This was a fantastic decision!
It took about a little less than an hour to get to the trail head and once we were done unloading, we were off!
At first the trail super crowded with runners, bikers, and walkers, but after about 2 miles things started to clear up. Dennis and I immediately fell in love with the scenery. The W&OD trail is less crowded, but there is no view. This trail was basically the opposite. The majority of the time there was water to the side of us, and right off the bat across the river we could see the Washington Monument and I believe the top of the capitol.
Next on the scenic route was the Regan National Airport. Now granted biking around the airport wasn't super cool, but what was, was biking right across the end of the runway when planes were taking off. This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it was super scary standing where we were while the planes were just taking flight.
At about mile 8, we rode under the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge which was also a neat experience. Under the bridge was a fishing pier, basketball hoops, a bathroom facility, and a number of fitness groups being held. So bizarre, but really cool. The bridge was massive and it almost felt creepy being under it. I don't think we were able to get it in the picture, but directly above us on the bridge we could see the "Welcome to Virginia" sign.
The next 5 miles past the bridge, we biked through two really cool / cute towns (unsure of what they were called) but they were places that Dennis and I would love to visit while not on a bike. The trail was mostly on a paved path but there were a few times we had to ride on the street and there were several wooden bridges we had to cross. One of which put us over this nice little view:
The the final 4 or so miles was a total hill nightmare. I was not towing Shane on the way to Mt Vernon, but all I could think of between breaths was, "I'm going to be sorry" on the way back. There were more twists and turns than I have ever experienced on my road bike, but we made it and needed a solid rest before we headed back.
Biking 18 miles to Mt Vernon too 1 hour and 40 minutes, averaging about 11 miles per hour. Definitely not a great time, but with all the passing, stopping, and picture taking, we knew this bike ride was going to be more about distance than speed.
The ride back (another 18 miles) felt like it went faster, but according to my tracker it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get back.
As you can see from the pictures, the weather was absolutely perfect and a great day to take in the sights. Clearly this was way too much to ask of our son!
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