Day 9: Hunt Vally, Maryland to Washington, D.C. 26 miles* 1700 feet of elevation

The actual mileage for today's ride was 82 miles.  I was only lucky enough to ride the first 26 miles. Business intruded.  I had to make a number of phone calls to the office and to clients and one of those was a webex conference call the required me using both my phone and my computer.

The rains cleared.  The sun came out.  The weather was quite mild this morning.  A perfect day to ride through Maryland horse country.

And, of all days, the ride into Washington, D.C. would have been great to do.  As it was, it was a logistical challenge to get me into the city, along with the SAG van carrying all the luggage.  The reason was that much of the second half of the ride was through Rock Creek Park.  A beautiful maze of walking, hiking and cycling paths, it's more of a labyrinth that requires careful mapping to get through.  Going in is no problem.  Exiting exactly where you want to is quite another.

The end of the line for me today was our first of two SAG stops.  Traditionally, this where we'll reload on water, electrolytes and any food/fuel we want, whether that's a PB&J sandwich or a Power Bar or some fresh fruit.  It's also where we can get any minor repairs done while on the road.

While riders were cycling through the Maryland countryside, Shane, our head ride leader, was riding through Rock Creek Park, placing arrows on the ground to highlight turns.  Apparently, the route maps aren't as accurate and, according to most of the riders tonight, the directions on the ground were indispensable.

While Shane was laying down route signs, Mike, one of the mechanics, and I drove into DC to our hotel.  I made it with an hour to space as traffic was light today.

Tomorrow is our rest day.  Doing laundry, visiting a museum, walking or cycling around town are all on our "to do" lists.