Sunrise and flexposts

Dark. Cold. Must have coffee.

So I rode to Friday Coffee Club.

I followed the white ball created by my headlight. If felt as if I were going fast but speed was an illusion caused by my small field of view.

I could see a burgeoning sunrise through a thin layer in the cloud cover.

When I arrived at the bump out of the Dyke Marsh bridge on the Mount Vernon Trail the sunrise was just beginning. The amber side light from my headlight dominated the view.

I continued along until I came to a small cove just south of the city of Alexandria. The river was glowing red, reflecting the new day’s dawn.

Ahhh. That’s more like it.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. I managed to get across the national mall and around the Washington Monument without running over the anti-abortion people who were walking en masse to their rally at the Lincoln Memorial.

Coffee Club was quite crowded. I noticed that my leg and back lasted about ten minutes before the ache came. Fortunately, I managed to garb a seat and staved off pain.

As most of the gang headed off to work, Rudi and Big Ed lingered. Chatting about the Beatles, national politics, the DC City Council, and testimony styles.

We adjoined at 10:30. I made my way back down 17th Street. At a stop light I chatted with a man who was putting on his coat as he waited to cross the street. It was such a good little discussion that he nearly missed his chance to cross.

I made it across the mall again respecting the protesters’ right to life despite the fact that they were walking five abreast on the paths near the Washington Monument. Near the Sylvan Theater, two priests were walking rather slowly toward the event. They seemed to think their Roman collars would protect them for the morning chill. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The two padres would have really been miserable before the sun had done its thing. The temperature was about ten degrees warmer for the ride home. In Alexandria, I stopped at a hardware store to stock up on  chemical hand warmers. I put them in my shoes to keep my feet warm. (The toe and feet warmers aren’t nearly as useful.) They only had MEGA hand warmers. I’ve never tried them. Good thing I have MEGA feet. I hope they are MEGA warm.

The last seven miles were uneventful, but for some unsubtle new infrastructure on the trail. The entrance to the Mount Vernon Trail at Northdown Road has always been a problem. Motor vehicles would wander down the trail from time to time. Drivers would soon realize they were not where they belong. I’ve guided a few as they backed up to the entrance.

A single flex post was intended to keep motor vehicles out. It’s been replaced many times as delivery vehicles and the occasional wayward driver knocked it over. So now the National Park Service is getting serious. Two flex posts!

Coming from the north (the direction of this picture) riders have to slow to squeeze by the posts without slipping off the trail. Trike riders will have an even tighter fit.

I give these posts about three months before they are lying on the side of the trail.

Nice try, though.