mount vernon bike trail

there is an immaculate paved trail that follows the west bank of the potomac river from the mt vernon estate all the way to theodore roosevelt island.

we met up with some fun friends & started at belle haven to do the middle leg of the trail.

perfect weather for it & just so pretty. a little frustrating to not be able to take pictures at every turn.

we went through an incredible part of old towne into neighborhoods & harbors we hadn't seen.

there were rowers, sailboats, motorboats, fishermen, birds, etc. keeping the river busy.

we could almost constantly see the monuments on this trail. see the tiny capitol building in the center?

next we rode through the unexpected marsh land where the winding wooden boardwalks kept us a safe 6 inches from the swamp.

it was really unique & kind of came out of nowhere.

next we crossed over a huge stone bridge, checked out all the boats at the marina, saw more fishermen, watched some flag football, flew past gorgeous fall leaves, & passed reagan national airport to get to gravelly point park in arlington. somewhere in there i got bit by what we're guessing was a horsefly. i was super confused when it happened because i was a moving target. those suckers are painful!

there's a picnic area with the airport in front & the cityscape behind us.

we watched the planes come in.

until it got too windy.

 

then circled back at our new version of full speed to get some dang lunch. the wind really started to pick up & it about threw me from my bike several times. it was 14-15 miles in total. & today the part that's sore is the swollen bite on my shoulder blade that is big & red & feels like a deep bruise. with no other random mishaps it was a great little saturday afternoon.