For the second time I rode into DC yesterday. It was a very challenging day of riding; I’m worn down from the three trips. The trail varied in quality; parts were really nice and smooth, but the last 10-15 miles were very rough and more suited for a mountain bike. Overall though it was an amazing trip.
One highlight was Great Falls, which Ted says is the second most water flowing over a falls in the United States (the first obviously being Niagara Falls). To get there you have to hike about a quarter mile over some walkways that take you through a high island which they called a river bed forest, and it was pretty magical. Then the falls themselves; well, words won’t do it justice, just look at the pictures.
Grabbing the bike from a bike shop took me down to Alexandria, right where I got the most amazing ice cream sundae last year while biking the Atlantic Coast. Didn’t have time to go back there though.
Then we had a celebration at a local pizza place and I made a couple of new friends. It was fun to connect with Jeremy on this trip; he’s a really interesting guy who’s a neurologist that runs research studies into ALS and has some good ideas about running some trips for ALS research in addition to MS. Then I met another alumni Amanda who I’d run into before and has a lot of enthusiasm for BTUSFMS. Then it was up super early to head to Reagan airport.
I feel ready to head home energized by both the organization and more generally my life goals, which is the best present that any trip or series of trips can give you.
