Mount Vernon Trail

I have a love-hate relationship with my bike.

When I finish a work commute on the bike, I feel fab -- but in the midst of the ride, when I feel like Frogger, dodging swerving taxis and flung-open car doors in the hopes of not being flattened along the Massachusetts Ave pavement... well, suffice it to say, not so fab.

But I need to get over that, and fast, before winter approaches and I have good reasons to send my bike straight to voicemail when it calls.

Luckily for me, Adam's dad fixed up one of his bikes and sent it here for Adam, arriving to our condo building in a hilariously large box. Now that he has a bike to ride, he's been helping to motivate me to use mine. This past weekend, we went for two rides, both of which were the longest ones I've been on yet. On Saturday morning, we rode down Capitol Hill, through the National Mall, over the Arlington bridge, down the Potomac a short way, back over the 395 bridge, and back through the mall to head home.

On Sunday evening we drove our bikes down to the Mount Vernon Trail, which is 18 miles total extending from Roosevelt Island near Rosslyn all the way to Mt. Vernon itself (although we rode a smaller stretch of it). Right on the water, mostly shady, through lots of greenery -- pretty damned popular for 6PM on a Sunday, and with good reason! It was beautiful and peaceful, and we avoided the stress of riding in traffic.

I also found a great bike trails website, which is what pointed me toward Mount Vernon in the first place. A sweet resource for those who bike, run, or like to go for walks but are tired of the same old routes. Time to mix it up!