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By Andrew Baxley <baxlap@msn.com>

One of the great adrenalin rushes of inline skating is charging downhill. Here's a sample of a dozen hills of the Washington, D.C., area (in no particular order):

  1. Massachusetts Avenue NW between Garfield Street and Rock Creek Drive: a long medium to steep grade that can be one of the area's most exhilarating downhills, provided one can get the right sequence of traffic lights.
  2. Cleveland Avenue NW between Calvert and Garfield Streets: an old standby featuring a long medium grade that's useful for both ascents and descents. Good for upper intermediate skates.
  3. Fulton and Normanstone Streets and Edgevale Terrace NW between 34th Street and Rock Creek Drive: A long, somewhat steep downhill on a narrow, shady backstreet. Not recommended for use with large groups, but fine for a group of 15-20 upper intermediate to advanced skaters.
  4. Cathedral Avenue NW from Wisconsin Avenue to New Mexico Avenue: another long, steep one that can be scary for less experienced skaters.
  5. Rockwood Parkway NW from Massachusetts Avenue to Glenbrook Road: a spectacular blast through a shady fairly wealthy neighborhood. Beware, however, of the abrupt end of the run.
  6. 13th Street NW between Clifton Terrace and V Street: a steep grade in a rough neighborhood with a busy intersection at the bottom. Figure out the timing of the traffic lights at V and U Streets before even thinking about taking a group down this one.
  7. 19th Street NW between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road: a steep climb into Adams Morgan which is good for taking skaters to the upper reaches of northwest DC. Not recommended for use as a downhill.
  8. Ontario Road NW between Euclid St. and Florida Avenue: a medium grade on a backstreet that's useful for taking skaters downhill from Adams Morgan. Be careful about traffic on Florida Avenue.
  9. Independence Avenue between 2nd Street SE and South Capitol Street: a downtown perennial that's useful for taking groups from Eastern Market back to the Mall area. Be careful about the traffic signals at the bottom of the hill.
  10. Clarendon and Wilson Blvds from Highland to Lynn Street, North Arlington: a lengthy suburban blast that takes us home from hinterland hops. Be careful about the traffic signal at Lynn Street.
  11. 20th Street from Arlington Ridge Road to Hayes Street, South Arlington: a straight medium grade on a backstreet that rewards the parallel climb up 23rd Street.
  12. Lorcum Lane from Military Road to Fillmore Street, North Arlington: a wide, vertical run with a lengthy runoff that culminates in a climb to Fillmore Street.