Some new faces, some familiar faces, balmy 80 degree weather, and azaleas in peak bloom made this ride a fantastic beginning to this summer-long series of Arlington Evening Bike Rides. Twelve cyclists came out for the evening’s 12 mile loop, designed to take in the best of azalea season in Arlington, using the W&OD Trail, the Custis Trail, and quiet neighborhood streets. Upon returning to Clarendon just before sunset, eleven folks were able to stay around and conclude the enjoyable evening with conversation and al fresco dining at Nam Viet Restaurant.

After work rides continue every Tuesday evening at 6:25pm. Each week’s route is designed so that the ride is completed by sunset. Ride distances gradually increase in length with increasingly later sunsets, but then gradually decrease in length after the summer solstice. All riders, including new riders and those who may be a little out of practice, are welcome to join the weekly adventure whenever and as often as possible.

After threatening all week to hurl thunderbolts and tornadoes on Sunday, our friendly if mercurial neighborhood weather gods relented and instead bestowed a stunningly clear and warm day for this year's Trillium Hike. The flamboyance and abundance of the trillium did not disappoint our 13 Adventurers (including our old friend Werner, recently relocated to the East Coast from southern Arizona), though the showy orchis and a few other wildflowers were not quite ready for prime time. The trails in the Thompson Wildlife Management Area were overrun with nature lovers, many of whom were members of other area outdoors groups like Wanderbirds and the Center Club. The unexpected star of today's outing was Blizzard, a pet ferret possessed of great charm and charisma, who enlivened our stop at the Manassas Gap Shelter. We ended our delightful walk in beauty with a refreshingly uneventful crossing of that sometimes-sneaky stream 100 yards from our parking lot.

Springtime in the Shenandoah Valley, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s provided the backdrop for a spectacular outing. While our group of six cyclists kept to lightly traveled byways rolling over mostly gentle terrain, clear blue skies offered wonderful visas of the Blue Ridge Mountains off in the distance.

At the furthest extent of our loop we passed briefly into West Virginia, where we cycled passed the rumble of high testosterone vehicles on the racetrack at Summit Point. A few miles later we turned onto the very delightful Springstown Road, tree-lined on either side providing a nice canopy as the virtually untraveled narrow bitumen meandered through the bucolic piedmont.

We reached Berryville at mile 26, where we stopped to refuel. After grazing through a potpourri of local food shops and gathering various delectable morsels, we gathered around a picnic table in the very nicely groomed city park. After lunch we had but 10 miles remaining before reaching our cars in the hamlet of Boyce for the hour’s drive back to the city.

Despite forecasts for clearing skies and warming temperatures, cool, overcast, misty conditions persisted all day, making it seem more like late March than late April. But six Adventurers enjoyed our outing on the Northern Central Railroad Trail anyway, thanks to the pleasant springtime scenery embracing us with every step. Most of our stroll was next to streams, with Little Falls ("falls" being the local term for brook, creek or run) providing the most attractive settings; indeed, we lunched at a NOAA-financed overlook atop a rather impressive cascade, which we dubbed the Great Falls of the Little Falls. No copperheads appeared here or elsewhere, although signs warned they might be lurking about. Numerous wildflowers and dogwood were seen throughout our journey, peppered with an occasional redbud. Our itinerary took us past several ghost towns that were major stops back when the railroad was in its prime; all that was left of one such place was a fitness course, like you see in Rock Creek Park. As we neared the hike's end, we discovered an interesting Nature Preserve embedded in the surrounding Park, a Preserve distinctive for an abundance of blue blazes on virtually every tree in sight. The one mystery we were unable to resolve was the meaning of the large "W" appearing on many markers next to the trail. "Water?" "Washington?" "West?" The world wonders.

Fourteen Adventurers enjoyed a beautiful day exploring the ‘wilds’ of Northern Rock Creek Park. As usual, our first stop was the North Corner Boundary Marker of the original District of Columbia, pictured. [There is a Wikipedia article entitled “Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)” for those interested; whatever did we do before Wikipedia??] Then we bushwhacked into the tony North Portal Estates neighborhood and eventually onto the Western Ridge Trail. Our crossing of mighty Pinehurst Branch (pictured) was a great success, granting us courage to charge the north face of Fort DeRussy; we celebrated our successful capture of the Fort by posing for a picture at the plaque. After a quick restroom stop at the Visitor Center, we descended to the Creek to lunch. During lunch, two brave Adventurers managed to cross the Creek on boulders; of the four boots that crossed, only one got wet! Then it was ‘boots back on the ground’ as we followed the Valley Trail back to North Portal and Silver Spring. Afterwards, four of us enjoyed an early dinner and margaritas at Mi Rancho.

The chill in the air of late has felt more wintry than spring-like, but on this April afternoon it was nothing but glorious spring cycling weather…..particularly since we pushed back the start time to 12:00 noon which allowed lingering morning showers to pass through. With a few new faces, a few almost new faces, and a few very familiar faces; an interesting mix of seven cyclists set out on the Rock Creek Trail to Georgetown, where we connected onto the Capital Crescent Trail. We paused for a leisurely alfresco lunch in Bethesda before completing our loop back down through Rock Creek Park to our starting point at Pierce Mill.