The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I had a bit of a late start leaving DC yesterday morning, but it was okay because I had a rather short ride. I rode to Columbia, MD and it was only 37 miles. One of my shorter days. After just a few city streets in DC, I was on trails that took me out of the city and through most of the suburbs. I started off on this dirt path along the Historic C & O Canal which runs parallel to the Potomac River. It was quite bumpy.

I saw a nice paved path to the left, but it was about 20 feet down a hill. I looked for a place to get down, and this is what I found.

Not ideal for biking, but I walked my bike and trailer down it without a problem. Here is the paved trail I was able to take as a result.

I'm not sure how much my followers care to see all the trails that I ride on, but I really appreciate nice trails and personally always find them worthy of a picture. This trail was called the Capital Crescent Trail. Here is the sign for passing into Maryland. As you can see, state welcome signs are a bit different on bike trails than on the road.

A little further along I road on this wood bridge. It was long, curvy, and down hill. I felt like I was on an old wooden roller coaster! I had to take a picture and share it.

I reached my max speed of the trip yesterday riding down a hill on a country road. 32 mph. I wasn't even pedaling. I was carful and had my hands on the breaks.

I reached Columbia, MD around 4:30 and arrived at a bike shop, Princeton Sports. I met a friend at a wedding in St. Louis last September, who I learned works at this shop. He told me to stop by on my trip, so I did. He gave me a tune up as we chatted about my trip. Thanks Zach. He was impressed at how well my 1980s Schwinn was holding up! I only had about a mile to go to get to my couchsurfing host for the night. Mike and Gina had accepted my request to host me for the night. After I arrived we had dinner together. They served ratatouille and kisir, a spicy Turkish dish. Good stuff! Afterward, we chatted about couchsurfing experiences and other travels. They also told me all about feeding birds and squirrels on their deck. They feed the squirrels by hand and Gina has even petted them before. They were great hosts for the night. Thanks Mike and Gina!

Along my ride I came upon this tunnel. It kind of looked like it could be in a horror film, but it was pretty cool. I figured I'd snap a picture. It's a good depiction of where I'm at on my journey. I've got a little ways to go, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm less than a week from my destination.