What a fantastic day for bike riding. Temperatures in the 50s in the morning and in the 80s in the evening. Perfect. Except…

Good weather brings out everybody. I mean EVERYBODY. There were traffic jams in several spots along the Mount Vernon Trail.

I thought I passed Ed. Ed lives down near me and goes to Friday Coffee Club. He was messing with his bike. I wasn’t sure it was him so I didn’t roll over and say hello. Later he blew by me without saying hello. It was him. Tit for tat.

Later, near National Airport Kathy came flying by. She can sure motor, so to speak, on her commuting bike. Soon after Kathy came the sound of rubber gribbing the trail. It was the guy on the big electric bike with its grippty mountain bike tires. He goes about 20 miles per hour. With ease. Beats sitting in traffic.

Opposite the monuments I saw a bike lying in the grass under a tree. It’s rider was cooking something with a burner and a pot. I think he was making coffee. Is this a great country or what?

Pedal. Pedal. Trance.

Soon I was at work. What a way to ruin a bike ride.

On the way home the warm air hit me as I left the garage. Then I felt a blast of cold air coming out of a garage I passed on Lynn Street.

The trail on the ride home was even more congested than in the morning. Adding to the fun were the Lancelots. These are grown men in overly tight bike shorts that show more anatomical detail than I care to expound upon. They have no regard for anyone’s safety as they ride very fast and weave in and out of the trail traffic putting everyone in harms way.

I could have seen more of their anatomies but the tree pollen count was in the billions. My eyes were caked with the stuff. It may sound like I am complaining but I will take pollen over the frozen noo noos of February any day.

I stopped to check out the eagle nests. The two biggest ones are now all but completely obscured by leaves.

I made it home practically flying blind. I work from home tomorrow. I’m going to miss my commute.

Today was the annual Tour de Cookie ride in Montgomery County Maryland. This 42-mile ride is a fundraiser for The Tree House Child Assessment Center. According to its website, the Tree House “is dedicated to reducing trauma and promoting healing for child victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect.”

I met up with my frequent riding buddy Lisa and we were joined by Paris, who has a distinctive Twitter handle (@turtledub616). As the hyperlinks make clear each of us blog about our biking adventures. We are also Twitterholics so the ride involved plenty of down time to post things to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Flickr.

Before we set off, I made sure to rendevous with Shannon, the writer of one of my favorite blogs. Shannon’s blog chronicles her adventures in parenting Sprout, her toddler son. Shannon is a gifted writer and reading her blog takes me back to the days when my kids were Spouts. I highly recommend it.

I had never met Shannon before so it was a pleasure to finally so. She was volunteering as a marshal for the short ride (something like 13 miles). I also met her mother and, tada!, Sprout himself.  He’s one cute little guy.

We set off under puffy white clouds. I rode Little Nellie, my Bike Friday New World Tourist. At the start I wore a vest to ward off the early morning coolness. We began in a maze of office parks in Gaithersburg before riding south into the beautiful hills south of Poolesville and west of Potomac. It took a while to get loose but just as we did we hit the first cookie stop. Yes, every so often, there was a pit stop with friendly people staffing a table festooned with an array of cookies. And they were free to the riders.

Munching ensued.

Once the temperatures warmed I took off my vest and enjoyed the perfect, dry air. Our team of twits rode the hills without complaint. Frankly I was pleasantly surprised at how the hills didn’t faze me in the least. I passed people all day long going up hill. This NEVER happens.

Our route curved back to Poolesville and eventually to Germantown and Gaithersburg. As we did, the automobile traffic intensified. Most dirvers were patient with the packs of bicyclists. Most means that some were aggressive dorks. I didn’t see any cyclists get hit and only saw two cyclists fall, one from being unable to unclip from her pedals and the other hit a curb somehow. Both were unharmed.

As I noted above the ride features cookies at pit stops. For the first 30 miles these are spaced out at five or six mile intervals. We felt obligated to stop and try the different varieties of cookies. Each stop had a different array of goodies. After about five stops, the cookie thing wore a bit thin. Economists call this the law of diminishing marginal utility. At stop seven we went into the wrealm of negative marginal utility. This had to happen eventually especially in light of the fact that the last 12 miles had a cookie stop every two miles or so. You can only eat so many cookies you know. Really. I never thought I’d write those words. I suppose I could have eaten a few more but they ran out of insulin after the seventh stop.

The last 12 miles of the ride were on Rockvilles Millenium Trail. While I am sure this is a nifty way to run errands and get around Rockville for everyday purposes, I could have done without this section of the ride. There are so many driveways and intersections to deal with that it quickly became a pain to deal with. The ride is a figure eight, the second loop of which is this trail. I am pretty sure that most riders simply cut out the last 12 miles and went to the finish which was visible at mile 29.

We finished in about five hours. I have no idea how much riding time was involved but we probably spent over an hour talking and tweeting at various stops along the route. I am especially glad to have done this ride because I haven’t ridden on some of the roads south of Poolesville in ages and now I am itching to go back. The ride also proved to be a good test of my fitness for the Pittsburgh to DC ride I am doing in a week. I’d say I am ready to roll!

Finally, I am grateful for the splendid weather, the enthusiasm of the many volunteers who pulled this event together, the company of three friends, and, of course, the cookies.

Here are some pictures I took. Here’s Lisa’s account of the day.

Well, I certainly picked up the pace in April. I rode 741 miles and rode my bike to work 20 times. I only did 121.5 miles of weekend riding spread over 6 days, including the long ride of the month: 48 miles to Bethesda Bagels and back.

It really helps that the roads are no longer covered with ice and snow. And that the weather has ever so gradually become spring like.  In addition to commuting my bikes became social machines. I used my bikes to ride to see the cherry blossoms four times. I also got back into riding to Friday Coffee Club. And for the second time I rode to a Nats game. (Bike valet is the best idea EVER!) I even rode to two happy hours. (Don’t try this at home.)  I also rode my bike to the car dealer, the physical therapist, and to local shops. My car is a really awesome driveway ornament.

The Mule is by far my best bike for ice and snow so it was nice to give it a rest and switch over to Big and Little Nellie for a change. I only rode The Mule three times to work. Big Nellie was my commuter for six rides. And Little Nellie did the remaining 11 trips to and from beautiful downtown Rosslyn.

So far this year I have ridden 2,167 1/2 miles. 74 percent of that riding has been to and from work on 52 commutes.

I feel so good I have been shopping for a new bike, my first new bike in about 7 1/2 years. It will essentially replace The Mule which will become my bad weather bike. The Mule has served me well. When I think about it, I am astounded that it has outlasted three cars I’ve owned. Not bad for a bike on clearance sale. It’s swan song will be the Pittsburgh to DC ride I am doing in about a week.

Riding a bike in DC can bring you sights you might never see. There were scores of pictures from my #bikedc friends and me of cherry blossoms this week. Yesterday morning I rode Big Nellie so that I could get a better view of the bald eagle nests on my way to work.  At the Tulane nest, I spotted a bald eagle as it hopped out of the nest and perched on an adjacent branch. I pulled over to get a picture but by the time I had my camera ready it flew away. One flap, two flaps and off it went banking hard to the right into the thick of the trees along the trail. It banked left, then right again swooping among the trees. It put on quite a show. The rest of the way was just one fine ride to work. It’s that time of year.

After work I rode through the city to meet up with a friend for a beer (or four). I was a little freaked out about the prospect of riding Big Nellie in rush hour city traffic, especially in light of the fact that the Speedplay Frog cleats on both my cycling shoes are worn out. I managed to clip and unclip without incident but I did nearly get doored from the left side. A passenger hopped out of a car into the bike lane I was riding in. Had I been a second or two slower he’d have hit me with the door for sure.

I met up with Katie (@flyingovertrout on Twitter – don’t ask) at the Right Proper Brewing Company. It was a nice night so we sat outside at a picnic table. Katie had her back to the Howard Theater next door to Right Proper. Some sort of event, perhaps a fund raiser, was being held in the theater. Limos kept pulling up and the rattle-your-jewelry crowd was popping out of them. Then I look up and there is Colin Powell with Alma, his wife. They posed for a formal picture in front of a backdrop in front of the theater. Katie and I had fun swapping stories about random encounters with famous politcians. Fun fact: our national leaders buy TVs and drink alcohol just like their constituents.

After a couple of hours, Katie led me down 7th Street. She being a city dweller rides the streets like the eagle in the trees. I was having considerably more difficulty clipping in and out. And the sensitive steering of my recumbent seemed even more so. Katie peeled off for home and I managed to ride through the city unscathed. I even avoided getting hit by a slow moving cab that did a u-turn in front of me near Pennsylvania Avenue. (“What are you doooo-ing??!!!!”)

I took the empty Madison Drive along the mall to 15th and the Washington Monument. Soon I was cruising around the Tidal Basin and on to the 14th Street Bridge. Once in Virginia I had the treat of riding in the dark on a 60 degree night with the Mount Vernon Trail nearly all to myself.

Today’s ride featured no bald eagle sightings on the way to work. I did notice that the big birds that were hanging around the Belle Haven nest had white bellies which means they are probably ospreys not eagles. It was so nice out in the evening I did two loops down to Hains Point in DC on the way home. After my little diversion I rode south on the Mount Vernon Trail where I passed the year’s second northboung bike tourist. In Old Town, the bike advocates were out reminding cycists to stop at the intersection of Union adn King Streets. Unlike the other day, I managed to unclip and avoid embarrasment.

At the Tulane nest I stopped to check out the back end of an eagle. It was sticking out of the edge of the nest, flapping from time to time. Unlike the Powells, he refused to pose for pictures.

As I watched the Nationals game, I replaced the cleats on my bike shoes. Maybe now I can ride without fear of an Arte Johnson moment.

Today was a pretty amazing bike commute. I had recently started to ride a less direct route from my house to the Mount Vernon Trail. Previously I would ride a diagonal route and pick up the trail at Tulane Drive, about two miles south of the beltway. This route is the shortest and has a fun downhill on Park Terrace. My new route picks up the trail about a mile or so further south at the stone bridge (Alexandria Avenue). I pass up the fun downhill but get to check out the Morningside bald eagle nest.

This morning there wasn’t any action at the Morningside nest. Another three quarters of a mile further north, I passed a cyclist who was riding slowly and craning his neck to look up into the trees next to the trail. I looked up and spotted a big eagle nest. This one is the biggest of the four I know about and may be bigger than the hard to spot nest in Fort Hunt Park. The cyclists said the nest was definintely occupied with eaglets so I can’t wait to check it out some more.

The rest of the ride in was splendid. The weather is really sublime these last few days. As I do every year, I rode into the city and walked around the Tidal Basin where the biggest crowds gather to check out the cherry trees in bloom. Today was the very last day of peak blossoms. The walk as always did not disappoint. It’s hard to take a bad picture of the cherry blossoms. I thought I had done well, but my friend Emila came down later in the day and took pictures that blew mine out of the water. Unfortunately she doesn’t have a public account that I can link to so you’ll have to take my word for it.

After 8 plus hours of work or something resembling it, I headed back to the city for a ride in East Potomac Park. The road to Hains Point is lined with blooming trees and it is also a favorite place for after work cycling. The traffic on Buckeye Drive at the western end of the Hains Point loop was gawdawful. Once I cleared the backup I rode to Hains Point alone. Along the way I could clearly see that driver after driver was on his or her cell phone, sometimes talkng, sometimes taking pictures, sometimes texting. It’s a wonder nobody got hit. At the point I failed to notice that Ryan was yelling “ROOTCHOPPER” at me. He was there having a picnic with his wife.

As I I reached the turn to head for the point a second time, I spotted Chris and Dave hanging out. Soon Rudy joined us and we headed back to the point. Despite their conversational pace they nearly dropped me. They slowed a bit to allow me to catch up.

After the second lap I headed for home knowing that I had a strong headwind to deal with for 12 miles. Yesterday’s 48 hilly miles were zonking my legs. I stopped to take the above picture of the bald eagle nest. A passing runner said there were eagles at yet another nest on an island in the river. This is NUTS!!! Four nests in three miles. I am not entirely sure that these were eagles and that the nest was an eagles nest but I’ll see if any of my readers can figure it out from this picture.

The only downside to todays’ riding was the fact that I learned that Mary, Aaron, Brian, Ricky, Megan, and Katie were all down in the same area at about the same times I was. How I missed so many #bikedc peeps I’ll never know.

In two days I’ve ridden 89 1/2 miles. I am a tad tired. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. To save my legs, I’ll bike commute from the car dealer in North Arlington in the rain.

Here are more pictures from today’s ride.

Yesterday was Mrs. Rootchopper’s birthday. Right on schedule the two young men from the Hybla Valley Nursery delivered her weeping cherry tree. It replaces a dead silver maple transplanted last year. Since I had to plant the cherry tree alone (Mrs. Rootchopper had to work. Don’t get me started on her employer!) I had pretty much one shot at getting the heavy root ball into the hole. The nursery folks advised widening the hole that I had already dug. So I did. Then, with fingers crossed, I dropped the root ball into the hole. PEFECTION!!!! My father’s gardening gene really helped I think.

In celebration I took the holy sweater to the dry cleaner. After that I drove to get Mrs.RC some candy and flowers.

Then I mowed the lawn.

While I was doing all of this, I was also doing three loads of laundry. And I didn’t shrink anything. (I lost 6 socks but nobody’s perfect.)

Last night I watched Boston U, my alma mater, play for the national championship in college hockey. They score four goals. Providence College scored three. Providence won. BU’s goalie inadvertantly kicked the puck in his own net.

I needed some outdoors therapy. So this morning I put Big Nellie on the back of my car and drove to The Plains Virginia for some country riding. I rode up Bull Run Mountain. It wasn’t bad. The ride down was very steep in spots. I would have loved to let it rip but the road is not in the best condition so I had to feather my brakes often. There were stone fences and horses and mountain vistas. The trees have not quite leafed but there were flowers and blooming trees and blossoming shrubs and hills. Did I mention the hills? Recumbent bikes don’t much like hills. Going up them at least. Neither do my glass knees. If you want to do street luge you gotta climb the hills.

Spin, spin, spin. 

Yeeeehah!

Repeat. About 20 times.

During the fun I missed a turn because I was using a 10 year old cue sheet. So much for my 44 mile day.

I rode into Middleburg and Marshall and Rectortown and Atoka, in declining order of excitement.

But I really wasn’t after excitement. I wanted a nice long, not-too-hard, ride during which I could contemplate nothin, enjoy an earworm,  and sing badly and get a halfway decent workout. Misson accomplished.

I regret to report that I neglected to get an OBS (Obligatory Barn Shot) or a OCS (Obligatory Cow Shot). This means that I will get a black mark from Mary the Randonista. I deserve it, I’m afraid.

Tomorrow I plan on hitting the tidal basin on the way to work. Not literally as it is filled with water. I am going to walk around it under the cherry blossoms as long as they are still in good shape. Based on the 2,798,345 pictures I have on my social media feeds I suspect I will get a decent show.