Catching Up...

I have a few random things and loose ends to address, so, here they are...

NAME THAT CAR

After taking an early lead, the name "E" has fallen into a distant second place behind "The Raft" in the naming poll for my car. I like "E" but I like "The Raft" also, so I think I can live with it. As of now, there is a little bit of time left to vote. If the members are available, I would expect the Executive Naming Committee to meet this weekend.

RIGHT WAY TO ROCK CREEK

On Tuesday, I didn't want a long bike ride, but I wanted to get some hard exercise in before I went out for pizza with my hovel-mates. I decided to re-trace my steps along the Matthew Henson Trail, and see if I could find the proper connection to the Rock Creek trail. I studied the map before I left, and, sure enough, found the right way to Rock Creek. It was a good, fast 10 mile ride, and now I know the way to go next time.

WEEKEND IN THE SADDLE

Tomorrow, I will probably break out the road bike for the first time in ages. Since I'm down 20 pounds in the last two months, I probably won't horrify as many people if I break out the bike shorts as well. Right now, the plan is to throw the bike in the back of the car (The Raft?), and drive down to to Belle Haven Park (just south of Alexandria, Va), and follow the paved path to Mount Vernon.

If you look on the map below, the parking area is the skinny road to the right of both markers for Route 400. The bike trail parallels the George Washington Memorial Parkway to Mount Vernon. From that starting point, it should be about a 16 mile round trip ride - long enough for someone whose buttocks haven't graced the seat of a road bike in a while.


View Larger Map

If you double-click on the map to zoom in, the narrow bike trail is visible just to the right of the long parking lots (you have to zoom pretty closely, but you can see the white dashes painted on the trail to guide and separate northbound and southbound traffic). You can click the link to view a larger map, and navigate around from there to get your bearings.

The trail starts further north, at Theodore Roosevelt Island...

View Larger Map

After a few attempts at shorter distances to get comfortable on the bike, I will do the whole length of the Mount Vernon trail. It's about 30 miles round trip, which is my usual distance when I'm in "training."

I must say, I have already discovered that the George Washington Memorial Parkway makes for a fantastic drive home at the end of the day. It runs right along the Potomac, and, as you drive north,the setting sun on the left hits the Mall across the river on the right, and makes for some stunning late afternoon scenery.

I'm looking forward to it.