June 26, 2021 College Park, MD —> Manassas, VA – 49.4 miles

Began riding on Hwy 1 S in a steady rain at 7:40 a.m. anticipating a long day ahead. Fortunately, this portion of Hwy 1 S was in better condition than yesterday’s ride and since it was early Saturday morning the traffic was fairly light. I passed by the University of Maryland and within 45 minutes or so the rain stopped. I left Hwy 1 S after approximately 6 miles and started a series of twists and turns into and through Washington D.C. I hadn’t realized that the route would take me literally past our nation’s capitol and the Washington Monument. I was stunned by the fact that there was no traffic to speak of. Even more stunned that my directions held and I did not get lost in the city.

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Eventually I crossed the Potomac River and began riding the Mount Vernon Trail, a nicely paved bike path. There were many folks out riding bikes or walking and enjoying the day. This path took me alongside Reagan National Airport and into Alexandria, where I picked up the Potomac Yard Trail and eventually headed towards Manassas.

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It was quite warm and I stopped frequently for water. About 20 miles from Manassas I noticed that my rear tire was slack and pulled over to assess. Since it wasn’t totally flat, I made the decision to pump it up and hope it would hold long enough to get to my cousin’s house, rather than take the time to unload the bike and change the tube. After 10 miles or so, I re-assessed the situation and put a little more air in, promising myself that I would replace the tube sometime in the next couple of days during my rest stop.

As has been the case during most of this journey, the roads once again proved to be in mostly good condition with nice shoulders. I also came across frequent full bike paths running alongside the main roads. I arrived at my cousin Ross’ apple orchard/farm a little after 3 p.m. Ross bought the orchard/farm almost 40 years ago while he was still a practicing veterinarian. Since retiring in 2016, caring for the orchard has become his full time passion. I’ve heard about the orchard for years and have wanted to see it.

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Ross greeted me as I got off the bike and introduced me to Toni, his business partner and also a veterinarian, and, most importantly, to Pippin. Pippin is an adorable wire hair fox terrier with a joyful spring in her step and happy disposition. She made me feel joyful just looking at her. We should all bring such positive energy into the world.

We wasted no time and took a hike through the orchard, with Ross pointing out the multiple variety of apples and educating me on various aspects of growing and selling apples at the local farmers markets. Proper pruning, weighing down branches, grafting new varieties and spraying were just a few of the topics. Ross also has a vegetable garden and some grapevines.

After cleaning up, Ross and Toni took me out to dinner. Toni and I had a fabulous mustard chicken dish with veggies, and Ross had a Waldorf salad. The conversation was delightful as we discussed old memories and caught up on what had happened over the years when we had lost touch somewhat. Ross is also an aspiring writer and told me about several plot lines of his novels – both completed and in progress. One was even set in Texas. He has quite the detailed imagination and is a great storyteller.

Toni is graciously allowing me to stay at her house for a few days to rest and re-group – which is in what I would describe as an almost retreat-like setting alongside the Cedar Run River. I felt an immediate connection with Toni and we seem to have no trouble finding things to talk about. The perfect place to rest and prepare for the next phase of my ride.