Milepost 38

75 degrees and sunny. Far too nice a day to spend inside working on the Anthrocon conbook (and I can do that later this evening).

I rode out to Milepost 38, then rode back via Dry Mill Road, which was kinda fun but I have to pay attention to the road instead of looking at the scenery (horses). Stopped off at Boom again and picked up salad dressing (2 for $3). Gas is $1.77 at the Shell station on Catoctin Circle, so why bother driving to the store?

The mysterious campers still have their tents set up behind the abandoned house on Old Sycolin Road. (I never see them, just their tents.)

RideTime: 0:50:50 AvgSpeed: 13.81 MPH MaxSpeed: 32.6 MPH Dist/Day: 11.70 Miles

YTD     : 355.26 Miles

Actually, this was mostly killing two birds with one stone. We were out of bread, and I wanted to go biking, so rather than drive into town just to pick up bread I rode my bike in. I made a side trip to Milepost 38 first. Saw two deer. Took pictures of horses at Dry Mill Road. Then I stopped off at Boom and bought a loaf of wheat bread, and noticed they had cranberry-raisin bread too which sounded yummy, so I bought that too. I tied the bag to the back of my bike and discovered two loaves of bread fit perfectly in the space directly behind the back of my seat and above my bike bag.

RideTime: 0:54:40 AvgSpeed: 13.22 MPH MaxSpeed: 28.6 MPH Dist/Day: 12.04 Miles

YTD     : 343.56 Miles

Whee! Sunny and high 70s. I rode out to Herndon with blazing speed to pick up a loaf of X-Treme Cinnamon Swirl bread from Great Harvest Bakery (I called ahead this time) and then back home. Left Castle Xy-Gel around 2:30 PM, made it to Smith's Switch by 3 PM, got to Herndon a little after 3:30 PM. Left Herndon around 3:45 PM, but not sure what time I got home... probably around 5:30 PM... I got distracted with yard work (yanking out dandelions everywhere) before putting my bike away.

RideTime: 2:00:17 AvgSpeed: 13.98 MPH MaxSpeed: 34.9 MPH Dist/Day: 28.02 Miles

YTD     : 331.52 Miles

Beautiful 73 degrees and sunny. rigelkitty has given me a list of chores to do while I'm not deployed, one of which was to bring our plastic bags to the supermarket to be recycled, so I killed two birds with one stone and strapped them to the back of my bike this afternoon. I rode out to the old Gigantor Food Mart in Leesburg Plaza to drop them off, and then was free to wander where ever I wanted.

I followed Catoctin Circle NE up to Battlefield Parkway NE, then cut through some residential streets to get to Dry Hollow Road and rode around the elementary/middle schools there. There's a what I hoped would be abandoned but isn't house behind them. I rode down the handy bike path along Business Route 15 to the entrance to Ida Lee Park. Here there was another bike path, and a recently-installed memorial and trees for the Virginia Tech shooting victims. I rode through Ida Lee Park past the currently-under-renovation Rust Library. The driveway to Equine Medical Center was secured by gates, so I rode down Fairview Street NW to Catoctin Circle SW. I followed the bike path through a small park, meandering through more residential areas, and finally ended up at the W&OD trail. From here I turned right and headed up toward Milepost 38 as per usual.

Made the usual stop at Milepost 38 but needed to pee, so I pushed onward into Hamilton (there's rest rooms in Paeonian Springs, but I didn't want to deal with rush hour traffic on Route 9). There were sheep at Hamilton, though it was hard to tell. Sheep are usually depicted as cute and fluffy balls of cotton in cartoons, but in real life they look like shambling mounds of debris with legs. There were also little lambs pronking around. I gave Rigel a quick call around 6 PM to let him know my status.

On the return trip, I stopped by the newly-opened Hamburg Döner (formerly known as the Mighty Midget kitchen) on Harrison Street SE. Got a bratwurst, pommes, and a Sprite for $9. Sehr gut. Now there's Indian and German food in Leesburg! I am a happy pony.

RideTime: 1:53:15 AvgSpeed: 11.67 MPH MaxSpeed: 27.6 MPH Dist/Day: 22.03 Miles

YTD     : 303.50 Miles

80-something degrees today. I did a quick out and back on the W&OD to Milepost 38.

Here's a picture of the tree in our front yard.

RideTime: 0:53:51 AvgSpeed: 12.37 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.1 MPH Dist/Day: 11.10 Miles

YTD     : 281.47 Miles

Nice day for it. 70-something degrees and sunny. Warm. T-shirt and shorts. Nice.

Rode eastbound on the W&OD out to Herndon. Stopped at Great Harvest Bread Company again to pick up a loaf of X-treme Cinnamon bread but they had sold out about an hour earlier. Waugh! I bought a loaf of Apple Scrapple bread anyway since I was there.

After this I headed north out of town on Monroe Street to Young Avenue to explore potentially-abandoned houses and farm buildings. Unfortunately, this has all been obliterated by new townhouse construction. (There was one abandoned house remaining on the property, but it was a 1950s-ish looking one and not really anything interesting, so I skipped it.)

Stopped for provisions at the 7-E on Crestview Drive, then headed home. I thought I saw another abandoned house in Sterling just off the W&OD, but closer inspection revealed muffled rock music emanating from within and a pickup truck parked out front, so I didn't explore further.

RideTime: 2:14:12 AvgSpeed: 13.19 MPH MaxSpeed: 33.2 MPH Dist/Day: 29.50 Miles

YTD     : 270.37 Miles

Mid-60s and sunny. I got away with a t-shirt and shorts, but it was a bit cool. Made the usual out and back to Purse Of Evil. Forecast for tomorrow is 74 degrees with plenty of sunshine. Maybe I'll bike out to Herndon again.

RideTime: 2:05:07 AvgSpeed: 11.78 MPH MaxSpeed: 29.9 MPH Dist/Day: 24.58 Miles

YTD     : 240.87 Miles

April 15. Sunny, breezy, mid-50s. I wore my sweatpants and t-shirt with Disintegrating Plaid Shirt over it. Cool but tolerable. Left Castle Xy-Gel around 12:15 PM (guessing) and rode up Sycolin Road to Battlefield Parkway to check out the progress they're making with construction. Spotted the likely soon-to-be-demolished abandoned house on the abandoned farm along the proposed right-of-way. This may require further investigation and pictures now that the construction crew has built a handy roadbed only 100 feet away, thus making access to it that much easier. This weekend, perhaps, when the construction crews theoretically won't be around.

No time for that today, though. My destination was ankhorite and savant_da_rat's place for afternoon tea. I took the W&OD eastbound and reached Route 28 around 1:09 PM. Stopped at Great Harvest Bread Company in Herndon. Mmmm, free sample bread slices. This time I tried a slice of their X-treme Cinnamon Swirl bread ("loaded with cinnamon chips and swirled with cinnamon and brown sugar"), which was NOM NOM NOM delicious. I ended up getting the usual cranberry/orange bread though, which is also mighty tasty. I left Great Harvest around 1:45 PM and by 2:00 PM was on the Fairfax County Parkway Trail.

Arrived at Ankhorite/Savant's place a little after 2:30 PM, it is almost exactly 24 miles there... so the round trip is slightly longer than my recent trip to Brunswick, MD. Had yummy tea in Scrabble mugs and yummy bread and cookies NOM NOM NOM. Calculated amount of time it took to get there, and amount of time to get back. Didn't have time to get pictures of nearby abandoney house Ankhorite mentioned; will have to do it next time. Hmmm. I'm guessing it's probably this one:




Left at 4:45 PM, rode pretty much non-stop on the return trip (two short breaks in Herndon and Smith's Switch). Called rigelkitty from the W&OD on the outskirts of Leesburg at 7 PM to let him know I was running a little behind schedule. Got home at 7:20 PM with just enough time to get degrungified and head out for dinner/bowling.

RideTime: 3:36:57 AvgSpeed: 13.14 MPH MaxSpeed: 31.2 MPH Dist/Day: 47.51 Miles

YTD     : 216.29 Miles

72 degrees and sunny, yay! I got started a little after 1 PM. Noticed four dome tents set up in the underbrush behind the abandoned house on Old Sycolin Road—people camping? Took the W&OD up to Paeonian Springs, then rode Clarke's Gap Road into Waterford. From there, I had a choice: Take my usual (slightly longer, but with less traffic) route through Taylorstown, or take the more direct (shorter but with more hills and traffic) route through Milltown. I opted for the latter, figuring I'd come back the usual route closer to rush hour.

Up and down the hills through Milltown. Cows gawked at me. Heading up one of the hills, I noticed an old black car in the oncoming lane. It was Ford (from bowling); I waved. I stopped to take pictures of an abandoned house which wasn't really all that picturesque. Onward to Lovettsville. Stopped at the Porta-potty by the community center.

Headed north out of Lovettsville on Berlin Turnpike. 45 MPH road with no shoulders, but drivers were courteous enough. The last bit near the border is a little curvy, but it was all downhill, so no problem. Stopped at the Maryland/Virginia border to get a picture.




The sidewalk on the bridge is a narrow 2-3 foot wide. There were two broken bottles along it, but I managed to get by without incident (double-checked tires at the end of the bridge to be sure). Rode up a monster hill on North Maple Avenue to get to Subway for lunch. Bought a 6" B.M.T. and orange juice—oatmeal raisin cookies are still in my bike bag. Explored the C&O canal area afterward. Brunswick used to be called Berlin back in the day. Noisy train yard.

Around 4:30 PM I decided to start heading back. Went over the bridge (no broken glass this time) and made the long trek back up the curvy hill. Not as treacherous as I anticipated. Tiny dog yapped at me while I consulted maps. I explored Wenner Rd./Quarter Branch Rd. on the way back to Lovettsville rather than stay on the main road, but didn't find anything interesting.

Got a little headachey, legs felt a bit sore. Rested a bit at Lovettsville Community Center and ate a Snickers bar. Again, the choice for the short route or long route. I decided to go for shorter as I didn't really need the extra miles, plus it would send me through "downtown" Waterford where I seemed to recall there was a market of some sort where I could get provisions. Hills, hills, hills. Cows gawked at me more. I mooed at them... a lot.

Arrived in Waterford. Waterford Market was dark, but with a sign on the door : "Working in back yard. Call out and I'll hear you." I was busy tightening a screw on my fairing when the owner came by, asking if I needed anything. "Do you sell Gatorade?" Yes, she did. Bought Gatorade and some salted peanuts. Waterford Market seemed interesting, I'll have to check it out again sometime.




Gave rigelkitty a call around 6 PM so he'd know my status. Saw a huge herd of deer (ten or so) in a field outside Waterford, but they ran away because I have a bicycle pump. Tee hee. Saw some horses. Saw Ford again while on my way out.

Got home around I don't know. I have slight sunburn. Ouch.

RideTime: 3:58:10 AvgSpeed: 11.70 MPH MaxSpeed: 40.8 MPH Dist/Day: 46.47 Miles

YTD     : 168.78 Miles

It was a little cool today, so I brought my disintegrating plaid shirt along with me for today's ride out to Milepost 38... and then further out to Hamilton (because I had to pee). The porta-potty there has been upgraded to one with a translucent roof that lets more light in, so you can actually see what you're doing.

Afterward, I pondered where to head off to instead of the usual trip out to Purse Of Evil and back. I decided to check out Hamilton, and rode up the main road into town, such as it is. Saw an old purple and grey Bentley sitting outside an auto body shop. Stopped at a convenience store for snacks.

Heading down the main road through town, I noticed a very purple house on the right side of the road and stopped to chat with the nice woman who was doing gardening there. Continued down the main road, saw a delightful old Victorian house.

Made a right off the main road and headed toward Ivandale, found an old decrepit abandoney house. As I was taking pictures, a pedestrian walking by asked if I'd been inside. He says the rooms are all done in pastels (I saw them through the windows... much like the Davis House). Maybe I'll check out the inside once my camera is recharged and I'm a little better dressed for it.

Headed back to Leesburg. Saw sheep and horses and squirrels.

RideTime: 1:44:30 AvgSpeed: 11.99 MPH MaxSpeed: 31.8 MPH Dist/Day: 20.89 Miles

YTD     : 122.31 Miles

It wasn't optimal weather for biking, but it beats sitting around the house all day. About 53 degrees and sunny, but with the 20+ MPH winds it made it feel like 47 degrees. I wore my sweatpants and t-shirt with my Centralia sweatshirt over it. It wasn't warm, but tolerable enough. I made a slight detour along Catoctin Circle on the trip out to drop a letter off at the post office, then struggled against headwinds all the way out to Milepost 38.

Here's a picture of an old car outside the junkyard next to the W&OD in Leesburg.

RideTime: 1:00:31 AvgSpeed: 11.44 MPH MaxSpeed: 30.7 MPH Dist/Day: 11.53 Miles

YTD     : 101.42 Miles

63 degrees and sunny. Rode out to Purse Of Evil and back. Saw three deer around Clark's Gap and wanted to get a picture of them, but they saw me and kept watching me and doing their little hoof-stomping routine to try to get me to move, so I couldn't get my camera out of my bike bag. So here's a picture of a llama instead.

RideTime: 2:01:40 AvgSpeed: 12.13 MPH MaxSpeed: 28.4 MPH Dist/Day: 24.60 Miles

YTD     : 89.89 Miles

It's a beautiful day... outside.

I don't have to be at work until Red Team review at 3PM, so it gave me the opportunity to take advantage of the spring-like weather (70 degrees, sunny, and windy—Punxatawney Phil was wrong again when he predicted six more weeks of winter) and make a quick out and back to Milepost 38. I'm wearing shorts and my Purple Pony t-shirt. Whee!

Now I'm off to get degrungified and head off to work.

RideTime: 0:52:46 AvgSpeed: 12.63 MPH MaxSpeed: 26.4 MPH Dist/Day: 11.10 Miles

YTD     : 65.29 Miles

Today was partly cloudy and 60 degrees, though it got a bit colder when the sun went down. No t-shirt and shorts today... sweatpants and sweatshirt instead. I procrastinated about where to go until around 4PM, at which point I only had an hour of daylight left. I took another ride eastbound on the W&OD, past Ashburn this time, out to the old abandoned house by Smith's Switch.

A doe and two fawns scattered as I rode down the bumpy dirt road through the property. I got there at about 4:36 PM, and heard a distant screech and crash while I was getting my camera out. Three minutes later, sirens in the distance. Good response time, I guess.

I wandered around the ruins a bit, taking pictures until the sun went down. On the return trip, my left knee started acting up again. Bah.

I was slightly delayed approaching Belmont Ridge Road while I waited for a jogger to retrieve his unleashed dog ("Roscoe"). The dog was scared of my bike and bolted down the trail. His owner finally leashed him and I was on my way again. Got home after dark.

RideTime: 1:26:24 AvgSpeed: 11.88 MPH MaxSpeed: 27.1 MPH Dist/Day: 17.11 Miles

YTD     : 54.19 Miles

Another 70 degree day. Procrastinated about riding, didn't know where to go. Finally decided on a quick out and back on the W&OD to Ashburn around 3PM. Ho-hum. My left knee is a little achy, probably from riding yesterday.

RideTime: 1:05:02 AvgSpeed: 11.49 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.8 MPH Dist/Day: 12.46 Miles

YTD     : 37.08 Miles

It was 72 degrees and sunny today. I went out riding in a t-shirt and shorts. In January. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.

Rode the W&OD out to Purse Of Evil and back. Took the long hill out of Leesburg at 10 MPH. I smelled burning leaves and freshly-turned soil past Clark's Gap. They're re-routing the end of the trail at Purse Of Evil so it follows the original rail line instead of going down that little hill. I saw horses and llamas and squirrels and a cat. I cleared a broken bottle out of the path by Old Sycolin Road.

Hungry now. I think I'll treat myself to some bratwurst and German potato salad and sauerkraut and beer after I get degrungified.

RideTime: 2:10:46 AvgSpeed: 11.29 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.8 MPH Dist/Day: 24.62 Miles

YTD     : 24.62 Miles