April flowers bring…

Nothing says Spring quite like the beauty of flowers and blossoms on a warm, sunny day. Right? That was the idea when the minds at the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) thought up the Bloom Ride, 20-mile meander through the lovely trails and lanes of Arlington, Virginia. Here’s the elevator pitch: Happy bicyclists enjoy sunshine and warm breezes as they pedal past endless tulips, azaleas, and other colorful flora.

Sadly, WABA doesn’t have an elevator so they could only hope for the best. What we got for today’s ride was cool mid-50s temperatures with intermittent light rain. Whoopee!

Oh, and thanks to global warming, our early spring was exceptionally warm, meaning that the tulips and azaleas did their blooming thing about a week ago. Our floral booby prizes were soggy roses and wisteria. And beds of dirt and mulch. I don’t suppose calling this the Wet Mulch Ride would have brought in much in the way of donations though.

We met up at the recently renovated Franklin Square Park in downtown DC. This park is an absolute gem. It must be jammed at lunchtime during the week.

Chris showed up. Then Monica. We waited for Domitille and Timothee but, alas, Domitille was felled by Covid and decided not to come and infect us. Well played, mademoiselle.

Before leaving, we made the rounds of the various soggy tents under which WABA employees and volunteers ignored the gloomy weather and cheerfully saw to our various needs: food, bike repairs, stickers, fake tattoos and more. Under one such tent was Erika whom I hadn’t seen in ten years. Big hugs and smiles. I mentioned how I remember her little girl Charlotte when she was around five-years-old. Erika laughed, looked to her left, and nodded at the pretty teenager peering out from under the hood of a rain jacket. Charlotte! Ack! She’s taller than mom! I’m so old. (By the way, Erika hasn’t aged a day. Sucks, doesn’t it?)

After Charlotte put a temporary tattoo on my cheek, I joined Chris and Monica and we began the ride. We took the 15th Street cycletrack down past the Tidal Basin (cherry blossoms peaked weeks ago) then over the river to the Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial on the Mount Vernon Trail. (They have memorials for every thing. It’s a shame they took down the Navy-Tailhook Memorial.) Fun fact: the Memorial is on Columbia Island which is actually in DC.

The Memorial is surrounded by a circle of tulips. It’s really stunning. Or was. Last month. Today it was surrounded by a circle of lovely brown mulch.

Under the Parkway, through the scenic parking lot we rode. Once in Lady Bird Johnson Park we came upon a cute site: a Canada goose was sheltering a scrum of goslings under its hind feathers. The goslings were all shivering and pecking at one another.

We rode across a wooden bridge into Virginia and along the roadway around the scenic Pentagon Parking lot. We left the acres of glistening concrete to follow Washington Boulevard past the site of the 9-11 attack. Then we rode onto Columbia Pike and along the sidewalk past Arlington Cemetery. Are we depressed yet?

After a brief return to the Columbia Pike traffic sewer we turned on a side street and began to wend our way on neighborhood paths and quiet streets past lovely small homes that would cost $1 million less in any sane real estate market. The homes were nestled in endless azalea and flower gardens. All past bloom, of course. I used to run through this area back when I lived in Arlington and had cartilage in my left knee. Even past peak in the rain it’s a gorgeous place to be.

We rode through Columbia Gardens Cemetery and stopped for a selfie. Afterwards we realized we were standing in front of the gravestone of Senator Robert Byrd, God’s gift to West Virginia. He served in the Senate for over 51 years. We continued through North Arlington and made our way down the Bluemont Junction Trail past the site of a house that exploded over a month ago. No lie.

The Bluemont Junction Trail took us to the Washington and Old Dominion Trail. We left that trail to ride through Bon Air Park which has a lovely rose garden – not bad – and the most amazing hill of azaleas -no blossoms. Sad face.

Next we took the Custis Trail back toward DC. We rode past Erika and Charlotte’s house. Dad Geoff and son Henry were no doubt somewhere inside like sane people. We forged ahead to the Ballston neighborhood where we arrived at a pit stop at Conte’s Bicycle shop. Last year I was surprised to see my friends Mike and Jesse volunteering here but this year they stayed dry. Instead, Sara, whom normally rides with us, was volunteering in the rain. She is the most energetic, enthusiastic person you’d ever want to meet. She gave us massive hugs. It was great to see her.

Buoyed by Sara’s energy, we began the ride back to DC through more lovely neighborhoods. We made our way around Fort Myer where Orville Wright crashed his flying machine, resulting in the death of Thomas Selfridge, the first passenger killed in powered flight. On the eastern side of the fort we entered the grounds of the Netherlands Carillon, near the Iwo Jima Memorial. (I once heard a young radio newscaster refer to this as the “Statue “of the Two Jimas”. I suspect she ultimately found employment in another line of work.)

After taking in some mulch where some lovely tulips once blossomed, we followed a path around Arlington Cemetery and then across the Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. We slalomed through tourists past with the Reflecting Pool on our left and a flag football tournament on our right. One of the teams displayed a banner that said “ZU”. This is a tribute to a Mesopotamian bird god or a the fraternity Signa Delta Rho. Go figure.

After inadvertently crossing Constitution Avenue against a DO NOT WALK sign, I survived to arrive at the Flower Library at the Tidal Basin. They had no flowers, but their wet dirt was interesting.

We returned to the start, soggy and hungry, where dined on lunch boxes from Potbelly. The sandwiches really hit the spot. After our snarf and chat, I headed home, 15 more soggy miles. I pulled into the driveway with another 50-miler under my belt. Little Nellie was rode hard and put away wet as my mother-in-law likes to say.

After a big cup of hot tea, I put on some sweatpants, curled up on the couch, and took a nap. Free as a bird. Home and dry.

Despite the rain, it was a fun day. It was great to see Erika and Charlotte and encounter the Sara hug machine.

The posse will re-assemble in full force in September for WABA’s 50 States Ride. Stay tuned, y’all.

Thanks to all the WABA folks and volunteers for working in the cold rain all day.