E-biking Breathtaking Country Roads Between Leesburg and Lovettsville

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41482180
34.1 miles. Picnic on the Lovettsville Green (17.7 miles onto the route)
Toilets at the beginning, middle and end.

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This 34-mile ride is roughly 60% gravel roads, and it covers some stunningly beautiful country that will make you think you are in a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Road bikes with super skinny tires will not be appropriate for this ride; that being said, any other tire should be fine.

This ride was scouted on a loaded steel frame cargo bike with 1.75" cyclocross tires, which was completely fine. The key to navigating gravel roads is to take your time, which you will want to do anyway, as you take in the scenery. We are not a speedy group, so this will not be a problem! We wait at intersections for slower riders to catch up, so there will be no pressure to go any faster than you are comfortable.

We arrive at 10 AM and leave at 10:15 AM. The group stops a few times for slower riders to catch up, and we typically average 12 - 15 mph, or slower depending on the terrain.

Mile 0 to 11: Rust Library to Taylorstown. We'll exit Leesburg and enjoy some shaded gravel roads as we make our way to Waterford, VA. We'll sneak past Waterford onto Loyalty Rd, which is a paved road that has many picturesque pastoral scenes. We arrive in Taylorstown, where we can take a quick break before our next leg of the journey.

Mile 11 to 17.5: Taylorstown to Lovettsville. We'll hop back on some gravel roads where we'll bike next to Catoctin Creek, and at some points you may think "How did I end up in the middle of this old farmstead?", but of course we'll be on public roads the whole time. We'll arrive in Lovettsville the back way, where we'll have our lunch break. We'll go directly by a 711, where there are restrooms. There are a number of other places to grab food in Lovettsville, all of which are in view of the suggested lunch stop. If there's any interest, we might stop at Backstreet Brews on our way out, where they have coffee, tea, ice cream, and outdoor seating that is bike friendly.

Mile 17.5 to 27: Lovettsville to Waterford. We'll traverse a mix of gravel roads and paved roads on our way back to Waterford, VA. Waterford is a little historic town that was one of the only towns in VA to be anti-slavery during the Civil War. It's a neat place because the town long ago decided to maintain it's historical look and feel, so expect to ride past old stone houses that were built eons ago. 64% of Waterford's 97 homes were built before 1861. There are a couple wineries around Waterford, so if there's interest, we might check one out.

Mile 27 to 34: Waterford to Leesburg. We'll head back to the parking area on the same gravel roads we started on.

Further reading:

Historic Waterford: https://www.waterfordvillage.org/

Loudoun's gravel roads: https://americasroutes.com/road-list-map/

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