Milepost 38 - Biking in Northern Virginia

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?



Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?



If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side



If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

RideTime: 2:27:43 AvgSpeed: 13.04 MPH MaxSpeed: 27.9 MPH Dist/Day: 32.12 Miles

YTD     : 332.13 Miles

Adjusted rear brakes on my bike before riding today. They actually work now!

97 degrees and sunny. Rode out to Hamilton Station on the W&OD. When I wasn't in the shade it was like biking in an oven. Rode around Paeonian Springs a little on the return trip and then stopped at the little grocery there to buy Gatorade. They didn't have any, so I got that Vitamin Water stuff that Renfield drinks instead. Dragonfruit. No actual dragons harmed in the making of this product. I only saw three other bicyclists who were as crazy as me to be out riding.

Made it back before the thunderstorm (which is going on currently).

RideTime: 1:29:17 AvgSpeed: 12.11 MPH MaxSpeed: 26.4 MPH Dist/Day: 18.03 Miles

YTD     : 402.78 Miles

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

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

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

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