ride directly from the Finish Line to the Start Line.

  • Heading to the Start Line? Use West Potomac Park, 121 West Basin Drive SW, Washington, DC as your destination.
  • Heading to the Finish Line? The Finish Festival address is: 500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565

NOTE: For parking recommendations, click here.

  1. Follow 395-N towards Washington, DC (non HOV lanes).
  2. Enter the District of Columbia and cross the Potomac River via the 14th Street Bridge
  3. Use the second from the right lane to stay on I-395 N.
  4. Use the second from the right lane to take the 12th St exit toward L’Enfant Promenade.
  5. Slight left onto 12th St Expy.
  6. Turn left onto Constitution Ave NW.
  7. Continue straight to stay on Constitution Ave NW, and find parking or head to your reserved spot.

  1. Follow 66 east towards Washington, DC
  2. Cross the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and stay left for 66 East/E Street
  3. Use the right 2 lanes to take the exit toward US-50 E/Constitution Ave NW
  4. Continue onto US-50 E/Constitution Ave NW, and find parking or head toward your reserved spot from there.

  1. Head southwest on Baltimore-Washington Pkwy
  2. Keep left to stay on Baltimore-Washington Pkwy
  3. Follow 295-S towards Washington, DC and enter DC
  4. Take exit 1B-C toward I-695/Route 395/Downtown and keep right to continue onto I-695
  5. Use right lane to merge onto I-395 South
  6. Yes the right 2 lanes to take the Maine Ave exit
  7. Keep right at the fork and follow signs for 12th St and merge onto 12th St Expy
  8. Turn left onto Constitution Ave NW and continue straight to find parking or head toward your reserved spot from there.

Metro does not begin running until 7 AM, so please plan accordingly as all riders need to be in their respective corrals by 7:45 AM. Visit wmata.com for Metro’s bike policies and schedule. The closest Metro stations to the start line are between 1.5 and 1.9 miles away (10-15 minutes by bike):

  • Foggy Bottom/George Washington University – Orange/Blue/Silver lines – 1.5 miles from start area
  • Farragut West – Orange/Blue/Silver lines – 1.6 miles from start area
  • L’Enfant Plaza – Green/Yellow lines & Orange/Blue/ Silver lines – 1.9 miles from start area
  • Smithsonian Station – Green/Yellow lines & Orange/ Blue/Silver lines – 1.5 miles from start area
  • Farragut North – Red line – 1.9 miles from start area

We encourage you to get a few extra miles in and bike to the start! Make sure you plan out your route in advance and give yourself plenty of time the morning-of so you arrive in the start corrals before 7:45am. Google Maps has a great biking directions tool!

We scoped out the best bike routes to take to the start! Check out our suggested bike routes from around the region HERE.

The above routes should all be open during DC Bike Ride but all road closures are subject to change and are at the discretion of public safety officers. For road closures, click here.