Th-th-th-that's all, folks

May 23, 2015

Getting to my ride home

So this is it - I completed the GAP and C&O and now I have a day in Washington DC before my train leaves at 6:30 to return overnight to Atlanta.

I take my time getting out of the hotel room (this means I'm out by 7:45am). 8:00 sees me pedaling past the Lincoln Memorial - much less crowded with people than it was last night.

Pedaling past the Lincoln Memorial on a Saturday morning. Most tourists are still in bed this early on a Saturday morning.

I loop to the west of the tidal basin and through the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial. I had a good time shooting pictures in the monument.

Listening to the radio "fireside chat" with one of the statuary

I round the south end of the tidal basin, past the Jefferson Memorial, and then along the south end of the National Mall. Never having ridden along the National Mall on a bike, I really liked the experience. A great end to the tour.

Riding past the Jefferson Memorial along the tidal basin

I get to Union station around 10:30 and go into the first class lounge. Since I have a sleeper room on the overnight train, Amtrak considers that first class accommodations and that allows one access to the first class lounge. So I roll everything through the doors, and am directed to the luggage closet to store my bike while I spend the day in the nation's capital. I disassemble the bike, pack it all in the suitcase and duffel bag and then I'm back in the train station picking up a sandwich to bring with me for lunch.

It takes me about 30 minutes to pack up the bike and move my gear into the adjoining duffel bag. Here you can see the undercarriage disconnected from the suitcase

I wind my way through Union Station, purchase a sandwich, and then I hit the streets and the museums

Since I've been to Washington DC plenty of times, I decide I don't need to walk around for 7 hours. I visit the National Gallery of Art, the Air & Space Museum, and museum of the American Indian. My first stop is a nice quiet spot outside the National Gallery where I sit and take out my sandwich and start to eat. Keep in mind there's no-one around when I sit. I'm about 1/4 way into the sandwich and another group of about five make their way to where I'm sitting, and all light up cigarettes and start smoking. Now this wasn't a smoking area or anything, so I'm curious why they chose exactly where I was sitting to have their smokes. I'm not against someone smoking, but why choose a spot where someone is having lunch. I packed up the remainder of my sandwich and walked away, choosing another spot about 10 minutes later out on the National Mall.

I forgot how cool it was to touch a piece of rock from the moon (in the National Air & Space Museum).

My feet tired, my tour over, I make my way back to the Amtrak lounge around 4:00 and partake of some of the snacks (yes, there really are complimentary snacks in the first class lounge). I'll have dinner on the train.

I'll have to say traveling by train in a cabin is another adventure in its own right. The suitcase is a 26" suitcase and full size, so there was no place I could stuff it except for my roomette doorway. I stepped over it into and out of my cabin, and then put it into the other seat in the cabin. After dinner, I went back to the cabin, read for a little bit, then assembled the upper bunk and went to sleep. The last night of the trip was upon me and it was time to dream of the next adventure.

Today's ride: 7 miles (11 km)
Total: 388 miles (624 km)

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