my first

[lordofthemark]

I have now ridden my first donotlaughatmeforcallingitaquartercentury.

I decided to do the trails, and go for miles.

16 bus to Col Pike and the W&OD. W&OD to 4MRT to MVT all the way to MP 0 at Mt Vernon. That alone was probably as long as I have ridden without a stop longer than 10 minutes (took a break at the Torpedo Factory) Rested for 20 minutes with other bushed cyclists at MP0. Then gathered the courage to bike back to Old Town, where I stopped for froyo. Then back on Cameron Street to King Street Station, then 29N bus back to Annandale.

Grand total of 28.9 miles (not counting to and from the bus stops in Annandale which would push it just over 29)

oh and I made progress toward commuting – wife and I agreed I should just go ahead and pay the $8 every two weeks for the fitness center at work which gets me the showers (“and you can get upper body workouts too, right?”)

Topic

[KLizotte]

Many congrats! A major accomplishment, esp in this heat and on trails which I’m sure were super busy. We may have passed each other in Old Town since I went by the Torpedo Factory and down Cameron to pick up Commonwealth. If I’d known it was you I surely would have waved at least.

Too bad the biking is sucky around Annandale and you can’t just bike around where you live; what a pain having to take a bus.

[PotomacCyclist]

I remember the first time I rode down to Mount Vernon. It’s a good challenge for a new cyclist. I had brought a couple gels or Clif bars with me that day, along with a water bottle. There were two guys who had also ridden there from DC or Arlington. They were slightly panicked because the concession area had already closed for the day. They were semi-desperate to find food or water before heading back. He was asking me about nearby stores, but as that was my first time there, I had no idea about them.

I could tell that he wanted some of my gels/Clif bar, but I only had just enough for my ride. I definitely didn’t have enough for three people. I was also a beginning rider so it wouldn’t have been good for me to give up all of my food to someone else who hadn’t planned properly.

Congratulations.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@KLizotte 57762 wrote:

Too bad the biking is sucky around Annandale and you can’t just bike around where you live; what a pain having to take a bus.

Hey now, I live in Annandale and bike here every day.

[lordofthemark]

I DID bike in Annandale – to the bus stop I’ve biked to the library, the Safeway, and, in one misadventure, to Enterprise Rent-a-car. And once in a while I will ride to the Cross County and go either way on it. But for my weekend rides my preferences are either to get urban vibe, or to get miles, and neither is really that easy on the CCT. Also my wife likes to walk with me on the CCT (esp the part between LRT and and Pickett) so I’m kind of bored with that section of trail. I might one day try to ride the CCT down to Occuquan.

If the County ever gets around to striping some bike lanes east of the beltway, I would use them. And when I get better on hills, I will enjoy riding on Hummer, Americana, etc more.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Nice job! I remember my first (and only) ride to Mount Vernon….it was not long after I started riding and was similarly challenging for me, particularly as that hill toward the end was big compared to what I was used to, so it sounds like you’re progressing well. These days, I avoid the MVT as much as possible, particularly south of the Beltway…for cruising I just head west on the W&OD.

[Nubbs]

Congrats! Keep at it and you will one day be saying I just did 50 miles and feel like I can go our and do more.

I do MVT all the time, its a great challenge especially the last 2 miles leading to the end.

[JimF22003]

There’s at least one fairly safe, easy way to get from Annandale over to the W&OD heading west if you’re interested. I use it as part of my commute. Starting at Hummer/Gallows:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2871618

[lordofthemark]

@JimF22003 57792 wrote:

There’s at least one fairly safe, easy way to get from Annandale over to the W&OD heading west if you’re interested. I use it as part of my commute. Starting at Hummer/Gallows:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2871618

I might try that – I think it avoids the part of Annandale Rd I dislike most. I will compare that to the route up by the hospital – which I’ve taken to Mosaic, but not all the way to the W&OD. But the 401/402 bus is the most frequent local bus around here, so the temptation will still be to take the bus and get more miles on the W&OD instead.

[Author]

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