Tour de Mount Vernon

Ooohhh, ouch! Stupid saddle sores! I need to get a better bike seat.

But other than that, the ride was awesome.

Today I went on a 45.5 mile bike ride, the last before this upcoming weekend’s 50 mile ride for the Shenandoah Valley Bike Festival. Getting through this bike ride without any trouble would be crucial for my success at completing the 50 mile trip. Last year I over-trained and was almost unable to finish due to a sore/pulled muscle in my left leg. Of course, that’s better than 2006 where I actually crashed 38 miles into the trip!

I should also mention that I now own a road bike, a Schwinn 12-speed made in the late 70s/early 80s. The best part is that the bike is actually my size, so I don’t have to hike the seat up way past the recommended level like on my mountain bike. The shifters are manual levers, so in order to change gears I have to “feel” for the right spot.

My route took me first along the Washington & Old Dominion/Four Mile Run combined trail until I got to Barcroft Park. Then I took to the streets to find the northern end of Holmes Run. I rode along Holmes Run until it ended at Eisenhower Avenue near Cameron Run. I made my way over to Old Town Alexandria where I started on the Mount Vernon Trail with one goal in mind: to make it to Mount Vernon.

With everything being slightly saturated by the morning rain, when I rode in the afternoon everything was nice and cooler with the evaporating moisture. One part of the trail was under construction and detoured off road, which doesn’t go well with road bikes, but the rest was pretty well-maintained pavement.

Once I got to Mount Vernon, everything was pretty closed off to bikes. Haha, there were NUMEROUS signs saying “No Bikes on (insert anything)” so I took the opportunity to take a break, then start my journey along the entire trail. The other end of the trail was 18 miles north at Key Bridge, so I set out to get there.

Along the way I passed again through Old Town Alexandria, then made my way to Reagan National Airport where I stopped to take a break at the northern end of the airport known as Gravelly Point. There I could relax for a bit and watch the planes fly just overhead as they landed. After that break, I biked up to Key Bridge and to the eastern end of the Custis Trail to finish the last few miles of the journey.

The last few miles were hard, as the Custis Trail is littered with hills and slopes downward towards Key Bridge, so my work was cut out for me. With my legs getting tired, I had to make a couple of extra stops to catch my breath, especially after each hill attack (as per my style). As the sun set, I turned my bike light on to illuminate the path. Eventually I found the west end of the Custis Trail, which is a junction with the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, and a mile later and a not-so-bad (this time) double hill, I was home.

My legs may be a little sore, but I know I’m in control for this weekend. Bring on the hills and valleys of the Shenandoah Valley!