Mount Vernon Trail

Last Sunday, in my first bike ride of the summer, I took a little spin on the Mount Vernon Trail (see map). I didn't want to be too ambitious, so I just went as far as Old Town, Alexandria, which I believe is just a little more than halfway to Mount Vernon. As many others can attest, this is a popular ride/run/walk, and for good reason. The trail is generally smooth and the scenery is varied and sometimes quite beautiful. Between my apartment and Alexandria, I saw downtown D.C. (not bad, scenery-wise, as far as cities go—there's a monuments everywhere you look), the Potomac (which I crossed), grassy fields, dense deciduous forests with a few conifers thrown in here and there, and a short stretch of swampland just north of Alexandria which I imagine might resemble the Florida Everglades in miniature. In all, a very nice ride. The path also crosses right under one of the landing paths for Reagan National Airport, so if you're into that sort of thing you can take a break and lay in the grass watching the planes glide over your head so close it almost feels like you could reach up and touch them.

One note about this ride: As a bonus to the nice scenery the path is well-signed so once you're on it you'll have no trouble knowing where to go. The problem is in accessing the path in the first place. I searched high and low for directions from downtown D.C. to the entrance to the bike path on the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac. I knew there was a bike path there, but I also guessed getting on that path might be a trick. I couldn't find any web directions, so I had to go down there and poke around. What I learned was that you actually need to access the bike path from a point just behind the Jefferson Memorial. If you're in downtown D.C., the best way to get to that point might be to head to the Mall, cross over, and follow Independence along the tidal basin until you find yourself behind the Jefferson Memorial. More directly, you can take 15th street past the White House and the Washington Monument, and just stay on it across Independence Ave. until, again, you're behind the Jefferson Memorial. You'll see the asphalt bike path to your left. (This map might help a little.) D.C. desperately needs more bike routes and dedicated bike paths, but even more crucial and easily-accomplished would be better signage for the bike routes that already exist.

I realize I am biased, but really, there's something about seeing the world from a bike that makes the world more beautiful. I'm ashamed and a bit sad to admit this was my first little ride of the summer. I envy Scoplaw, who seems to be spending the summer biking a lot and reading and writing (and writing about) poetry. I'm quite sure more biking and poetry (or perhaps really compelling novels) would make my summer infinitely better. To that end, I may begin commuting to work by bike. I wonder how well this garment bag pannier works...

Posted 05:07 AM | Comments (2) | life generally