Cherry Blossom Ride 2015

What a great day for a bike ride and for viewing the cherry blossoms. For the third year in a row, a group from the bike club experienced a crisp, blue-sky day for the club's annual ride to DC. 

Our group included riders (below, from the left) Andrea Fus, Rueben Cleetus, Matt Friedman, myself, Phil Kemelor, Lloyd Flanders, and Paul Mulligan. Tony Lower-Basch (not pictured) also joined up for a portion of the ride.

Phil, Tony and I left from the Potterton Bridge and met up with several other riders at one end of Bluemont Park, at North Manchester Street near Arlington Boulevard. A slight snafu in directions arose for a couple of riders who followed Google maps directions, which also pointed them to a site labelled Bluemont Park at North Manchester Street, but that one was near Wilson Boulevard, at a point slightly north of our group. You may know how Arlington streets are broken up on the map with several sections of the same named street separated from one another. Nevertheless, a quick mobile phone call and we all eventually caught up together for the ride into the city.

We took the ride at an easy recreational pace, down the Washington and Old Dominion Trail to the Four Mile Run Trail to National Airport, then north on the Mount Vernon Trail.  Before long, we were crossing the 14th Street Bridge and landed right at the foot of the Jefferson Memorial. 

The flowers were at peak bloom, just as predicted by the National Park Service. We locked up our bikes and enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful cherry blossom trees, with the Washington Monument in the background and the blue sky reflecting brightly in the Reflecting Pool. Here are some photos of our day.

Matt, Phil, Andrea and Paul taking a break at Gravelly Point.

In the background, across the Tidal Basin, you can see the Martin Luther King Memorial.

After our time enjoying the scene, the group decided to split up for the return ride, with some heading back on the same trails as the ride in, and the rest of us taking the more challenging return ride up the Custis Trail. I have to say that this trail is not everyone, and I was huffing and puffing to keep up with the stronger riders. My recommendation on the Custis Trail for anyone considering it is to ride INTO the city on this trail, and return via W&OD/Four Mile Run, unless you want a really tough workout ride. 

All in all, a great ride for our club. 

Upcoming rides being considered include rides to Vienna (for Cornish pasties at the Great Pasty Company), Ashburn (for Carolina Bros. BBQ), Mount Vernon, and for the more adventurous (and fit), Great Falls, Virginia. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know. 

Happy riding everyone!

Advocating for the Arlington Boulevard Trail

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is advocating for a continuous trail from Fairfax City to Rosslyn along Arlington Boulevard. I commuted from Annandale Road to Rosslyn along Arlington Boulevard for nearly 10  years, using many of the existing parts of what could become the trail, including the service road and some actual paved pathways, currently only partially connected, that would all be linked continuously with some new infrastructure if funds can be found to support this. 

If you're interested in reading about it or joining in on advocating for it, here is the plan:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/246871046/Arlington-Boulevard-Trail-Concept-Plan

You can follow WABA on it's blog here: 

http://www.waba.org/blog/

Or join to help support  bicycling in the DC area:

http://www.waba.org/

Hope this chilly weather lets up soon.

Larry 

Thinking of Biking...Spring is Coming

Ah, to be out on a bike....warm sunny days...fragrant spring flowers...breezing along the bike trails...it all seems like a distant fantasy, with snow predicted for the first day of spring.

Nevertheless, bike season is beginning. Get your bikes ready with a check up or tune up at your favorite bike shop. My go-to bike shop is Papillon Cycles on Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive. 
http://papilloncycles.com/. 

I will be devoting more time to organizing rides this year and hope to see many of our fellow Lake Barcroft Bike Club members out on the trails with us. 

I recently received a news announcement that the organizers of the 2015 Cherry Blossom Festival predict peak bloom this year from April 11-14. Our bike club was very fortunate in both 2013 and 2014 to have enjoyed terrific blue-sky, warm temperatures on our Cherry Blossom rides, so I'm hoping we'll have a similar experience this year as the 3rd Annual Lake Barcroft Cherry Blossom Ride approaches. I'm planning for this year's ride to take place on Sunday April 12, starting at 9am or 9:30am, depending on which departure point you choose (Potterton Bridge or Bluemont Park). More to come about this, but mark your calendars now.

The warm up, first ride of the season, weather permitting, will be on Saturday, March 28, leaving around 9am from the Potterton Bridge, or 930am at the Bluemont Park parking lot on N. Manchester Street. Make a note on your calendars and save the morning for an easy ride down the Four Mile Run Trail to Slater's Lane in Alexandria, where we can have coffee and treats at Buzz Bakery, or something more healthy at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe just a few doors away. 

The ride is about 9.5 miles from the Potterton Bridge, or 7.2 miles from Bluemont Park. It's just a bit over 45 minutes to get to our destination, riding at an easy recreational pace. Anyone can do this ride. No serious hills (except up Beachway to Mansfield, but many of us are used to this). If you don't like that hill, meet at the Bluemont Park parking lot at the end of N. Manchester Street. 

Let me know if you plan to join us. Don't forget to bring water, helmet, mobile phone, and a spare tube. 

Watch your email for weather updates and postponements/cancelled rides.

I hope to see a good number of you out there with us on the 28th. 

Until then, happy riding!

Larry