Having rolled out of Charlotte at the end of the party, we made our way closer to DC and “slept” east of Durham for a few hours. Up early and out the door after a banana break we headed toward Richmond. At Richmond we picked up Bike Law Tom and switched drivers.
Bob took the wheel and got us quickly and smoothly in the Nation’s Capitol. After a few turns and maneuvers usually reserved for bicycles, Bob rolled us right in front of the day’s destination, Bicycle Space.
We were in town to see the sites and enjoy some riding on the Cupcake Ramble. We were a little surprised to learn this version of the ride the “cupcake” stop was going to be for pretzels.
While freeing a few cargo bikes, one of the wrenches from the shop took care of Peter’s Grand Bois to get us ready to ride.
With our instructions and a photo we rolled east through the city and then south to the waterfront. We passed the Trapeze School of New York where it looked like everyday folks got to be circus stars for a bit.
From the waterfront we headed over the 11th Street Bridge to Anacostia park. Slowly rolling through families setting up the days picnic and jamming out was a treat. As we left the park, we headed to the Pretzel Bakery. God pretzels for sure, but the consensus hit was the basil lemonade.
It was nice to sit in the shade and meet some of the group we hadn’t yapped to along the route. Such a good group. People from all over with all different paths into cycling. I loaded the extra pretzels in the cargo bin and off we went back to the shop.
Back at Bicycle Space we hung around for a good bit and talked bikes and made plans for the rest of the day. Peter drove the Sprinter to his mom’s house while Bob, DaveS and I zipped across the city to hit up another favorite shop the Bicycle Pro Shop.
We enjoyed a little scofflaw riding along the way and made it there well ahead of any car that would have tried to follow. At the shop we chatted up Christian about the store.
Bob, Dave and I headed out through traffic again to drop down onto the Capitol Crescent Trail to make our way into Maryland. Tons of people were on the trail. It was a tight squeeze a few times, but a really sweet ride back to the night’s lodging.
