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