Day 23: Woodbridge, VA to Bethesda, MD

May 20, 2017

After saying goodbye to Dee, Paul and Isaiah this morning, we started out on our short ride through Washington to Bethesda. The first 18 miles we rode through suburbs which were moderately busy on a Saturday morning. At about mile 18, we got to Mount Vernon and then had bike trails almost all the way to our hotel here in Bethesda.

At our first convenience store stop, we met Gayle and John. Gayle said she used to do a lot of cycling, but hasn't in recent years. She got all enthused about cycling again while talking to us about our tour. Her goal now, she said, was to get John to share that enthusiasm. We really enjoyed talking to the two of them.

Gayle and John. Gayle was very enthusiastic about cycle touring.

We were on the Mount Vernon trail for about 16 miles. It was pretty busy with cyclists, walkers and joggers. The parks we passed along the way were also full of people enjoying the outdoors. It is so good to see these kind of recreational facilities being so well used.

A quiet moment on the Mount Vernon Trail - no cyclists or pedestrians in sight.

Families enjoying a park on the Mount Vernon Trail

We left the Mount Vernon Trail and crossed the Potomac on the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Across the bridge, we needed to turn right in front of the Lincoln Memorial to get to the Capital Crescent Trail. The traffic was heavy and the sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians. We didn't see the route Garmin wanted us to take. We rode around the memorial and found some local cyclists. They were able to point us in the right direction and soon we were headed toward Bethesda. First, we rode through Georgetown, which was crazy busy. I can't imagine what a weekday rush hour would be like. It was one of those times when we look at each other and say how glad we are to live in a small town. Between Georgetown and Bethesda, the trail ran through a quiet rural area. For part of the way, the C&O Canal towpath trail was visible. There was even a short tunnel to go through, but the pictures I took didn't come out well enough to show anything. I did get a picture to document our arrival in state #6.

The C&O Canal trail seen from the Capital Crescent

Our hotel tonight is a Doubletree. We have room on the 10th floor. (The bike is spending the night in a ground floor storage area.) It's not a beautiful view, but, small town dwellers that we are, we couldn't remember the last time we were in a tall building.

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,157 miles (1,862 km)

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