[bobco85]

Oops, forgot to post my pics; enjoy!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

@Greenbelt 163892 wrote:

Courtesy county planning dept. What’s wrong with this picture?

Lack of curb ramp!

[bobco85]

Located off Ohio Dr SW in East Potomac Park next to the 14th Street Bridge is a marble urn with Spanish text written on it (location: https://goo.gl/maps/KzYCvFM9GQz). It is called the Cuban Friendship Urn, and it’s had quite a little journey.
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The history of the urn dates back to the tragedy that was exploited to start the Spanish-American War. At 9:40 p.m. on February 15, 1898, the US battleship Maine was at anchor in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, supposedly there to monitor Cuban protests against Spanish rule. An explosion occurred, killing 260 US sailors on board. The cause was never determined, but it was thought to be a mine, mechanical malfunction, or even a Spanish torpedo. This occasion was used in a rally cry of “Remember the Maine!” throughout the Spanish-American War.

After the war, a monument was built in Maine Square in Havana, but it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1926. The monument was later restored, but in the 1960’s when US-Cuba relations soured, an inscription was added to it saying, “To the victims of the Maine, who were sacrificed to imperialist greed in its fervor to seize control of the island of Cuba.” Cuba salvaged a marble column from the monument and carved it into an urn. It was then presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1928 when he visited Cuban President Gerardo Machado. Coolidge would be the last President to step foot on Cuban land until President Obama’s visit. Pics from Coolidge’s visit, different sides of the urn, and a translation of the text:
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When it arrived in the US, it was placed within view of the Jefferson Memorial in December 1928, but it would go on a different and mostly undocumented journey throughout DC before finding its current resting spot.
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When the 14th Street Bridge was set to be built, the Cuban Friendship Urn had to be moved. Where was moved is unknown, as rumors exist including one that it was moved to the Cuban embassy but later removed and thrown away in the 1960’s. However it happened, the urn was lost to history for decades.

Then, in 1996, the Washington City Paper started an investigation of the urn’s whereabouts. This led to the National Park Service stating that the urn had been “in storage,” but an anonymous person reported that a memorial specialist found the urn lying on its side in Rock Creek Park near the NPS’s old headquarters. It was repaired for $11,000 and placed in East Potomac Park in 1998 where it now stands.

[bobco85]

Based on previous rides out there (we went by there on my Silver Line ride), I would recommend this route: https://goo.gl/maps/bdUoSFhikWE2

The route uses mostly paved side paths on Ffx Co Pkwy Trail, Fox Mill Rd, Frying Pan Rd, Fox Mill Rd (again), and Sunrise Valley Dr.

Also, should you be curious, you can continue north about a half mile on Sunrise Valley Dr to see the construction of the future Innovation Center Metro station on the Silver Line.

[bobco85]

I have news that I am excited to share concerning the Arlington Historical Bike Ride: I recently finished creating a guidebook for the ride that contains maps, directions, and info for each stop! The guidebook is a PDF file formatted so that folks can either print using the booklet setting in Adobe Reader (booklet size is half a sheet of paper per page) or put on their phones/tablets/phablets/etc.

I will bring a few printed copies* to Hump Day Coffee Club tomorrow morning, and sometime tomorrow I will post the link to the PDF file (stored on Google Docs for now) so that others may download and print as they wish.

I will make one of these for the Alexandria Historical Bike Ride, too.

* – had to learn how to use a manual combing machine, but it worked out quite well

[bobco85]

After some research, I have a more specific date for when Battery Cove (named after Battery Rodgers which was used during the Civil War) was filled to make space for the ship-building operation: 1911-1912.

Another little tidbit: President Woodrow Wilson drove the first rivet (nearly botched it) in a ceremony marking the opening of the ship-building yard on May 30, 1918.

[bobco85]

@lordofthemark 163663 wrote:

Despite her (dare I say typically millenial?) strong concern with rights for all regardless of gender identity, she remains, Princess of the Mark

My bad, but really I am happy because it gives me the ability to post this (I’m a Legend of Zelda fan):
[video=youtube_share;3D5tkAUNFa4]https://youtu.be/3D5tkAUNFa4[/video]

[bobco85]

@drevil 163657 wrote:

What’s a POTM AND QOTM and why do they have to be all caps?

Gotta up your abbreviations game! Prince Of The Mark and Queen Of The Mark. However, it doesn’t make sense (should be Lady Of The Mark if we’re being technical here, but that obviously wouldn’t work as it has the same abbreviation as for Lord Of The Mark), but I’ll leave lordofthemark to explain this discrepancy 😎

[bobco85]

I propose a new name for the GW Parkway which better describes its use since people certainly aren’t driving on it to enjoy the parkland around them: GW Speedway.

[bobco85]

Liked because this seems like a friggin’ awesome way to get Streetview for local trails which will really help people with planning routes and finding their way on unfamiliar trails.

Disliked because I don’t have any time to do this but I REALLY WANT TO CONTRIBUTE. Expect to see a bunch of this popping up in the Seattle area come late September 😎

[bobco85]

@Judd 163544 wrote:

Rode to Jones Point to check it out. Couldn’t find a sign about the fill but there are lots of signs about the World War I shipyard.

A few pics of the interpretive signs:

That’s awesome!

I think I missed actually stopping to read those info signs, but I love seeing the image of Jones Point with open sky. It’s interesting to see how even a century ago, the place looked completely different. Thanks for posting the sign pics!

[bobco85]

I am unable to attend, but I’ll put this out there for folks coming from Tysons as a reference for an easy way to get to Wolftrap from the Spring Hill Metro on the Silver Line. You can use the following route to get from one to the other: https://www.strava.com/routes/9938309 With this route, Wolftrap is only 2.5 miles from the Metro which makes it very accessible.

I realize now that it won’t be very useful on a weeknight due to Metro’s policy against bikes on trains during rush hour, but it could be useful for folks heading back to DC/MD after the show. It’s definitely useful on the weekends, too.

Enjoy the show!

[bobco85]

At the south end of Alexandria off the Mount Vernon Trail where budding cyclists go to learn cool skills, the original southern boundary stone of the District sits, and Native American artifacts over 9,000 years old were discovered, the wide area betrays its past as a thin marshy cape known as Jones Point. (map is from 1863; full version here: https://lccn.loc.gov/91686261 – note the darker area to the north labeled as “Quagmire impassable”)
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Jones Point gets its name from Calwallder Jones, a frontier trader who set up a trading post there in 1682, decades before the city of Alexandria would be founded. It is also referred to as Piper’s Island in an old Fairfax survey map from 1746 because at high tide, water would cut off land access from the mainland.

I was unable to determine when the marshy area around Jones Point (UPDATE: it was called Battery Cove, named for Battery Rodgers which was used during the Civil War) was filled in to help create part of the waterfront, but my best estimate is that it occurred between 1900-1915 (UPDATE: it occurred between 1911-1912). Here are some images showing the area as it transformed from 1862-present day:
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Construction on the nearby Woodrow Wilson Bridge finished in December 1961, and the area has never been the same since then. Image is of the old span (new bridge was completed in 2006) from 1994 with the Jones Point Lighthouse in view.
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Lastly, here’s a bit of trivia: a portion of the Wilson Bridge actually sits in DC. If you are on the Wilson Bridge Trail crossing east from VA into MD, you will technically be in DC while passing between roughly the 1st and 2nd lookout points.

[bobco85]

After checking out schedules and travel time, I will only be able to bring one of my bikes for cleaning. I will apologize to my Red Velvet road bike which is not exactly red at the moment, but my City Bike commuter really needs the spa treatment.

@Judd 163524 wrote:

Dislike. Smores are the mortal enemy of the bearded gentleman.

Don’t worry, Judd, I’ll eat your s’more for you (this means I get to have 2 s’mores!).

[bobco85]

(ninja’d by Kitty, how’d you know I was about to type this?) I was thinking about attending this, then leaving with my shiny and clean bike to do the Papillon Cycles Monuments at Night ride. Those thoughts are likely going to turn into actions

I only have one problem: I’ve got 2 dirty bikes, but I only know how to ride one of them at a time. Life is truly difficult.

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