Chris and his wife saw me off with a good night’s sleep and a bowl of cheerios, and the day was great.
Alexandria, VA and other nearby suburbs are a lot like Seattle. Lots of stoplights, lots of odd starts and ends to bike lanes, and lots of cars!
The trails are gorgeous, but quite busy on a Sunday, so it was a little “white knuckle” navigating runners, walkers, dogs and cyclists doing interval training. You know, the usual MUP crowd (OK, maybe a little more military than hipster – hey, this isn’t Seattle)! 😁
I decided to head for the Oak Ridge Campground. I should probably spend some time learning to read the ACA maps, because I used Google Maps to find the entrance, and it sent me up a gnarly gravel road with occasional patches of slippery wet clay.
At one point, I dismounted to consider my options. As I sat on the edge of the forest, my first doubts began to well up (honest, it was DOUBTS, not TEARS). But I told myself (out loud) to suck it up.
When I finally reached the campground, my remaining frustrations melted away. I love this!
