I’m always gratified but then again a bit mystified when friends leave comments on Facebook or send them to me directly that say, in essence, “Good luck!” Continue reading →

With all the things going on yesterday I forgot to post this.

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Well, so it begins. I rode over to Georgetown late this morning to scout out the start of the C&O Canal Towpath there. I also wanted to go to the Canal Mile “0” which is reportedly somewhat less than easy to find as it is off the Towpath proper. I found it just fine-

went there first, actually- and then spent a while sorting out the Towpath back through Georgetown, which in fact turned out to be the more challenging part. After being misled by a number of “C&O Canal this way” street signs

I finally got onto the Towpath up near the Key Bridge across the Potomac and so wound up heading east to its start point.

There was a huge mudbog I had to negotiate

and then a one block detour of which I was previously aware.

Once around those I reached the entrance sign.

I’m going to call this little section done so my start tomorrow will be back at the Key Bridge, this time headed in the right direction.

Another bucket list item my couple of days in the Washington, D.C. area has allowed me to check off is to ride the Mount Vernon Trail bicycle path that parallels the George Washington Parkway out to- where else?- Mount Vernon. Having seen the only place where you can be certain a “George Washington slept here” sign is factually accurate- Fun Fact: George Washington never slept in the White House, as it was not completed until after his death– when I lived in Virginia in the 1980s, I didn’t need to see the residence or any of the outbuildings again. The bike trail was it for me.

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I started the day on Tuesday waiting for Papillon Cycles [link] in Alexandria, Virginia to open.

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I really don’t think that the Potomac River gets the respect that it deserves.

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So here I am.

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Per the National Park Service [link]:

The Paw Paw Tunnel is OPEN until Phase 2 of construction resumes. Construction is estimated to resume on or around 8/15/18. Continue reading →

All good things, as the Sage Jackson Browne once said, gotta come to an end.  Having reached the western terminus of the KATY Trail at Clinton, Missouri, the remaining two riding days of my bike trip will be spent getting me to the Barry Road Super 8 Motel that is just a short courtesy van ride from the Kansas City, Missouri International Airport.  That’s a distance of just over 100 miles/about 165 kilometers, and I will ride it in two days of almost equal length.

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My KATY Trail segment is the third trail segment of my ride, and the longest of the three.  This rail-trail stretches 239.2 miles/385.0 kilometers from Machens, Missouri (essentially a former railroad junction to the north of the St. Louis metro area) to the center of Clinton Missouri, a small city a little more than 65 miles/104.6 kilometers from downtown Kansas City, Missouri.  It runs along the abandoned Missouri-Kansas-Texas (KATY) railroad line, hence the name.

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