A Couple Weeks Late... Mount Vernon Trail

This post is a couple of weeks late but here it is. After my last big trip across the pond, I had a two-week break and I was off on another trip to NOVA. That's Northern Virginia. It's not another state like West Virginia but is referenced as such.

I was staying on the Maryland side of the Potomac River at a place call National Harbor. Nice place, a little over the top and was outrageous in price. I took my Bontrager in hopes of riding from the hotel to the C& O Canal in Georgetown.

Here is an interactive map of National Harbor and the bike path that takes you to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge



This is on top of the bridge that takes you from the east side to the west side of the bridge. Cool brickwork with fresh mulch and new trees and plants.

Looking south at northbound 95 traffic. You have to love living here to put up with that crap every day. If I had to drive in that traffic to get to work, you could not talk to me until about twelve o'clock. In a lot of places, I could ride faster by bike than a car.



On the south of the river you pick-up the Mount Vernon Trail. Here is a good resource on the trail. I did not go to Mount Vernon on this trip. Some of the points-of-interest that I saw was Olde Town Alexandria, Arlington National Cemetery (I have a fallen friend there..Big Daddy), Gravelly Point.

The Mount Vernon Trail is a little hard to find in places. One of the first points-of-interest was the Wilkes Street Tunnel. Here is a fun link to learn about the tunnel.

Inside the tunnel, I found these two tags. I am not up on this kind of stuff, but my understanding there are those that are gang tags and those that tag so their tag can be seen.

Avant Guard: Represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted



Kommune1: Was the first politically-motivated commune in Germany



I bet now since I have posted the above pictures you will see something like this the next time you are out. The tag can be of anything but should be about 4" round.


Next up was this cool fence that blocked this factory. It shows Washington over the years as a kid to the president.










On the way to the C& O, I saw a lot of commuters on their way to work. I think this is the only way to get around up here. Riders had all different set-ups from beater bikes to full-on race rigs.

I was able to get in three days of riding in but was not able to get that far on the C& O due to weather. Overall the Mount Vernon Trail is a neat way to see NOVA & D.C. hope you enjoyed the post as much as I enjoyed the ride!

Comments

Dan O said…
Interesting post.

I have friends and relatives that live in Alexandria - though I was only there once - when I was about 12 years old.

Long time ago....

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