Day 72, Washington, DC

9.2 miles today and 3805 overall

What began as a notion in Colin’s mind and was presented to Bob and Steve over beers at Maelstrom Brewing in Kirkland Washington on December 27, 2023 is now done. We started at Rialto Beach on the Pacific Coast and finished in the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.

At this point I’ll just offer a straight forward summary of the day. It’s too soon for a deep assessment of what it all means.

Starting from McLean, VA, well fed and well rested, we began the last push at the crack of 9:30 AM. My brother Terry was our guide, navigating us through the burbs of Viginia, the last miles of the C&O canal and the busy streets of Washington. The first “interesting” thing we saw was the fire department practicing swift water rescue as we crossed the Potomac River into DC.

We jumped on the towpath and found our first milepost.

Then we headed for mile 0.

In short order we were at mile 0 of the C&O canal where it meets up with the Potomac River. It’s hard to see from the picture but this is the first lock boats would enter to begin the 184.5 mile journey up to Cumberland, Maryland. Currently major repairs are underway to help preserve the canal.

From there, Terry deftly navigated us to the Tidal Basin dodging tourists, commuters, and joggers.

Arriving at the Tidal Basin we searched for a safe spot to dip our front tires into the water. Close followers of the blog will remember that we dipped our rear tires into the Pacific.

We found a suitable place.

Our journey done, we now switched from cross country adventurers to tourists. Terry proceeded to show us the highlights of the Washington Mall.

We took Pennsylvania Avenue to check out the White House. We road down the center of the avenue, not because we’re overly confident, but because that’s where they put the bike lane. It was heads-up riding and fun.

For some reason we did not feel like taking a picture of the White House.

Riding in the heat called for a stop for ice cream so we found a shop in Georgetown on the way back to Terry’s. Another task for the day was for Colin to buy his last round of “State Line Beer” for Bob and Steve. We headed “Are you _____ kidding me!” up hills to the Lost Dog Cafe.

When we got back to Terry and Maureen’s home we opened a surprise gift from Terry’s running buddy and cyclist Jim. We knew Jim followed the blog closely because the gift included ice cold local craft beer AND a peanut butter, banana taco.

All were enjoyed.