Mama told me there'd be days like this, days in which you would be the catalyst to positive change in your own world. I started out by eating breakfast and then setting out on a bike trip.
When I started I was mostly unaware of where I would go, or how many miles I would want to travel, let alone be able to. I knew that I would head to a trail,
(The Washington DC area has the best system of trails that I've ridden on in the U.S.) ride for at least two hours and try to put in at least 20 miles.
First off, I couldn't have chosen a better day to go riding, it was 82 degrees with a gentle breeze and the trails were fairly empty so my struggle would be witnessed by fewer folks. I started off in Anacostia and through the park then past National's Ball Park and on to Alexandria, which took about 45 minutes and logged 12.67 miles. I stopped at The Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Alexandria, Va. and saw what I took a picture of below, so off I went.
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| Road Map To Mount Vernon Bike Trail |
Deciding to continue on to Mount Vernon was the best thing that I could have done. I had a breeze at my face, (not good for riding) and a mostly uphill climb, but I felt great and knew I had another 8 miles in me. I made it there, rested for 30 minutes and then returned home. Final results for the day:
Distance: 44.12 Miles
Pedaling Time: 4 hours 8 minutes
Avg Speed: 10.6
Real Time: 5 Hours 30 minutes
For my first day back I'll admit that I went kind of hard, sort of beast mode, but if you are going to do it, do it big. I chose to pick one of the more difficult rides to challenge myself and prove that I was really up for the road that lay ahead. I also decided that I will ride 5 days a week with a ride of at least 40 miles every Tuesday, culminating in a century ride (100 mile) on September 3rd 2014. Let's see how tomorrow turns out, after all, this is only day. Today was a good day. Not bad at all for a guy weighing 270 lbs., huh?
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| Fort Washington |
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| Fort Washington |
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| Mount Vernon |
