Today was Labor Day and the Washington and Old Dominion trail was fairly well traveled by rollers and strollers, and recreational- and more serious bikers. The weather threatened to rain but held out, and by the time we reached the Capital City, turned into a mellow somewhat sunny Monday morning. Rick and Mariette accompanied me on bike into town and guided me along the W&OD, across the Potomac River to the National Monument and Lincoln Memorial. We cycled around DC, passed the White House, the Capital and onto Central Station from where they sent me on my way to Annapolis.
Within less than an hour after we said our goodbyes, the sky opened up and forced me into my rain poncho from earlier days. The weather front was the result of hurricane Fred, a category three tropical depression, and had been predicted to stay around for the next several days, dropping the temperatures to below normal for the season.
The directions were fairly good for a while, but once crossed into Maryland, the street names and landmarks were no longer congruent with my instructions, making me go into circles. Most of the locals only added to the confusion, but at last I found someone barbecuing on the front porch, who invited me up for some tea and Dutch windmill cookies, and advised me to take highway 450 instead. With more rain coming my way, I decided to chance it. Labeled a snow route, this wide shouldered state highway, with the exception of bridge overpasses, was reasonably safe to cycle. By eight o'clock it was almost dark, and the road was wet and semi-busy with vacationers returning home from their Labor Day outing. I pushed the pedal to the metal and soon found a motel outside the city of Annapolis. A hot shower and a change of clothes was all it took, to forget about the rain and the less than ideal weather conditions during the later afternoon. Altogether it turned out to be a great day cycling the nations capital, with newly found friends.
Within less than an hour after we said our goodbyes, the sky opened up and forced me into my rain poncho from earlier days. The weather front was the result of hurricane Fred, a category three tropical depression, and had been predicted to stay around for the next several days, dropping the temperatures to below normal for the season.
The directions were fairly good for a while, but once crossed into Maryland, the street names and landmarks were no longer congruent with my instructions, making me go into circles. Most of the locals only added to the confusion, but at last I found someone barbecuing on the front porch, who invited me up for some tea and Dutch windmill cookies, and advised me to take highway 450 instead. With more rain coming my way, I decided to chance it. Labeled a snow route, this wide shouldered state highway, with the exception of bridge overpasses, was reasonably safe to cycle. By eight o'clock it was almost dark, and the road was wet and semi-busy with vacationers returning home from their Labor Day outing. I pushed the pedal to the metal and soon found a motel outside the city of Annapolis. A hot shower and a change of clothes was all it took, to forget about the rain and the less than ideal weather conditions during the later afternoon. Altogether it turned out to be a great day cycling the nations capital, with newly found friends.
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