Imagine riding your bicycle in circles down the middle of Pennsylvania Ave, no-handed!
The course for Bike DC was seventeen miles, and we never once stopped for a traffic light. Truly amazing. The route began at the Ronald Reagan Building, and went northwest to the very edge of Rock Creek Park (where I lost my rear brakes on a steep downhill, oh well, I still had the front ones), then up along Embassy Row to the Taiwanese Embassy for a break.
Leaving the embassy, we coasted a long beautiful downhill all the way to the Capitol Bldg, then went up past Union Station and out to RFK stadium. The other riders were of all ages, and we saw more than one dad pulling a kid in a ride-along or Burley, which reminded us of long-ago days.
As we pulled into the parking lot at RFK for another break, Doug blew a tire. While he worked on fixing that, I discovered that FedEx was holding mini-tricycle races. The trikes were too small for an adult to actually ride, and you had to do 3 laps around a course, each time adding one more FedEx package, so it was partly a feat of balance. ?I competed, and won! ?Guess what the prizes were: a water bottle or patch kit. ?I wanted the water bottle, but since I love my husband, I chose the patch kit. ?Yes, it feels good to save the day! ?We patched the tube and left the kit for other people who were queuing up for the Fix-It Guy.
We rode back down to the Ronald Reagan Building, which was where I actually rode in circles down Penn Avenue, yee-hawing, no-handed. ?What fun.
Actually, the song that I sang at full volume was: I Will Sing of My Redeemer, one of my mother’s favorites that I haven’t even heard in years!
An organizer told me that this was the first Annual Bike DC, and about 3,000 people participated. ?The similar ride in Portland, OR brings out 17,000 people.
We finished by 11:30 and rode our bikes to the other side of the mall to see the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian, then stopped at the National Book Fair before having lunch at Cosi’s, across from the Newseum. ?All in all a perfect day.
How come I forget how much I love to ride my bike?
I loved the Jim Henson exhibit. It made me want to watch every episode of the Muppet Show.
Woo hoo what fun! We’d like to try that next year with our trusty tandem.
Excellent. I’m glad you missed the rain. I didn’t later in the day.