Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle > Glen Echo, MD > Seneca, MD > Dupont Circle
Distance: 49.3 mi. (flat to rolling)
Duration: 2:54
Weather: sunny and mild, northwest wind, 45-50 degrees
Climbing: 3,500′
Avg HR: 149 (max 187)
Type: aerobic

Given Monday’s holiday and the lovely, bluebird weather, it seemed like a great opportunity to take another ride on the newly-cleaned bike. The previous day’s rain had washed away much of the remaining snow and road salt, it seemed, and while the roads were damp, the sun was bright.

I rode from home, meeting the PPTC gang at Glen Echo just as they were shoving off on the official club ride. The route was one I know all-too-well, given it’s one of the old reliables when I want to go on an impromptu ride. The pace with the group was a bit fast, as folks who are in better mid-winter shape drove the speed up a tick higher than some of us (okay, namely me) wanted, but that’s fine. I rode with the group until the fork in the road in Seneca, where the others continued to get in their own 50-mile run (as well as a rest stop at mile 25), while I looped back toward DC, sans rest stop. So, aside from a quick stop in Glen Echo (as well as the requisite stop signs and traffic lights, most of which were brief trackstands), it was a non-stop 49.3 mile ride – not bad. And the average pace was decent for mid-January.

The best part? I was home around lunchtime, which meant I got to spend the lovely, sunny DC afternoon with sprite as we wandered around our fair city.