Ding ding

So I finally brought my bike back from my parents’ house in Philly. I’m temporarily storing it in my garage (read: disassembled, and in my trunk). Though this weekend’s weather is not exactly ideal, I’m excited to saddle up and get back riding.

There’s a big contingent of bike riders at my office, but I can’t really envision doing the Bethesda to Crystal City trek on a regular basis, though considering the amount of time I sit in traffic, it might even out. It’s safe to say at this point that I’m really just starting out as a biker in the DC area. Though I’ve logged probably a few thousand miles as a pretty hardcore biker in high school and college, my exercise routine has definitely waned over the past few years.

So I’m getting back into it, and I’ll try and post a few photos from my innaugural ride. As I’m getting prepared, I thought that I’d share a few links and resources for biking in the DC area, especially around my way.

The two main trails of interest for me are the Capital Crescent Trail, which covers a wide area from the upper northeast of the District, and cresting around the city through Maryland. I’ve walked on some of the trail, which is paved and unpaved in different areas and cuts through downtown Bethesda.

• The Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail – http://www.cctrail.org/
• Wikipedia Entry for the Trail – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Crescent_Trail

The historic C&O Canal trail is something that I drive along each day on my way to work. I’ll have to explore the upper parts of the 185 mile trail, along with the related National Park at some point, but the lower areas lead directly into Georgetown, paralleling the Potomac river on the Maryland side.

• Biker’s Guide to crusing the Canal – http://bikewashington.org/canal/
• Association for the Canal – http://www.candocanal.org/
• Wikipedia entry on the Canal – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal

Also, Google’s added some beta directions for getting to places on bike. The map of trail in Rock Creek Park still look mighty confusing, but it’s still estimating about an hour and a half for me to bike to work. I’ll have to work on my speed and get myself in better shape to improve that estimate.

http://maps.google.com/

For now, I’m excited to get back on the trail, and my goal is to bike to work at least once while the weather’s getting nice. Stay tuned.