After a very fitfull night of sleep (for me), 16 of us departed from the Barlow Center at 8:00 a.m. (That in itself is a feat.)
We went down to the same place we rented kayaks and rented 16 bikes, locks, and helmets. Some people didn’t want to get helmets, but I convinced them because they were only a dollar. I took them by the shoulders, looked them in the eye, and in a half-joking tone said, “isn’t your brain worth $29.95?” When they replied yes, but they don’t cost $29.95, I said, I know isn’t it great, they’re only one dollar. I hope you think your brain is worth that.
Then we were off. It is 18 miles one way to Mt. Vernon from Washington D.C. Why did we decide to bike? Around mile 15 I was asking myself the same question.
Luckily it was delightfully overcast and just the right temperature for strenuous activity.
We took the Mt. Vernon Trail (which is appropriately named because it ends at Mt. Vernon) from the rental place (near Watergate hotel).
Mt. Vernon was very cool. I paid more than I’m used to for entrance (I’m used to free), but the facilities were very nice, and the museum was very interesting. Pictures were rarely allowed (we weren’t allowed to take any pictures in the mansion or the museum), but I can testify that it is a very pretty place. I can see why General Washington (as he was referred to at Mt. Vernon) liked it.
The house itself was very beautiful and just off the banks of the Potomac. They showed a short video about Washington’s contribution to American history that dramatized his courtship of Martha (who was a widow). The whole time I was very impressed with their relationship. They carried lockets with pictures in them and wrote to each other when they were apart, but Martha tried to go with General Washington everywhere she could, including to war.
They never had children, but they raised Martha’s children from her previous marriage. Also, when Martha’s son died in his twenties, they took his children into their home and raised them as their own.
We saw George Washington’s dentures, the original George Washington kneeling in prayer painting, and the tombs of Martha and George.
Also, we learned that General Washington’s greatest legacy to the American people is that he stepped down from office. He refused to be king, and then resigned from the office of the President after two terms. If he hadn’t done that, the political tradition of our country would have been completely different.
Sadly, I didn’t get many pictures because I didn’t want to swerve into oncoming traffic. I mean, I am pretty coordinated, but juggling handlebars, water, and a camera seemed to be a bridge too far.
Also sadly, many many bugs tragically ended their lives today, on my face. It’s not tragic that they died, but it is tragic that they decided to kamikaze into my eyes, nose, or mouth.
Remember the rain from last night? It found us again, but strangely we didn’t care as much. It’s amazing how many things you don’t care about when you’ve biked 34 miles and you only have two to go. Rain, appearance, and general hygiene are all included in the “not important enough” category.
About the bikes. If you pictured us all on fancy ten-speeds with handle bar brakes, think again. Picture us all on bikes with handlebars that could fit a basket (some had baskets), just one gear, and reverse-pedal brakes. Yes, not only did we bike 36 miles to and from Mt. Vernon, we did it on single-speed dinosaurs. Some of them were falling apart. One girl’s chain came off several times, and then her handlebars got loose and turned upside down. My seat gradually sunk down to the base of the bike. At the beginning of the ride, I was able to fully extend my legs when I pedaled. At the end, you might have mistaken me for one of those tall clowns on an oversized mini tricycle. Knees up to my ears.
But I am glad I went. We traveled mostly along the coast of the Potomac, but saw some beautiful Virginia cities in the middle. When you slow down, you are able to see a lot more of the country. Some moments of the bike trail were indescribably beautiful. Albeit, forcing each shaking leg down in a downpour, just focusing on the next pedal, doesn’t help you appreciate the bucolic atmosphere, but those moments were shortlived. Many more beautiful than painful moments came out of our trip. (Although I bet many painful moments are yet to come.)
And I’m proud of us. 16 moderately-fit people did a very athletic thing and we all survived.
And even biking on the single-speeds was fun. I haven’t ridden a bike like that since I was a kid.
When we got home, we peeled ourselves off our bikes, wrung out our clothing, and did our best to learn to walk again. After dinner, we ran around getting things together for FHE. Ben (my co-chair) gave a really good lesson about asking questions, and then I led a round of “get-to-know-you” bingo. Or “bing” as we called it, because there were four columns instead of five (I thought five was too many). I instructed everyone to get up and talk to as many people as possible to get to know them, and then brought everyone back together to play the game. I said a statement (e.g. this person lived in Portuguese foreign language housing and shares a birthday with Dr. Suess) and then they put a skittle/m&m on the square with that person’s name (Marydawn) on it. The prize was toilet paper. We all need it and we all suffer without it, so it couldn’t fail. Afterwards, the Burtons provided many, many donuts for us to partake of.
Now, I am carefully sitting on my bed, trying to avoid the huge bicycle-shaped bruise on my tush. I imagine tomorrow will be fun, gingerly sitting in my seat at work, carefully walking up stairs, and prying myself out of every position held longer than five minutes.
But, it’s okay. I kind of like it. It’s nice that I did something that was hard for me. It was nice to push myself and succeed.
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