October 10, 2023
A capital day
Cycling the nation's capital
The young nation moved the United States capital to Washington DC in 1790 with the TheResidence Act. This move was part of an effort to appease pro-slavery states who feared Philadelphia, a northern capital, would betoo sympathetic to abolitionists.
The city's location at the mouth of the Potomac and it's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean made it accessable to trade and transportation by water, the primary means during that day. The nation's leaders had a vision of a country moving west and the Potomac provided that passage.
Dirt pathways, country roads, canals, and railroads followed that path. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was a visionary project in 1828 when the first shovel was turned. It would be a means for setlers and trade to give birth to the lands of the Ohio River Valley.
The canal towpath would be the passage that we would take me to the capital city on this day. Much has changed over the 200 years that have passed since the first shovel turned. The nation's capital grew and Georgetown became a major hub. Today it is a well to do neighborhood for shops, dining, historic residences, and Georgetown University. The National Park District has preserved this legacy as the canal passes through the neighborhood.
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Washington DC has embraced active transportation with paved trails and bicycle routes crossing the busy downtown and the National Mall. For a cyclist, a tour of the nation's capital it's quite enjoyable. On this day, I cycled the five miles into Georgetown and the nation's capital for a full day of enjoying the monuments, memorials, and beautiful lands of the National Mall and parkways along the tidal basin.
The sites are too numerous to list but made for a beautiful 24 mile ride on this sunny perfect fall day. I and my tour mates played Washington DC visitor stopping at just about all the presidential monuments and so many other historic sites in the capital city. I always see something new to me on a return visit. We returnd to the lockhouse at the sun was setting. It was a perfect day.
Follow the trail to Washington DC
Tom on the Trails
Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 333 miles (536 km)
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