Day 59 – Winchester, VA to Arlington, VA

Miles today – 78

Total miles – 3470

First…I forgot to post this picture from West Virginia…

The Honeymooner’s Gun Shop???  There has to be a joke here but I’ll leave it to your imagination (i.e. was it a shot gun wedding? etc.)

Note…the blog site was down over the weekend so; to get caught up, you need to read days 57, 58 and 59.

Jerry and Julie warned me at dinner last night that Route 7 going east out of Winchester was not a safe road for a bicycle to ride.  Many locals work in the DC surrounds and travel 7 in some kind of hurry to get to work.  I appreciated Jerry’s and Julie’s warnings but figured I had already survived some dangerous roads…I’ll be fine.  I aimed east at 7:30 and just out of town, the road became a two lane highway with no shoulder and people driving all sorts of vehicles as if they were stuntmen for Mad Max, Escape from Thunderdome.  Can’t you people relax and drive like normal people?  The clincher was a wide load truck that came so close to me that I had to bail out into the road gutter to keep from being wacked in the head by the front end loader he was hauling…total disregard for my presence and right to be on this road.  Ahead the road split and I decided to try Business Route 7 toward Berryville.  I figured I would encounter fewer cars but I also knew from the map that this country road rejoined the demolition derby in about four miles.

 In Berryville I saw a man preparing to put gas in his car at the corner gas station so I asked him if there would be an alternative route to Purcellville.  He told me that I had two choices…wait an hour and a half until rush hour traffic reduced or allow him to load my bike in the back of his Jeep so he could drive me past the unsafe part of Route 7 and drop me off on a country road that would safely take me to Purcellville.  Option one would cause me to miss being interviewed by two DC television stations so, I opted for option two. We stuffed my bike in the back of his Jeep and rejoined NASCAR-like Route 7. During the drive we struck up a conversation.  I learned that my new friend was a self-confessed car addict. He owned a Land Rover, a BMI, a Porsche and I believe 3 classic MGs.  He knew all of the back roads because these were his favorite roads to put the MGs through their paces.  Is this my luck or what?  The guy I happen to meet at the corner gas station is a fellow car geek who just happens to know safe back roads and is kind enough to help out a complete stranger.  Over the ridge he took a right and dropped me off on Snickerville Road.  He introduced himself as Mark English…what a great name for a guy who owns and restores MGs. Thanks, Mark for making the world a better place.

Snickerville Road was peppered with some of the nicest estate homes I have seen so the ride was not only safe but beautiful reminding me of the country roads around my home in Chester County.  I followed Mark’s clear directions and soon arrived in Purcellville.  I asked a nice women working in her garden if she could direct me to the W&OD bike trail…turned out I was only three blocks from the trail head.  The remainder of my day would be on the fantastic Virginia/DC trail system, one of the best in the country.

My friend and fellow Arthritis Foundation volunteer, Mike Ortman had arranged for two television interviews today.  I needed to be in Reston by 12:00 so I stopped and examined a trail map and calculated the time I would need to make these appointments.  Had I not taken the ride from Mark, I would have missed both opportunities to promote arthritis awareness.  I cruised into Reston, did both interviews and had lunch in Reston Town Center.

I got back on the W&OD not really knowing how I would get to Crystal City, my home for the next two days.  I called my friend Walt (who previously lived in Reston and often rode the trail).  He consulted his iPhone and advised me to take the W&OD until I could connect with the Mt Vernon Trail and head north.  There would be an “exit” off the Mt Vernon into Crystal City. I rode on and his iPhone assisted advice was perfect.  Along the way, I got another call from Mike…he had arranged an interview with DC channel 4.  They would meet me at my hotel.  Does this guy ever let up?  Chris, the cameraman from channel 4 called me while I was riding and gave me some confirming directions to my hotel and met me there shortly after I arrived.  We did the interview and shot some video. 

You will not be able to turn on a television in DC tonight without seeing my bearded face and learning about arthritis thanks to Mike Ortman.

David

August 3, 2009