Adventure No. 3: Biking the W&OD Trail -- 44.6 miles biked

Miles biked: 44.6

Time on bike: 3 hours, 15 minutes

On Monday, July 5, I decided I needed a long bike ride in my life, so around noon I headed to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail to pedal as far as I could and back before my 4 p.m. kickball championship party. I figured I could get in about 40 miles or so.

The trail stretches 45 miles from Shirlington to Purcellville, VA, so I knew I wouldn’t make it the entire way — I’ll save that for another day — but a good portion of the riding was new to me. I had ridden the first 7 or 8 miles west before, but nothing beyond that.

With the temperature near 100 and the air thick and humid, the riding was far from easy. Add the fact that I didn’t have a true water bottle and had to stop every time I wanted a drink to twist off the top of my canteen, and it wasn’t the smoothest ride.

However, it was mostly flat and on a relatively smooth bike path surface, which only had a few difficult crossings — there were two intersections at which I waited for a good 4 minutes — and made for mostly relaxed riding. The trail is also stocked with biker-friendly amenities, such as water fountains, benches, bathrooms, “stretching posts” and even a bike pump. I kid you not.

So there wasn’t much to complain about (except, maybe, the weather).

After about 10 miles, I biked through the town of Vienna, crossing the main street that had clearly advertised a large fireworks show. There was also a happening community park adjacent to the path featuring all kinds of recreational opportunities. That’s something I really love about this Northern Virginia area — it seems like everywhere I go, there are basketball courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and tennis courts. Just a wealth of things to do outdoors.

After Vienna, I rode through quiet countryside for a stretch of nearly 20 miles, crossing the occasional road but mostly just passing by grassy hills and some farmland on both sides of the path. This was probably the hilliest part of the ride, but still wasn’t very undulating.

Around the 20-mile mark, I passed through the downtown of Herndon, which gave off the quaint-small-beautiful-town feel. I passed over a river, past a few stores and that was about it. I’m sure there was more to the town, but I was quickly through it, knocking off a few more miles before I had to turn around.

I ended up covering roughly 22 miles before pulling over, finishing the water I had and taking a quick 6-minute (approximation) breather. Then I was back on the 520, covering my tracks to get back to Arlington in time for my party. Thankfully, the wind was mostly with me on the way back, and I cruised at a 20-mph clip.

I’d say I had earned the right to indulge for the rest of the day.