But I didn't have to wait for Old Town. The art stood up to meet me on the trail. I saw a purple helmet that looked like a WWI army get-up, a green umbrella twirling in the sun, a bright orange electric bike that wowed me despite its sixty pounds. A man even strolled by while playing the harmonica. There was also a lot of cleavage, which was surprising. Cycling is not the kind of sport where women typically let it all hang out. As I approached the Potomac, with its snowy egrets, its cattails, and its triangles of white, I passed a woman wearing a diaphanous white cover up that billowed out behind her in a in a way that made me long for the beach and the summer that hasn't even ended yet. Under the sky bright with blue and the atypically forgiving September sun, it was the perfect welcome to the harbor that waited beyond.
And it wasn't over yet. I discovered Jones Point Park has a new look, with parts of it right under the Wilson Bridge. Something about the light under there was so beautiful. I didn't get a pic myself, but check it out:
Those arches, back bending themselves across the Potomac, contrasted sharply with the neighboring pink and yellow row houses of Old Town that lined up like colorful parade-route bystanders waving their flags as I passed.
I met Steve and the kids at Pitt and Franklin and changed in the car (god awful getting clothes on and off when you're so sweaty!) Then we went to the art festival.
And I bought something: a brilliantly colored multi-media original piece by a Chinese artist that depicts picnicking cyclists swooping down a fiery hillside with hair and clothes flowing.
Route:
7 miles to W&OD
12 miles to Shirlington
2.2 Miles connecting to Mt. Vernon
1 Mile to Old Town?
I rode through old town and past to add 13 more miles
Total: 35 miles
