Washington DC
The photo above is at the US Capitol, which I consider the start of the trip. It is cold and raining and not particularly pleasant, but nice to get a start. Tomorrow the weather forecast is for more rain, but not as much – so hopefully there will be some hours of dry weather.
My Amtrak train was on time. Somehow I actually slept a little better the night in the coach seat than in the sleeper, but otherwise the sleeper was nice. Both trains were on time or even fifteen minutes early. This gave me a five hour layover in Chicago. I had checked my panniers all the way through but not my bike. It was nice to get in a 16.8 mile ride in Chicago. I visited the Bean and then went a little ways along the lake shore.
On arrival at Union Station in DC, I went to the baggage car and retrieved my bicycle. There were two others also retrieving bikes. Pittsburgh to DC is a popular cycle route (the Gap and C&O canal together – though neither of these riders looked like they were riding this). I waited for my luggage to arrive and placed the panniers on the bike.
The US Capitol was immediately visible so I walked/rode there to start. I got the shot at top from one side and walked around the other side to see construction and walked over to the Supreme Court as well. After that it was wet and miserable enough that I found my motel (managed by a Patel by the way) and got out of the rain. Now get things set up for departure tomorrow.
| Elapsed Time | Moving Time | Distance | Average Speed | Max Speed | Elevation Gain | Calories Burned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
00:54:09
hours
|
00:36:13
hours
|
3.13
mi.
|
5.19
mph
|
11.80
mph
|
193.57
ft.
|
263
kcal
|
| Elapsed Time | Moving Time | Distance | Average Speed | Max Speed | Elevation Gain | Calories Burned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
02:21:39
hours
|
01:39:12
hours
|
16.70
mi.
|
10.10
mph
|
19.98
mph
|
301.84
ft.
|
1,238
kcal
|
Hi Mike,
I couldn’t catch you in DC. It was all rainy and we were already wet. Had to take shelter.
Hope you have a fantastic time.
It was an ugly wet afternoon, so I didn’t necessarily expect to run into you. I made one quick circle around the capitol and then also found shelter.
I laughed at your tracking of motels run by Patels. We stayed for most of last summer in a Home 2 suites in Alpharetta Ga run by a Patel. On a trip to Savannah, another H2S run by a Patel. Both women!