Swimming Finish

We arrived in Washington, DC, at Mile Zero after another somewhat long day. Surprisingly, the 0 mile marker is this dirt patch, behind a building, next to the entry of the canal from the Potomac / Chesapeake. In other words, it’s quite unremarkable except for us in that it’s the end of an 184.5-mile journey on the C&O and something like 330 MI of riding in the past 8 days. We were all happy to arrive after a relatively wet day. Thankfully, as we arrived, the Sun was shining and it was easy for us to get the final five miles to the suburban and the other side of DC.

While getting to the car was easy, getting the car was not. The facility locked at 6:00, and we arrived at 7:00. Additionally, there were multiple garages marked with the 2800 address. You had to know to pick the 2800 associated with the Residence Inn.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know that and parked in the now-locked public parking. When I called the organization that I paid to park, they referred me to the on-site Residence Inn. When I talked to the Residence Inn, they referred me to the parking organization.

There was a building above the parking garage. Apparently it belongs to the CIA because there was no phone number or any way to access it. Fortuitously, saw a janitor working inside. I knocked on the window, and he very graciously pretended to mop by the locked door while I snuck in. The CIA likely assassinated him since then. I then proceeded to the car and paid again for the parking. Such fun to survive in an urban area.

We might have been all smiles as we started, but it had already been raining hard. We knew that even if we didn’t get rained on, we would be paying the price on the trail of the heavy rain. Rain on a crushed limestone trail results in a sort of squishy feeling. It’s almost like you’re rolling against increased resistance. And of course, passing through puddles every 30 to 40 ft didn’t actually speed us up. But it was beautiful.

We enjoyed the locks along the way and also some refurbished aqueducts that were quite impressive. But since we’d ridden so far the day before, our attitudes were a bit more subdued. There were many miles of somewhat somber riding. We did stop for some food, and that seemed to cheer everyone up.

Not far from Washington, D.C., there is a national park called Great Falls. You feel like you’re quite remote and almost in the wilderness while you’re near the waterfall. And then just a few miles later, you’re pedaling under rush-hour traffic on a huge freeway.

Eventually, we pulled into Georgetown and then crossed near the mall on our way to the motel. I think it’s quite memorable for Caleb and Ridge that their first time in the capital was at the end of a 340-mile bike ride. They are both very impressive. It was a great finish to a wonderful adventure. It was a special day, wonderful for me to have three great companions to cover the miles, making it so much more enjoyable and easier.