First 65 Mile Ride

Alex and I had planned several weeks ago to bike ride between DC and Annapolis which would also help me to get in some good mileage, and check of my one required ride of at least 65 miles before the ride starts.

Sadly I would be riding solo because Alex was recovering from the flu.  Things started out well, but about 10 miles out, the road lost its shoulder and I had two instances where I could feel the wind from the SUVs.  Without a specific plan, I headed back to the city and decided to head out to Mt. Vernon and then piece the rest together to get to 65.

My first stop was to the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, one of the few places I still have not visited.  It was still pretty overcast, and not too many things were out in bloom so I will have to stop by when I go back in a few weeks.

I would have stayed longer, but it was getting cold walking around and this goose chased me away so I took it as a sign

Then over to the National Mall to stop by the I. M. Pei pyramids outside the East Wing of the National Gallery.  For those of you who have not been to DC and/or on a Bike and Roll tour, these were a practice job before the Louvre got theirs.

Click on the above link to see the whole piece

The Mt. Vernon trail was pretty quiet so I was able to zip out there without too many problems.  On my way back I met Alex for lunch in Old Town Alexandria before heading back to DC.  The Kite Festival, one of my favorite things about the National Cherry Blossom Festival, was in full swing so I walked my bike through and snapped some great pictures.  Every time I took one with the Washington Monument, I cursed myself for not being able to take a straight picture, until I remembered that last year's earthquake left it a little off centered.

Back to DC!

As soon as I landed in DC I had some time to kill before meeting up with some people for dinner so I decided to head out for a quick bike ride to hit up some of my favorite tourist hotspots.  Sadly I missed the cherry blossoms by a few weeks, but I decided to hit up the Tidal Basin anyways. 

First a visit to the FDR Memorial

Then around to the Tidal Basin

I even ran into the DC Brau truck

Affordable Housing Stat #15

24 percent of available affordable units lack a complete kitchen, 30 percent have moderate or severe physical problems and about half have less than 900 square feet of living space.

Yosemite

Just got the word that we will have a day off in Yosemite to explore!!

Check out a great video posted by one of our riders. 

Citant Vélo de la Semaine #15

I'm lazy. But it's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things.
- Lech Walesa 

Spring Time In PGH

The weather here has been FANTASTIC (as I have previously mentioned) as a result everything here has been starting to bloom; definitely way better than the shades of gray which seem to accompany a typical winter.  Yesterday I was stuck in the library studying to after some quick review this morning, I decided to take a quick spin.  Today was the day of parks as I biked up to Frick Park and Highland Park (I rode up and down the hills behind the Zoo to get in some practice) and then back down through Oakland through Pitts' campus. 

The Cathedral of Learning in Oakland

One of my favorite things about PGH is the old architecture.  There are a ton of old churches and firehouses which have been abandoned.  One day I think it would be great to live in an old firehouses or an old school house (a lot have been converted into loft apartments here). 

Updates!!

The start date to our trip is rapidly approaching, so I thought I jot down some updates!

• The plane tickets have been purchased!  I will be arriving May 15th, the day before orientation begins.  
• Our fantastic leaders have switched around some of the ride dates which will give us a day off when we are in Yosemite so we get the day to explore (WAHOO!!)
• To date the SUS team has raised $64,222.02
• 52 Days until we are arrive in Jacksonville, FL for orientation, 56 until we hop on our bikes to start pedaling to California