Vic and I decided on a mini-bike tour for our 4th anniversary–going from our front door to Leesburg via Metrorail and back. This was to see how viable it would be to someday go on Metro to Amtrak, to other locales and bike. It was actually quite easy. The metro stop is 1 mile from home, and allows bicycles 10 am to 3 pm, and we just used the elevators for our bikes. We packed light for a 3 day trip, but had to pack for rain….we knew there was a chance and also it had rained in the DC area for about 6 weeks already.
We found the Washington and Old Dominion rail trail just outside of the Reston-Wiehl metro station and headed north, 17 miles to King Street to historic Leesburg, again less than 1 mile to our hotel, the Leesburg Colonial Inn, which seemed to host several cyclists. We met a group from McKeesport PA, coming from the C&O Canal (muddy as could be), and a group hailing from North Dakota (they do a 1500 mile ride across country every year) and were on their way to Alexandria VA on the W&OD Trail. The hotel was quaint, comfortable and affordable, but most of all it was in the middle of town, surrounded by wine, oysters, coffee, gourmet hot dogs and burgers, Italian, Chinese, you name it. And all very good! We discovered the Shoes Cork and Cup, a historic restored shoe repair, that served the ” voted best coffee in Loudoun Country” as well as wine and fine breakfasts. We went there for 3 meals!
The first day’s ride was sunny and fun. Day two was our bike cycling day, 44 miles to the old towns of Waterford, Lovettsville, and Purcellville, through the countryside. The first 15 miles was misty, partly on the trail and partly on gorgeous roads through Waterford, established 1733 with many old homes…and then it started to rain. And it never stopped until the following morning. We pulled into a sweet Thai restaurant in Lovettsville, Thaiverse, and it was a wonderful respite, enjoying hot Thai soup and appetizers and tea. At lunch, we decided to cut out 15 miles of our trip and get back to Leesburg. We figured it out on paper but somehow, the Google maps and Ride with GPS took us elsewhere and we ended up biking about 12 miles on the 287/Berlin Turnpike, in the rain with lights, and trucks and lots of water. We were unhappy with the lack of shoulders and traffic, but the cars and trucks and school buses generally moved over to give us room. We had our Goretex rain boots and jackets on, but the temperature was dropping to mid 50’s now. Our hands quite red and cold. We were thrilled to finally land at Purcellville right off of 287, onto the W&OD Trail again, away from trucks.
We did our 10 miles on the quiet wet leaf trail, pedaling fast toward Leesburg. A ride of 38 miles that day, half in rain! We arrived to a warm hotel, hot shower, and out for wine flights at the Wine Kitchen–yummy! That night, the rain poured and we stayed in after dinner. The next morning, the weather forecaster said that was the end of the 6-week rain deluge in the region and true enough, we did the return ride home 17 miles in the sunshine–glorious, even though parts of the W&OD was a big puddle. Love those fenders. Metro home and pulled to our front door. We are glad the sunny return trip erased most of the memories of Day 2, but as usual, these trips have their stories to tell!
Velo Spirits 