Good ride yesterday. I'm going to try to make this short, as I have a bunch of roles/permissions testing to do (funnnn) and need to get to the barn early this evening.

Started off at Westgate Park, then cycled east and then north of the Georgetown Pike. My turnaround point was at the end of a subdivision of houses with million dollar views. Sadly, the best view was obstructed by some monstrosity of a house… complete with gated driveway and security camera. I'm curious as to whether it's a famous person living there, or just someone who's tired of chasing view-seekers away.

There was one house next to it that's still under construction and void of any inhabitants - I figured I might as well get in a good look at the Potomac River before it's completed. After sliding down the driveway and traipsing through some mud, I got my reward:

Okay, I look like a tool in this shot. But isn't the river gorgeous?

After the gnats started to become unbearable, I hiked back up to my bike, dug the dirt out of my cleats and continued on my ride. As you can see below, I did some wacky ass stuff in hopes of adding a few extra miles in. Looking back, that one section where I cross Old Dominion twice instead of just going straight on OLD Chesterbrook was totally pointless. Sometimes I feel like half of my ride is spent waiting for a break in traffic so I can cross those busy road. Trying to ride across Dolley Madison/123 during rush hour is like playing real life Frogger.

It also didn't occur to me to check the elevation map before leaving, as I was hit with several hard climbs at the 20 mile mark. I was starting to get tired at that point and that half a Power bar's energy was long gone, so not the wisest move on my part.

Overall, 26 miles… 2 miles more than mapped due to a missed turn. (Not to be confused with getting lost.)