Short Version: I rode my bike from Ashburn, VA to the Appalachian
Trail in West Virginia and back again. It was awesome. There are some pictures
below.
 |
| 55 miles is a long ride for me |
Longer Version: Sometimes I get as creative with my writing
as I do with my adventures, but there is really nothing too interesting about
the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad. It ran about 72 miles from
Bluemont, VA to Rosslyn, VA. The first tracks were laid down in the mid 1850s.
The rail line had no strategic part in the Civil war, it was sold, bought out,
and put out of service many times until 1968 when it ceased operation all
together. However it has now become a wonderful and frequently used
bike path that runs from Purcellville, VA to Arlington, VA.
I hopped on the bike path in Ashburn, VA and rode it out to
its west end in Purcellville. I have done out and backs to Purcellville a
number of times, and always make it a goal to never get passed, however this
time I took a few stops for pictures.
Once I got to Purcellville I had to do a bit of gravel road riding,
now I love mountain biking, but gravel roads are awful especially when they
have those washboard bumps in them. My road bike does not handle them well.
Although the road conditions did not improve for riding, the
scenery did improve dramatically.
I almost turned back about 3 times, there were no
trespassing signs everywhere. Usually this is not a problem for me, but for
some reason today the signs were really speaking to me. I thought someone was
going to come out with a gun wondering what I was doing on their road. I would
turn around, walk or ride away for a minute, then stop, say to myself: “I’ve
come 27 miles already, are you really going to turn around? I am sure it is
just around the corner..”
 |
| And then I would see something like this and second guess myself again |
At the end of the day I made it just fine, and found a spot
along the Appalachian Trail at Wilson Gap to eat some banana chocolate chip
muffins.
The ride back was initially much more fun because I spent
the first few miles descending out of the Appalachian, but then it was the long
haul back home.
I am not sure if I will do this particular adventure again,
but it was fun while it lasted.
