Tag: Rock Creek Trail

Natchez Trace Tour Prep – Going Long

With warming temperatures it was time to put on some shorts and go long. I’m still not completely over my cold but I have to take advantage of this weather while I can.

On Monday I rode The Mule into a stiff headwind for about 27 miles. My route was flat for the first 15 miles, using the Mount Vernon and Rock Creek Trails. Most of the rest of the ride was the gradual uphill to Bethesda on the Capital Crescent Trail.

I stopped at a trailside rest area just before Bethesda Row and had a packet of Belvita breakfast biscuits. 230 calories. Then I continued northwest past the National Institutes of Health and through North Chevy Chase.

I took a right on Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park and followed it all the way back to Georgetown where I retraced my route back home. All told I rode 54 1/2 miles. It was nice having a tailwind for the second half. I realized that 230 calories is nowhere near enough so I made a mental note to up my food game.

Monday was a rest day. I tootled around the Fort Hunt area where I lived for 20 miles. I felt sluggish before I rode but as soon as I started pedaling my body was, you might say, in gear.

My original training plan was to do 50 miles, rest, 60, rest, 70 rest. Today the weather was pretty darn good. Sunny skies with temps up into the 70s. So off I rode, once again following yesterday’s route to DC. This time, however, the wind was at my back. After a cheese sandwich snack, I left the Capital Crescent Trail after a couple of miles and climbed the steepish hill away from the river to MacArthur Boulevard. I took MacArthur six miles west, including the grind over the reservoir complex. At Persimmon Tree Road I left MacArthur and climbed. After about a mile the road transitioned to rollers, just the kind that can wear you down. At River Road in Potomac I took a left and headed west. River Road has a series of challenging hills that are definitely granny worthy. Just when I thought I had run out of gas I came to Seneca Creek where I took a left and rode to Rileys Lock on the C&O.

To get to the towpath I crossed over the dry canal. I hadn’t counted on the sides of the canal being so steep so I didn’t have enough momentum to crest the far side of the ditch. I came to a stop and planted my right foot. I knew I was in trouble. It was just too steep. As I swung my left leg over the bike to dismount, the bike and I slid and we toppled over to the right. I heard a “SNAP” on impact. After feeling utterly foolish for falling, I got it together and pushed the now-upright bike onto the towpath.

After a few hundred yards I was happy to see that my fall hadn’t damaged the rear derailer. All my gears worked just fine. The snap faded from my thoughts. I pedaled aggressively down the towpath, now into a headwind, several miles back to Great Falls Park where I stopped to eat my PB&J sammie and reload my water bottles.

Rather than continue down the flat towpath, I climbed about a mile out of the park back to MacArthur Boulevard. The climb is very much like those out west, anywhere between one and four percent grade, requiring more persistence than strength. One thing I noticed is that my climbing form had reverted to the mechanics I used so successfully in my cross country ride in 2018.

Over the top I rode with the big metal things down the windy wooded slope. This is one of my favorite stretches of road in the DC area. Once at the Old Anglers Inn, the road levels out. Now I had to grind away for about 27 miles to get back home.

As I rode I munched on my last packet of Belvitas, stashed in my vest pocket. I could tell that I was starting to flag when I had to re-cross the hill at the reservoir. I was pooped.

Just keep going.

When I arrived at Gravelly Point Park I stopped to finish off my Belvitas and watch a few planes land into the headwind. While watching I felt something odd about my right break lever. As it turns out the snap that I heard during my pathetic flop was a piece of plastic trim on the brake lever. Other than protecting the inner workings of the lever from rain, I don’t think it has much of a purpose. I guess I try to find a replacement somewhere or, failing that, attempt a superglue repair.

The broken plastic bit. Annoying!

The last 11+ miles were a slog but I made it home in one piece just before the sun set. The middle of my back was pretty achy (it felt fine while riding) so I took an Advil. I’m going to slide my saddle back a smidge to see if that helps.

My total mileage today was 77 1/2. That’s the longest I’ve ridden since late July and easily the hilliest ride I’ve done since the 50 States.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I go to the eye doctor and maybe get a Covid booster. (I need to check with my insurance to see if they’ll pay for it.) And maybe I’ll bring my bike to some shops near home to see if they have that plastic brake part.

As for this evening, I will eat like a Conehead. Mass quantities.

A Lot Can Happen in 61 Miles

Today was my first ride over 60 miles since the last week of September. It was also my 19th day in a row of riding and 11 days in a row with over 30 miles. My weapon of choice was Big Nellie, my long wheelbase recumbent.

My travels took me about 30 miles northwest to Potomac Village, Maryland. Along the way I passed Old Town Alexandria, a decommissioned power plant, National Airport, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Kennedy Center, the Georgetown waterfront, historic Glen Echo Park, and a series of neighborhoods that grew posher by the mile. So many gorgeous houses. So much stellar landscaping. A suburban aspirant’s wet dream.

Along the way on the Capital Crescent Trail I spotted a sure sign of spring in DC. A dozen or more cormorants were perched in leafless trees overhanging the Potomac River. They wait there to pick off bass that are swimming upstream to spawn.

For a couple of miles I rode the rolling hills past the famous golf course of Congressional Country Club. This course has hosted four grand slam events since 1964. I haven’t played golf since the Nixon administration but I know an elite course when I see one. Dang.

At Potomac Village I turned back toward the river on Falls Road. After a ten minute break to devour a peanut buttered bagel, I rode the winding, wooded downhill on MacArthur Boulevard, north out of Great Falls Park. On a recumbent this is pure street luge.

Lunch stop

I re-traced my route back to Georgetown. Along the Capital Crescent Trail I was startled by a beefy looking hawk that swooped down in front of me and cruised about 15 feet above the path until it flapped its wings and climbed up through the trees and back toward the river.

All day I was seeing vultures surfing the winds, turning long graceful arcs as they searched for carrion to feed on. Vultures are so beautiful in flight and so ugly up close. At one point I spotted an enormous vulture doing its acrobatics along the river bank near the power plant. It was being shadowed by a much smaller vulture, a young one learning the tricks of the trade.

One advantage of riding a recumbent is the heads up riding position. You see so much more than when riding a conventional bike. Near Dyke Marsh I searched the trees for the bald eagle nest near Belle View Boulevard. Before I saw the nest, I saw a huge bald eagle perched high in a tree. It was standing guard over the massive nest immediately below it in a crotch in the tree. Pity the squirrel that gets too close to that nest.

My legs were pretty well spent when I arrived at home. 61 miles in the books.

When I went in the house and walked downstairs my left knee gave me a stabbing pain and buckled. Oops.

Maybe I should take a day off.

Nah.

Five Buck Bikeabout

Yesterday’ weather was fantastic.  Good weather for goofing off is also good weather for getting stuff done around the house. Sorry to disappoint you, my friends, but I chose responsibility over slacking.

I mowed the lawn and painted the shed. Most of the painting had already been done by Mrs. Rootchopper during the week but I took on the tedious chore of painting the trim. Four plus hours of pure fun. Not. When I was done I reloaded the shed with all the stuff. It’s good to be back to normal, but my efforts were rewarded with lower back pains.

So I started the today with my usual noga (My wife says it’s yoga, I say it’s back exercises so let’s just call it noga, okay?). After that I languished on my deck reading the Sunday paper. Had I stuck around it would have been tea and buttered scones but I decided to go on a recon ride to DC. I am riding my ninth 50 States Ride in a month and need to find a parking spot near the start. (It’s not too late to sign up. You have to be a WABA member, or come as the guest of one. )

So off I rode to DC on the Mount Vernon Trail. It was busy, mostly with tourists on rental bikes. You can tell because they gape at all the stuff I see every day. On the Dyke Marsh bridge I caught up to a bike tourist. We had a ten second chat from which I learned that he is riding around the perimeter of the 48 contiguous states. He started in Minnesota and is riding counterclockwise. So he’s already been from midnight to three o’clock. The ride will take him 14 months. Go dude! (I found his journal when I got home over on Crazyguyonabike.com. The journal notes say that he also took a side trip to Hawaii and dropped down into Mexico for a few days.)

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After ten miles of weaving around the rent-a-bikers, I made it into DC and headed for Rock Creek Park. Along the way, I spotted a cricket match because this is DC and DC is eclectic as fuck.

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The weather was nearly as good as yesterday. The park side trail is being refurbished and looks great for most of the way from Georgetown to Military Road. At one point, people were gathering along the trail to look into the creek. Five bucks were making their way across the creek. The road crossing had all us bystanders holding our breath. I think they made it across without incident. (The picture shows only the southbound half of the road just after a merge to the left out of frame. The grassy median is wooded and wide. They had to make it across another two lanes of northbound traffic after that.)

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I made it to the new Klingle Valley trail which I had ridden downhill recently. Today, I slogged up the hill. I kept my breathing and effort constant and had no trouble making the climb. Of course, neither would you at 7 miles per hour.

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Once i reached the top, I check out some of the local streets for parking. As long as you are willing to ride a mile (or less) to the start of the ride, you’ll have no trouble finding a place for your metal fart barge (Colin made me say that.)

After the recon was over, I rode to Meridian Hill Park for no other reason than it’s one of my favorite places in DC. The water cascade was dry earlier this summer but it is now flowing in all its glory. The park is built into a hill. Looking down from the top (near the swordless statue of Joan of Arc) the cascade is pretty. Looking up from the base of the park, it is just WOW! And it sounds so soothing you could sit beside it all day canoodling with your canoodle-ee.

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Mon Dieu! Ou est mon epee?

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Cascade from the top of the park

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Cascade from the bottom of the park

I thought it would spoil the vibe if I started canoodling with myself so I made my way home down the 15 Street cycletrack. This was a mistake. It took a really long time. I could have been bombing down 16th Street instead. Riding in a cycletrack in DC feels like you’re in a video game. People, ubers, delivery vans, dogs, and other random stuff seem to appear. You’ll never score enough points if you don’t pay attention.

The ride home was a breeze. Literally. I took a side trip through Del Ray for a change of pace. After 40 miles, I didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. I’m ready for my tour, Mr. DeMille.

Some more pix of my ride are on my Flickr page.