Milepost 38 - Biking in Northern Virginia

About 70 degrees and sunny. Probably the last chance I'd have to go biking. Heading out from Leesburg shortly after 12PM. Made it to Bikes@Vienna by 2PM. I had initially planned to turn around at 3PM, since the sun sets around 6PM, and figured with a bit of effort I could make it to DC by then. I was crossing the Memorial Bridge around 3PM, while a helicopter with "United States Of America" flew low overhead along the river. Stopped at the Lincoln Memorial for a picture or two, and then made my way to the White House to get pictures there.

Left DC around 3:30PM and made the painful trek back up the Custis Trail. Stopped at McDonald's on Whiele Avenue for a cheeseburger and fries, as I hadn't had any sort of actual meal since breakfast. Called rigelkitty around 7:00 PM from Route 28 bridge, then rode back in the dark. My new light works really well.

Met my goal for riding, hray!

Edit: Got home around 8PM. Also: Damn, there were a lot of folks riding on the W&OD in the dark. I must've passed a half-dozen other riders between Route 28 and home. Rigel says everyone was probably getting in their last rides as well.

RideTime: 6:12:28 AvgSpeed: 12.55 MPH MaxSpeed: 30.1 MPH Dist/Day: 77.96 Miles

YTD     : 1003.30 Miles

October 12. Chilly (40-something degrees) and cloudy. Went up to Breezewood with coworker's partner and rode on the abandoned section of turnpike. Got there at 11 AM, explored the tunnels and made it to Hustontown by 12:30 PM. Had a burger and fries for lunch at the Twist & Shake. Took the shorter and hillier route back. Made it back to the car by 2:30 PM.

Weather is cold and rainy lately, and I'm working six days a week now. Hope I can find time to get in another 75 miles before end of the month.

RideTime: 2:26:01 AvgSpeed: 11:09 MPH MaxSpeed: 37.5 MPH Dist/Day: 27.00 Miles

YTD     : 925.34 Miles

Milepost 38 again.

RideTime: 1:38:46 AvgSpeed: 12.72 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.3 MPH Dist/Day: 20.95 Miles

YTD     : 898.34 Miles

Another day, another dice roll. Windy. Kindcaid Forest to the W&OD, this time westbound. Went to Milepost 38 and back. Saw horses. Yay, horses!

RideTime: 1:28:49 AvgSpeed: 12.59 MPH MaxSpeed: 26.0 MPH Dist/Day: 18.64 Miles

YTD     : 877.39 Miles

Ha ha, not really. Biked out to Church Street in Sterling on the W&OD, via the usual route of Kincaid Forest. Stopped at the Two Creeks Trail Area and picked up a Fairfax County Bicycle Map. Maybe I can use it to scope out some new places to go biking. Apparently there's bike paths everywhere in Fairfax County.

RideTime: 1:40:08 AvgSpeed: 12.82 MPH StpWatch: 1:58:35 MaxSpeed: 25.8 MPH Dist/Day: 21.40 Miles

YTD     : 858.75 Miles

Took a quick 1-hour ride before Game Night. (I used the stopwatch function on my cyclecomputer so I could keep track of how much time I had... need to allow time to get degrungified afterward.) The usual, rode out via Kincaid Forest, then dice roll sent me east on the W&OD. I rode out to the Claiborne Parkway overpass, stopped to have an orange, and rode back. Ho hum.

Going out riding again today, assuming the weather cooperates. We had a brief 1-minute downpour here an hour or so ago.

RideTime: 0:47:40 AvgSpeed: 13.51 MPH StpWatch: 1:02:27 MaxSpeed: 28.6 MPH Dist/Day: 10.73 Miles

YTD     : 837.35 Miles

Rode out to Milepost 38 on the W&OD via Kincaid Forest. Saw a herd of deer that thundered across the lawn of a nearby McMansion when they saw me. Returned after the sun went down. It gets dark earlier these days.

The batteries on my bike's headlight are dead, which made for an adventurous ride back on the last bit of the W&OD. Need to remedy that. I'm pondering a trip to the abandoned turnpike tunnels, assuming I can find folks to go with. Either this weekend or October 10-11.

RideTime: 1:28:31 AvgSpeed: 12.80 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.8 MPH Dist/Day: 18.88 Miles

YTD     : 826.62 Miles

Out on the W&OD again. A roll of the dice made me head east this time. Rode out to WalMart in Dulles and tried to buy a replacement mirror, but they didn't have one I liked. Passed the 800 mile mark for YTD.

RideTime: 1:46:52 AvgSpeed: 13.11 MPH MaxSpeed: 27.9 MPH Dist/Day: 23.35 Miles

YTD     : 807.74 Miles

Friday. Quick out and back via Kincaid Forest to W&OD to Pn0ynian Springs and back.

Not working today; trying to decide where to go.

RideTime: 1:41:13 AvgSpeed: 12.62 MPH MaxSpeed: 28.9 MPH Dist/Day: 21.29 Miles

YTD     : 784.39 Miles

Sycolin Road is paved now. I rode out to Gulick Mill Road, which becomes unpaved and goes past the new Goose Bend development (luxury homes) and then farms and homes from 1729 (Holyfield Farm) and 1780 (Morrisworth) but which are set back too far from the road to see. Eventually this turned into a private road (which presumably led to the Gulick Mill site) so I couldn't continue.

I returned to Sycolin Road and rode south to Goose Creek, where I stopped and got a picture of the Murray's Ford Bridge ruins just south of the present-day bridge. Then I rode up the long hill and stopped to check out an abandoned structure on the west side of the road. It was a barn that had been converted for use as a residence, possibly last occupied in March 2006 (judging by copies of the Washington Post I found inside). The inside was pretty much trashed with lots of debris scattered around. Junk mail found on floor indicated this was formerly the home of the Reese family (20755 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn VA).

Continued on Ashburn Farm Parkway to Farmwell Road to Waxpool Road. Took pictures of the abandoned section of Waxpool Road. Continued to Route 28 and returned via the W&OD and Kincaid Forest.

RideTime: 2:17:49 AvgSpeed: 11.16 MPH MaxSpeed: 35.9 MPH Dist/Day: 25.63 Miles

YTD     : 763.10 Miles

Went on a bike ride with a co-worker and friend from Fairfax via FCP Trail to the W&OD all the way out to Carolina Brothers BBQ in Ashburn. Had BBQ sandwich for lunch. Stopped at Great Harvest Bakery in Herndon and bought a loaf of raisin/cinnamon chip bread. Got sunburned on the return trip, ouch. My fault for not using sunblock. Avoiding the sun today.

RideTime: 2:51:21 AvgSpeed: 11.74 MPH MaxSpeed: 30.1 MPH Dist/Day: 33.55 Miles

YTD     : 737.47 Miles

Today was bike maintenance day for me. I found an informative video on how to tighten brakes on a bicycle that was quite helpful. Then, after getting annoyed with the vast quantities of road grunge I'd get on my hands any time I did anything with the wheels, I did a fairly thorough cleaning of my bike, wiping (and later, washing) off all the grunge and dirt from the rims and frame. Then I degreased the chain and re-lubed it with White Lightning.

After all this, I went for a short ride (Kincaid Forest to W&OD and back on Sycolin) to make sure everything was working properly. The support for my left-hand mirror is cracked, so the mirror kept getting blown off-kilter when I rode, but I fixed it with duct tape so it should no longer be an issue.

Yay, 700 miles! More mileage tomorrow!

RideTime: 0:29:06 AvgSpeed: 11.98 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.5 MPH Dist/Day: 5.81 Miles

YTD     : 703.92 Miles

It's sad that I can tackle a 5% grade climbing up a mountain, yet can't manage to drag myself away from the computer when I can't think of places to ride.

Fortunately, the solution of this is the magical d6. At 6 PM, I rode out to the heart of downtown Leesburg, rolled a d6, and let chance decide where I wanted to go today. Then anytime I encountered an intersection where I had to make a choice (or every ten minutes of ride time, whichever came first) I assigned directions, rolled a d6, and continued in that direction.



From the center of town, I ended up heading west on Market Street out to Catoctin Circle SW, then back up Fairview St NW to Old Waterford Road, and cut through Ida Lee Park to Oakcrest Manor Drive NE. At Catoctin Circle NE, I took a short side trip to explore the grounds of the vacant Paxton estate, which was boarded up to prevent curious ponies from entering. Afterward, meandered through random residential streets north of Battlefield Parkway NE. Ended up by the schools at the north end of town where folks were out having sports practice. Returned via Business Route 15 to the center of town, where there was a (healthcare-related) protest group outside town hall. Returned home via the W&OD and Kincaid Forest by 8PM.

RideTime: 1:26:32 AvgSpeed: 10.83 MPH MaxSpeed: 25.0 MPH Dist/Day: 15.62 Miles

YTD     : 698.11 Miles

Monday. An ANSI-standard beautiful day. Sunny with some clouds, 70-something degrees.

I decided to go there. I've been there once before, but I really didn't want to take another ho hum bike ride locally, and besides, it was a perfect day for it.

I got started around 2PM. Kinda late for what I was intending to do, but did I mention what an amazingly spectacular day it was to be outdoors?



Perhaps I should clarify.

Here's a view with my camera's zoom lens:



So you can understand how going there would take up most of the day.

I rode out on Sycolin Road to Plaza Street to Battlefield Parkway. Business US Route 15 to White's Ferry Road. I saw a line of cars start coming down the road, which meant the ferry had just arrived, and pedaled as fast as I could. I got there just as the last car drove on. On the trip across the Potomac, a guy in an SUV asked where I was headed. "Sugarloaf Mountain, maybe Buckeystown."



After the ferry trip, I rumbled northward along the unpaved C&O Canal Towpath at about 12 MPH. Riding alongside the canal, I realized one wrong turn could send me into it. Yum.



Time passes...



I turned off the canal at Monocacy Aqueduct and rode up along Mouth of Monocacy Road, past a field of cows. I mooed at them and took pictures. They drooled at me.



Crossed Route 28 and continued on Mouth of Monocacy Road. Nice view of Sugarloaf Mountain here. Only another mile or two to go...





I turned onto Mt. Ephraim Road and continued to Stronghold. I felt it would be kinda wimpy to come all this way and then not bike to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain... plus I wanted to see if I could see my house from the top. A group of high school students was doing some sort of track/cross country training up the mountain as well. I passed some of them on my sudorific 5 MPH ascent. When I got to the West View parking lot, I chained up my bike and hiked up a well-maintained path while the high school group ran up the steps, their coach shouting motivational things at them and urging them onward. I could see quite a ways from the top, but had trouble finding Leesburg as it was kinda hazy. (I figured it out by online maps when I got home. The mountain off to the right of Leesburg is Hogback Mountain.)



I hiked back down to the parking lot, then coasted the long, winding road to the bottom of the mountain. Note to self: Need to adjust rear brakes. I got on the narrow and unpaved Mt. Ephraim Road which at one point seemed like it would never end. Passed an abandoned mobile home and an abandoned house or two, then arrived at a few nice houses at a crossroads (Park Mills). Stopped at Park Mills Road and consulted maps. Park Mills Road to the right went up a steepish hill, to the left went down a steepish hill. I'd had enough hill climbing for one day and opted for the latter.

Park Mills Road eventually led me to Lily Pons Road, which has nice wide bike-friendly shoulders and almost no traffic to speak of. I saw maybe two cars the whole time I was riding on it. This led me to Buckeystown Pike, which had narrower shoulders and 50 MPH traffic. Nice and flat. I followed this into Buckeystown and stopped at the local mini mart to restock on Gatorade.



Leaving Buckeystown, I took Manor Woods Road to New Design Road, which didn't have a shoulder to bike on, but a lot less traffic than Buckeystown Pike. It was also pretty much a direct line back to the C&O Canal, which I wanted to get to as it was getting late in the day. I stopped for a snack break at the railroad crossing and a train went by. Two other cyclists biked past, and I trailed along behind them until they turned off on Adamstown Road (something I will explore another day).

I made my way back to the C&O Canal and arrived at White's Ferry around dusk, startling a few deer along the way. Got home after dark. Fun day.

RideTime: 4:43:30 AvgSpeed: 11.32 MPH MaxSpeed: 30.7 MPH Dist/Day: 53.48 Miles

YTD     : 682.49 Miles

A quick evening ride, out through Kincaid Forest to the W&OD, then to Ashburn this time. Didn't see any deer or nothing. Ho hum.

RideTime: 0:58:42 AvgSpeed: 13.10 MPH MaxSpeed: 27.9 MPH Dist/Day: 12.81 Miles

YTD     : 629.01 Miles

It's hot out lately. Went riding around 6:30PM. I took a utilitarian ride out to the Leesburg post office via Kincaid Forest and the W&OD, then came back via the residential streets around Harrison Street. Ho hum.

RideTime: 0:59:34 AvgSpeed: 12.19 MPH MaxSpeed: 25.8 MPH Dist/Day: 12.10 Miles

YTD     : 616.20 Miles

I wasn't tired enough after whitewater river tubing earlier today, so I went out for a ride. The usual route, Kincaid Forest to W&OD to Milepost 38 and back. Fire truck and police car were on the path by Old Sycolin Road for some reason (possibly a fire, though I didn't see one). Saw some deer on the way out and the return trip.

RideTime: 1:27:02 AvgSpeed: 12.81 MPH MaxSpeed: 26.0 MPH Dist/Day: 18.59 Miles

YTD     : 604.10 Miles

I now carry a d6 in my bike bag for making decisions (an idea shamelessly stolen from blkwolfmidnight). It gives me more options than a coin toss.

Cloudy with occasional drizzle, 88 degrees. After some consulting of maps, I spotted the vestigal remains of Beamertown Road (I think it used to connect to John Wolford Road). Couldn't find any history of Beamertown on the web, but there's apparently two houses from the 1800s on it, so it seemed like a good choice of destination. Plus, I would get the opportunity to explore Old Wheatland Road.

I rode out via Kincaid Forest to the W&OD as per usual. (I noticed the campers are back, though they've moved from their usual site next to the abandoned house on Old Sycolin Road.) On the long hill out of Leesburg toward Milepost 38 I saw an unusual sight—someone on a skateboard with a long pole, pushing himself up the path (as if on a gondola). Probably a good upper-body workout.

Took the W&OD to Pnoynian Springs, then down the long hill into Waterford. Here I got on to Old Wheatland Road, which quickly turned unpaved and bumpy. I rode along past farms and field, eventually finding horses. Yay for horses! They're the best!



Further along there was an abandoned house, sitting by its lonesome waaaay out in a field.



I continued along, passing a small (unattended) farm stand where someone was selling tomatoes and jam and such, and then Thomas Hutton's Messuage (circa 1765, apparently). Old Wheatland Road terminated at busy not-bike-friendly Route 9, which I took to also-not-bike-friendly Route 287 (Berlin Turnpike) to continue north. I passed through Wheatland, which consisted of a few houses (blink and you'll miss it), and turned onto unpaved Nixon Road.

I eventually came to Beamertown Road. There's an old house there at the corner of Beamertown and Nixon. Google Maps shows Beamertown Road going a lot farther than it actually does. I followed it and it terminates at someone's driveway. Nothing to see here, move along.

Nixon Road led to (unpaved) Purcellville Road, so I slowly followed that. Met with slight drizzle here, called rigelkitty for a radar update. No major rain, so I continued onward to Morrisville, and eventually to Britain.



I realized I would be running out of daylight soon, so once I got to Britain I took the shortest route back. I considered stopping at McDonalds in Purse Of Evil for a quick burger and fries, but realized that would mean more biking in the dark than I was already going to have to do.



After adjusting my (admittedly weak) headlight so it was pointing at the path, I continued back along the W&OD to Leesburg, finally arrived home well after 9PM.

RideTime: 4:06:19 AvgSpeed: 11.65 MPH MaxSpeed: 32.0 MPH Dist/Day: 47.83 Miles

YTD     : 585.51 Miles

Procrastinating pony is procrastinating.

Short ride out to the W&OD via Kincaid Forest, then determined further travel by a coin flip. Heads meant west out to Milepost 38, but I went further to Pnoynian Springs because I had to pee. Saw deer on the trail on the return trip.

RideTime: 1:44:12 AvgSpeed: 12.28 MPH MaxSpeed: 24.5 MPH Dist/Day: 21.33 Miles

YTD     : 537.68 Miles

Had the day off work. Spent most of the day indoors playing Burnout Paradise City when I should have been outside biking. Bad pony.

Felt guilty about that later and took a short (15 mile) and uneventful ride around Leesburg. Tolbert Road to Sycolin Road to Shreve Mill Road to Evergreen Mill Road to King Street to the W&OD to Kincaid Forest and then home.

RideTime: 1:17:03 AvgSpeed: 11.77 MPH MaxSpeed: 26.0 MPH Dist/Day: 15.12 Miles

YTD     : 516.35 Miles