If you’re looking for a unique local bike tour in Washington, DC, here’s an idea.

Christopher Barr developed a terrific list of locations with accessible fossils embedded in Washington’s architecture at http://dcfossils.org/index.php/

So I put together this map, which presents the locations in an order that can be followed for an educational afternoon ride around downtown, together with notes on the era of the fossils and links to the web pages describing them.

You can take your bike on Metro to Columbia Heights and start out from there, then reboard after riding at Smithsonian or Capital South.

1) Sacred Heart Church, 16th St NW & Park Rd NW, Washington, DC
2) Unification Church, 16th St NW & Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC
3) National Zoo Reptile House
4) Mitchell Park, 23rd St NW & S St NW, Washington, DC
5) Georgetown French Limestone, 33rd and M St., N.W., Washington, DC
6) International Finance Corporation, 2121 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
7) Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St NW, Washington, DC
8) Tidal Basin, Independence Ave SW & 17th St SW, Washington, DC
9) National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC
10) Art Deco building, 1101 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC
11) Salem Limestone, 1700 14th St NW, Washington, DC
12) Labor Department Retaining Wall, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC
13) National Museum of the American Indian, 4th St & Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC
14) Rustic Salem Limestone, 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
15) National Gallery of Art, 6th & Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC
16) Reflecting Pool at Capitol Building