Day 11: Washington, D.C. to Fredericksburg, Virginia. 93 miles 4500 feet of elevation.

The mass exodus this morning.  The trick was waiting for all the riders as we kept getting strung out between blocks due to traffic lights as well as general rush hour traffic congestion.  We also picked up four new riders last night.  All are from Toronto.

Today was unusual in that we disrupted what has now become a standard routine with two major changes.  On normal days, we eat first (6:00 or 6:30), go back to our rooms to collect our bags, load bags  45 minutes later and take off whenever we want thereafter.  Today, we loaded at 6:00, had a review to today's route at 6:15, ate breakfast at 6:30, took a group photo at 7:10 and left the city en masse at 7:15.  A group ride out is unusual and only used when we need to leave a major city as a collective in order to provide better safety as well as ensuring that we all get out of town in one piece.

Saw this on the side of the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown while we were stopped at a light.  Loved the imagery .

This morning, the first 16 miles were flat as a pancake as we rode through Georgetown to ride along the Potomac on both the Washington, D.C. and Virginia sides.  We passed along the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Jefferson Memorials, then crossed a bridge (wasn't paying attention to know which one) and rode along the Virginia side as we circumnavigated Reagan National Airport.  Sixteen miles after we started, we were in Alexandria and on the Mt. Vernon trail.  From then on, it was all riders to their own speed and pace.

The Potomac River from the Memorials side early this morning.  So calm with only a handful of rowers making waves.

I wish there were nicer shots to show you, but it seemed as if we passed near but not next to most major attractions along the way.  Close to Mt. Vernon, but not there.  Close to Quantico (where we could here the loud bangs from artillery practice) but no signs of the actual facilities.  Close to downtown Fredericksburg, but we snuck in the back way and saw little of the actual town or welcome signs.  Even the horse farms along the way were bereft of horses.  Nothing grazing out in the pasturelands.

The SAG stops were spread out at 30-mile increments, so many of us sought additional liquids along the route.  The one provided just the right stuff around mile 50.

The temperatures were relatively warm today but comfortable.  Mostly the high 80's.  The next few days are expected to be scorchers again, with forecasts in the upper 90's by Friday or Saturday.  Then there's this storm brewing in the Gulf.  Who knows where that'll end up!

Ten years ago this summer, Jesse and I took a road trip in honor of his high school graduation.  We toured much of the South and, owing to a bit of fortune and serendipity, wound up here as our first Civil War battlefield tour.  Unlike Shiloh or Gettysburg, much of the historic Fredericksburg battlefield has been consumed by the expanding civilization.  As the Park Ranger pointed out back then, "Behind where you are standing, the artillery of Generals Lee, Beauregard and Jackson waited for the Union Army to advance.  If you look down the road at that third STOP sign, next to that blue Buick, you can see where the Union forces were pinned down under the hail of enemy fire."  You don't get that kind of intrigue at Gettysburg!