Memorial Day - Old Town Triangle

Memorial Day weekend, Laurie and I hit the trail to do the Old Town Triangle - a 60-mile ride from my house that takes place almost entirely on bike trails. I did this once before a few years ago on a 38 degree day. Check out that post for a map and elevation chart. Today, the forecast was for 90 degrees, so we headed out early - leaving my house at 7:00 am.

Meanwhile, Mom and Dad made their yearly pilgrimage to Quantico Cemetery to visit Uncle Bruce's grave site and bring flowers. She sent us this pic while we were riding. He is loved and remembered! We would continue to seek out flags for the rest of the ride.

On Doveville Lane. Laurie's car photobombed us.

Only 7 miles in, we came to Middleridge and our first set of flags. We decided on a pit stop and headed in to mom and dad's to fill our water bottles and use the bathroom. I had been drinking a ton of water since the day before to hydrate for the long day in the heat, so any bathroom break was welcome.

Mom was at church, so we visited with Dad for a minute, snapped a pic, with our second flag of the day, and headed out.

On supported rides, I'll eat every 15-20 miles, but on long rides alone, I tend to forget. So even though we weren't really hungry, I made us stop on Lorton Road (about 18 miles) for a break and something to eat. We found a patch of shade and got away from the road for a few minutes. Nothing too picturesque on Lorton Road, so we took pics of ourselves!

Although it's not attractive, Lorton Road has a nice bike lane, and going in this direction, is all down hill.

We missed mom at home, then by coincidence rode right by the church where she'd gone that morning. It was 8:55 a.m. and church got out at 9:00 a.m., so we thought it would be cute to take a picture with her car, but it was gone. Church had gotten out a few minutes early (the Episcopalians never do that!) and mom was gone! She probably had driven by us on Lorton Road without knowing it.

From Lorton Road, we turned left on Route 1, then right on the Mount Vernon Parkway. Riding down this road, I noticed the George Washington grist mill and distillery. I've ridden and driven by it before but never took notice, so today we stopped. It turned out this is where Laurie had her family picture taken years before. The place was beautiful and quiet, but unfortunately didn't open until 10 (it was 9:15). We walked around and tried to guess about the function of the many diverted waterways.

The below picture is of the water coming from the mill into the distillery (I think).

Below is the reservoir for the water going into the distillery.

Always still the draniac, I am interested in water management, diversion, and drainage. Here is the gutter running down the side of the mill house.

The bridge where Laurie had her family picture taken - I think. I think I had sunscreen on my camera lens. Ugh.

This is the mill house. The water enters through the arched opening at the bottom right and turns the wheel inside. I think it also gets carried up on the wheel so that it can run out and sort of down into the distillery in the other building (earlier picture). I don't know what the water does in the distillery.

Laurie's pic of the mill house

This is where the water is diverted from the creek just beyond. It's overflowing right now because the mill behind me is closed.

It looks like they burn a lot of wood at the distillery! Not a tree-friendly enterprise!

I could smell sweet whisky while standing here.

This is the reservoir from the other angle. The mill house is in front of me, at the end of the reservoir.

As we were leaving, I checked out this map of the property. There are four "farms" identified around the "Manor House" which is Mount Vernon. All four of them have what looks like a plot of farmland and an area marked "slave quarters." About 300 slaves lived at Mount Vernon. Since we didn't get a tour of the house or the mill and distillery on this day (they hadn't yet opened), I don't know how much these people are featured in the description of 18th Century life here. Hopefully they get their due.

From the grist mill and distillery, we got back on the Mount Vernon Parkway and rode the rolling newly paved road to the "manor house," Mount Vernon.

Laurie in the entrance to the Mount Vernon grounds.

Laurie captures more flags!

On our way to the bathrooms (our real reason for stopping), this very nice docent gave us a tip and told us we could ride our bikes around to the West gate to get a good look at the manor house from a distance. He said it was beautiful and he was right. We split a half of Laurie's pb&j and munched on potato chips while imagining George arriving on his horse and riding up the grand drive to his house, which you can see is just a blip in the distance between the trees. I also imagined slaves coming and going through this gate with the house looming as a site of power and wealth over their destinies. I tried to imagine what feelings this view evoked for them and could only think about the heat of the sun baking down on us and the dust of the road. 

The gate to the West entrance.

Zoomed in, you can see the house.

Laurie catches a glimpse of George near the gift shop.

Nice pillar portrait by Laurie

After Mount Vernon, I could feel the day heating up. We'd gone about 30 miles at this point (halfway!). Back on the GW parkway, we welcomed the shade and sped up a bit for the downhill ride through the trees to Old Town.

GW pkway trailhead @ Mt. Vernon 

GW pkway trail before all the downhills.

Eventually, we popped out of the trees to ride along the Potomac.

The Potomac

Marshland between the trail and the river

We stopped at Jones Point Park for some cool and shade under the Wilson Bridge. It's such an impressive structure; I have to take pictures of it every time I go there!

Laurie captures a plane coming into Reagan National Airport 

Canoe launch and fishing pier under the bridge

Another flag!

North of Old Town, we stopped at the Washington Sailing Marina on Dangerfield Island. It's nothing fancy, but perfect for a pit stop. You can get a snack or a beer and sit on the deck. The bathrooms are air-conditioned which is a perk when you're on a 60+ mile ride on a 90+ degree day!

Our table

A picture of Laurie taking a picture
of a flag

And the picture Laurie was taking

Sailing school slid past our table.

After lunch, we completed our stint on the GW parkway and caught the connector to the W&OD. We were happy to see it.

Coming back through Arlington and Falls Church there were way more flags than elsewhere.

Yeah.

Three more flags, although not too picturesque

There had been a storm the night before, the kind we thought of as a little rain. But apparently it did more damage than that. Trees had fallen across the CCT here, and just ahead. We had to dismount and carry our bikes.

Once over this obstacle, I broke the news to Laurie that we had to ride up Picket Road. While I never look forward to riding up this hill, I think less of it as the biking season progresses. But I'm still getting my fitness back, so riding up at mile 61 was not a fun prospect. Still, we made it and eventually coasted down Doveville to home.

Wew!

Distance: 63 miles
Speed: 12.8 mph