First off, thank you to everyone who was able to make it for at least part of the ride; it was a lot of fun! Luckily, the weather changed from overcast in the morning to the sun coming out in the afternoon, so we avoided the scattered thunderstorms that were in the forecast, so that made things a lot nicer.
We met up at East Falls Church Metro, and it was clear that amongst the greys/silvers that we wore, LeprosyStudyGroup in his shiny silver gloves, shirt (later converted into a stylish cape), and leggings (?) best exemplified the spirit of Silver Surfer for the ride. Riding to McLean along Westmoreland, we were joined by a fellow cyclist for a little bit before he peeled off.
When we rode through Tysons, I made sure to have everyone stop on the Route 7 bridge over the Beltway and count the number of vehicle lanes that surrounded us. Just remember, even with 22 lanes of traffic, people are still saying they need more lanes! I also made sure that everyone paid attention to the pedestrian and bike-friendliness of the Tysons area, which is improving yet still has a long way to go from its car-oriented design. We found the Tysons Biergarten which is next to the Greensboro Metro but almost completely inaccessible because of road closures for all the construction. Our last bit of Tysons-area riding involved a route I recommend for easily accessing Wolftrap from the Spring Hill Metro before jumping onto the W&OD.
Once we got to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro (current end of the Silver Line), we were met by Chris W who had ridden from Sterling to track us down. We bidded adieu to Chris W, komorebi, and Bob James and continued on to check out the future Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles Airport, Loudoun Gateway, and Ashburn Metro stations.
On our ride, as we passed from Arlington into Tysons into the outskirts of Fairfax County into Loudoun County, the amount of bike awareness held by local drivers and number of ped/bike infrastructure dropped (it really is on a spectrum). Soon, we were having drivers on one lane roads stay behind us, unaware they are allowed to cross the double yellow when passing in VA. There were a few incidents where people beeped at our group for committing the cardinal sin of getting in THEIR WAY on a three lane road. We formed into a car to fill a lane on Old Ox Rd which provided better visibility and protection. I did give a loud RING! which actually worked when we were stuck behind a driver at a green light who was engrossed in his phone. We even stopped at the AOL office which had a personalized crosswalk sign featuring the person icon from AOL Instant Messenger.
Once we got to Carolina Brothers BBQ (where Chris W was waiting for us, stalking our ride), the heat and humidity were getting a little more intense. The heat index was up to 93 degrees (F), so core body temperatures were higher than normal. Our group down to Nadine, LhasaCM, and I, we took a break and hydrated ourselves before heading back along the W&OD.
All in all, I had a great time, even though I did worry that I had thrown folks into uncomfortable and unsafe situations given some of the roads we had to take, but I am glad everyone enjoyed themselves. Hopefully, everyone also found some good ideas for future rides through this and learned about a lot of the new stuff coming in the next decade. Pics to follow.
(left) the starting group at East Falls Church Metro; (right) LeprosyStudyGroup modeling his silver-themed outfit with stylish cape on the aptly-named Fashion Boulevard in Tysons
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(left) riding near Clarks Crossing on the W&OD; (right) the group after meeting with Chris W at Wiehle-Reston East Metro
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(left) near Dulles Airport, we encountered a motorcycle convoy with police escort; (right) the group having made it to the future end of the Silver Line: the station will be called Ashburn Metro but is located at the new town center called Loudoun Station
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(left) Carolina Brothers BBQ pulled pork sandwich with cornbread, mac ‘n’ cheese, their super delicious baked beans, and a classic Cheerwine that makes me smile inside; (right) after everyone else died off like in most scary movies, Nadine and I got this shot on the W&OD close to Bon Air
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@Judd 161585 wrote:
Sweet. I’m awaiting Bobco to announce the “Let’s bike the Alexandria underground poo tunnel” ride in his continuing Let’s Bike Some Piece of Infrastructure Rides.
I’m working on a couple of group rides for July and August, so stay tuned!
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