Day 2: Annapolis to Washington, DC - Younger on Two Wheels 2023: Chesapeake Bay to Chicago - CycleBlaze

June 25, 2023

Day 2: Annapolis to Washington, DC

In which I test the limits of my knowledge of profanity

What a day! Not in the "What a wonderful day!" sense - more in the "I'm glad that's over!" sense.

The day started out pretty well - leaving Annapolis had a fairly complicated route, so I had to pay close attention to road names. It reminded me of cycling in St Louis - short, sharp hills and lots of them - hardly anywhere was flat for very long.

I got out onto the minor highways, and was surprised how busy it was. I thought Sunday morning would be pretty sleepy, but I was wrong. There was a lot of traffic, and some were driving way too fast. 

I was passed by a trio of what I can only think were 13 year-olds driving in the country with their fast cars. A Porsche, a Mustang, and I think the last was a Lamborghini, but it went by pretty quick! I really don't get these people that just want to disturb the pastoral landscape by filling it with revving engines and squealing tires. I appreciate that you can afford a $100K car, but you also need to acquire the wisdom to use it wisely. Grow up!

Then I passed a lady getting a DUI test from a police officer.....at 11:00 on a Sunday! He was having her walk a (hopefully) straight line. Where has she been on a Sunday morning, that he thought she was drunk. Not church!

Heart 1 Comment 0

I passed a few of these. I agree, but with the amount of traffic and the speed they were going, I wasn't willing to risk it! Shoulders would come and go, so sometimes I just had to stop and let cars go by. 

I eventually got to a part of the route that said it had more trails. Great! Except in these suburbs, the trails were atrocious! I'm calling out Bowie, Fairwood, and Lanham - do some maintenance on those things! They look as if they were built 20 years ago, and then ignored.

I fell. Not badly - I was coming down one of the aforementioned badly maintained trails, and hit a nice downhill stretch that felt wonderful. Except at the bottom (hidden in deep tree-shade) was a bunch of mud on the trail. I lost traction and my tires squirmed around trying to get purchase on the trail. By the time I exited the mud, I was moving WAY too fast, and got to a crossing over a culvert and a 75-degree right turn. I braked HARD and managed to stop, just at the edge of the culvert, but then slowly toppled off the trail into the drainage channel. 

I sustained scrapes on my left elbow, knee and hip, but I'm well aware it could have been much worse. One of my bags fell off. My mirror was destroyed as the bike rolled over, and I think my front brake disc is now slightly warped. BUT, I didn't hit my head, break anything, or cut myself on the edge of the culvert, which might have been nasty!

The scene of my fall from grace
Heart 0 Comment 0

I picked myself up, assessed the damage, and saddled up again, cursing the bad conditions. I may have used more foul language on this day than any other during these tours. 

The next several miles were just really bad riding. Ostensibly on a trail, these were just glorified sidewalks, with curb-cuts for driveways and streets every what felt like 15 feet. Not smooth cuts, either! It was jarring, and unpleasant, and made it really hard to keep my speed up to what I'm used to. These trails were all along stroads of the worst type - completely car-centric and very little thought given to cyclists or pedestrians. Look up the term "stroad" if you're unsure what that means. It isn't good...

I ran into another touring cyclist going the other way. This is part of the East Coast Greenway cycle route, and he was coming from somewhere in Florida, but was from San Diego. Nice guy - he lifted my spirits by letting me know the path ahead was much more pleasant. I probably dampened his by describing the awful stretch he was about to hit - he was bound for Annapolis. Thanks, Peter - hope you had a good day!

I did get to the part Peter described - an actual honest-to-goodness bike trail. I had reached the edges of Washington DC and the infrastructure improved dramatically!

Nicest bike path I've seen all day!
Heart 1 Comment 0

It wasn't long after this that I crossed the Anacostia River and actually entered the District of Columbia. There wasn't a sign, but I'm counting that as a new state.

In Edmonston, I passed a free library with a nice little shady gazebo to sit in. It had books, art pieces (!) and even food! It had a decent supply of canned and dry products inside the box. Sometimes the things people do out of generosity really amaze me!

Edmonston Free Library
Heart 0 Comment 0
Their library includes a food pantry - how cool is that?!
Heart 2 Comment 0

The next few miles wound along the Anacostia River - quite pleasant, flat and there was even a nice cooling breeze. I saw kayakers and paddle-boarders using the river to get a good workout.

Heart 0 Comment 0

It wasn't too much longer that I reached central DC . My plan had been to take pictures of the capitol, Washington Monument, and White House, but I ended up running smack into Pride Fest. The festival had taken over part of the National Mall, and getting around became fairly difficult. I ran into a couple of dead-ends and had to re-route multiple times. After a while I just got tired of it and headed to my hotel. Here are a few pictures from the Capitol area:

US Capitol
Heart 0 Comment 0
Library of Congress - pretty impressive building!
Heart 1 Comment 0
Is this construction repairing the damage the January 6th insurrectionists did? I had no idea this was still going on!
Heart 0 Comment 0
Washington Monument from the Capitol
Heart 2 Comment 0
Washington Monument
Heart 1 Comment 0
Joe's House. This is as close as I could get.
Heart 1 Comment 0

All-in-all it wasn't my best day. The amount of climbing (nearly 2000 feet) along with the accident, hot humid weather, and lots of sub-optimal road conditions made it a mixed bag.

Tomorrow I start up the C&O Canal trail, heading to Harper's Ferry, WV and I'm hoping it will be way better. A car-free trail sounds lovely right now!

Rate this entry's writing Heart 4
Comment on this entry Comment 13
Thomas SabourinI read your account of falling with trepidation. So happy to hear it wasn't worse!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John PescatoreTo Thomas SabourinThat horrible piece of trail in Bowie is actually better than it was years ago!

You are going to hit a detour at about mile 10 of the towpath, but it didn't look too bad.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteTo Thomas SabourinI would never aspire to your skill level at falling!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteTo John PescatoreYeah there was a split trail section, but I was able to ride right through. Thanks for the heads-up, though.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John PescatoreTo John AydelotteGlad it wasn't a big deal.

Unless you want to be a Towpath purist, take advantage of the Western Maryland Rail Trail paved path into and out of Hancock.

The way you are heading, about .4 miles after you pass Mile Marker 114 you will see a dirt path on your right. It might say Ernstville Rd, haven't been there in a while. .1 miles on that takes you to the WMRR, turn left towards Hancock, 9 miles of smooth riding away!

Leaving Hancock, the WMRR gives you another 14 miles of really beautiful and scenic paved path before you get back on the Towpath.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteTo John PescatoreThanks for the tip! The trail has actually been really nice since Lock 23 where the upgraded trail surface started. But I'll take pavement any day!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Thomas SabourinTo John AydelotteYeah, I should refer to it as a skill.

I hope your path avoids the bad air quality from the Canadian wildfires.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteAir quality seems ok so far. Is Milwaukee bad right now?
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Thomas SabourinTo John AydelotteYes, we were told to avoid going out. Not a day to exercise outdoors.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteTo John PescatoreJohn Pescatore, thanks so much! Turns out I'm not a C&O purist! It rained pretty hard mid-day, so the trail was super-muddy and messy. Being able to hop off and do the last 10 miles to Hancock on that beautiful PAVED path was amazing! If I'm ever in your neighborhood again (or you're in Denver) I'd love to buy you a beer. Many thanks!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John PescatoreTo John AydelotteGlad you found the cut through! Enjoy the 14 miles of the WMRR leaving Hancock. Then you are back on the C&O and likely back to muddy/messy!

By comparison, you will love the GAP! I did it West to East in 2 days in 2021, it was awesome. My wife and were out in West Newton/Cedar Creek Park area biking a few weekends ago, it was in great shape out there.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Shellie ChambersI'm sorry you fell, but so glad it wasn't worse!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
John AydelotteFortunately that was the only incident. Just saw the video of Rory meeting the VP. So cool!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago