Dolly's Bike Blog

When I checked into the hotel yesterday afternoon, I discovered that I had a single room, due to the absence of my scheduled roommate.  As much as I have enjoyed all of the other tour participants, a single room was a special treat.  I stayed up later than usual, unafraid of disturbing my roommate; I read a chapter in my book and updated several blog postings. And I slept in a bit this morning, past 7 am.

There is a Bob Evans next door, and I headed there for breakfast, and several other cyclists joined me for a leisurely served meal of choice.  I had made arrangements for a taxi to take a group of us to Valley Forge for a few hours of touring.  Mo, the driver, showed up in a black suburban and was a delightful chauffeur.

Our chauffeur Mo.

The six of us (Kathy Q., Ann M., Nancy I., Marilyn B., Susan G. and I) attended the 20-minute film which gave a good explanation of the winter encampment of 1777-78 at Valley Forge – no battles were fought here, but when the spring of 1778 arrived, the soldiers trained and bonded and became more of a unit.  Though the Revolutionary War lasted another 3 years, historians feel that the months at Valley Forge were a turning point for the Continental Army.

After touring the museum, we wandered outside to view other parts of the Park, a mini-hike.

Mo picked us up and drove us further into the Park, to Washington’s Headquarters.  Washington purchased an existing farmhouse to serve as his headquarters while he was serving as General of the Continental Army.

After our outing to Valley Forge, we ate lunch at Bob Evans, then spent a leisurely afternoon:  laundry, reading, snoozing – others were more diligent with bike cleaning.

Susan R. and Patricia M. are busy cleaning their bikes.

Tonight we were joined by Leilani S. and Jan P. from CCST13, who will ride with us the next 3 days, carrying their own gear.  We had a delightful reunion dinner at Pizzeria Uno across the street from the hotel.

CCST13 reunion dinner.

No riding today.  Current summary:  1920.08 miles from Fort Lauderdale; 2148.56 miles from Key West.

14 more riding days to Bar Harbor.

It rained on and off much of the day – Don and I woke up listening to the rain from our hotel:  the window could open a bit!!  And the warm temperatures of the previous 2 days had cooled significantly.  Sleep in, leisurely breakfast, laundry at Sarah’s, some Target shopping, salmon on the grill at Sarah’s for dinner, even reading Mason a bedtime story – great rest day!!

For those of you keeping track, you may have noticed some missing entries for May 20 and 21…

I knew that the ride into Alexandria was the longest remaining mileage day (80.3), and that I was eager to arrive to see family.  Of course, I had a restless night in anticipation, and awoke earlier than planned. I was on the road by 6:10 am, just after sunrise, after breakfast at McDonald’s next to the hotel.  I was well decked out in my bright yellow jacket and flashing rear light, though early on, not much traffic. As the early morning progressed, traffic increased, especially going-to-school traffic, buses and cars with kids.  About 5 miles into the ride, I missed a turn and wandered down a pastoral road, realizing my mistake when the road turned to gravel – add a mile.  Then at 10 miles into the ride at a T, I turned right instead of left, and was so enjoying the tailwind that I wandered almost 4 miles off course and had to retrace myself – some of the obvious disadvantages of riding alone.  Needless to say, I was no longer ahead of everyone.

At mile 36 (on the cue sheet), when I stopped for a snack, Nancy B. and Mary caught up with me and took a photo.  And I saw them again as we crossed the Occoquan River at mile 56 (cue sheet).  Our route took us through Fort Belvoir, where I had lived as a child in 1955-56 (60 years ago!!).  Then passed Mt Vernon (crowded with tour buses) and onto the Mt Vernon Trail – I had forgotten how much it weaved in the trees – not feeling so pastoral at this point.

I had told our daughter Sarah that I planned to arrive in Alexandria by 4 pm – and I rolled up to the park on Union Street where she, Don, and grandson Mason were waiting at the stroke of 4 pm – a wonderful reunion!!!

I ended the riding day with 93.96 miles!  Don and I were staying at the Sheraton Suites in Old Town Alexandria, rather than at the WomanTours hotel or Sarah’s home.  We gathered family for dinner at Rustico’s:  son-in-law Matt, with Sarah and Mason, brother and sister-in-law Ralph and Karen Craft, and Morse cousin Elaine Emling with husband Mike Jenner, and, of course, head cheerleader Don – I even wore a skirt!  Long day, but well worth the extra miles to be with family!!