First Day, First Night

Hi all who are following my journey!

I had a wonderful sendoff with 20+ at the bike coop to send me off and about 15 riders following me through DC. Actually Juliellen Martin of the Bike Coop led the way on a beautiful path through our nation's capital to the mall. We stopped at my restaurant, Fogo de Chao, to say goodbye. One of the Southern Brazilians, Nelcir, was there, and he took down the blog so the other brazilians and restaurant workers there could follow along.

We journeyed past the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial, across the 14th St. (George Mason) Bridge and parted with a few of the riders there. Six of us continued on to Mt Vernon--my father Jerry, my brother Jimai, Dave, Joe, and Scott. We met up with my mother, MJ Park, and friend Ruth Hildenberger with 5 miles til Mt Vernon. The ride along the Potomac and through Old Town Alexandria was beautiful--blue sky with scattered clouds, 80 degree weather, lush foliage, and many other riders, bladers, walkers, and several tandems!

When we got to Mt Vernon, we bid our final farewells and I continued on a much less crowded bike path along the Mt Vernon Memorial Parkway towards Route 1. Finally, I was on my own, setting out on this long adventure. The path was not as well-kept as the path to Mt Vernon, and then, eventually, the path simply ended altogether!
I jumped on the shoulder of the Parkway, and soon I found Route One. I understood from my research that the Bicycle Route One was more or less the same as the motor vehicle Route One; I confidently turned onto the road, expecting an at least manageable ride next to the motor vehicles. That notion was quickly challenged, when no sooner than after turned onto the road, I was startled when an SUV zoomed by me leaving just a couple inches clearance. I took account of the situation, but proceded forward. When the road had a sufficient shoulder, things were fine, but sometimes the shoulder would get thin or sometime disappear altogether, such as when the road squeezed under a bridge. I would bicycle on the shoulder and go as far as I could go, and when the shoulder disappeared to a guardrail, or disappeared so the road could squeeze under a bridge, I would wait for traffic to subside and then proceed forward.

Eventually, began to think I might be able to find a less busy route, and I wanted to confirm what was considered the "Bicycle Route One", part of the Potomac Historic Scenic Trail that was all supposed to be part of the East Coast Greenway I hoped to be travelling on. I called Pat Childers of Trips for Kids to see if he knew any roads parallel to Route One with less traffic, and he said he knew there were some better roads East of route one, and that he believed the Bicycle Route One is distinct from the motor vehicle Route One. He suggested calling a bike shop in Fredericksburg to get recommendations from them since he did not know those roads well. I called 1-800-FREE-411, and they found no bike shop in Fredericksburg. The understanding that the motor vehicle route one is distinct from the bicycle route one consoled me, and I resolved to continue forward and make the next left (East) in search of a parallel road. So I proceded forward and suprisingly, miraculously, a bike path appeared along the right side of the road. I thought, "Wow, here is the bicycle Route One I have been looking for!"

Well, I took the path for a half mile, and then the path ran out again and I was back to riding on the slim shoulder. I began to search for another path or route parallel to Route One, and after looking at a map at a gas station, I was convinced that Route One for motor vehicles was the same as Route One for bicycles, at least for this stretch. So I resolved to work with the traffic. Onward I went. As it got dark, I had not reached Fredericksburg, so I checked in to a cheap motel. After a good night's sleep, I am prepared to continue to Fredericksburg, have lunch with my brother, and continue down the road!