This is my second full day in the new dwelling. I woke up around 10:00am, made coffee and drank it while reading Bike Arlington. Trails lead me from my front door to the Iwo Jima memorial, the Neatherlands carillon, and along Arlington Cemetery to the Memorial Bridge.
After checking tire pressure and filling my water bottle, I set out. In no less than five minutes, I became exceedingly tired just as I was passing my new workplace. I even began to grow light-headed. Feeling a little ridiculous, I pressed on ignoring the pains and eventually all of the symptoms went away. I was reminded by a statement by Churchill: "When going through Hell, keep going." In no time at all, I was keeping up with traffic along level roads and flying down grades as I raced toward the Iwo Jima Memorial.
The memorial consists of a reproduction of Joseph Rosenthal's epic photograph of men struggling to raise the US Flag on a pole atop a hill of rubble. The details of the M1 Garand and M1 Carbines carried by the men were impressive. Several marines stood by answering questions and mingling with onlookers.
I pressed on and made it to the Neatherlands Carillon given to the US in 1960 as a way of paying tribute for our help liberating them during WWII. From that vantage point, I was directly west of the Lincoln Memorial on the Arlington side of the Potomac River. Because Arlington is somewhat elevated, I had a clear view of much of the Washington Mall. I could see the Capitol in the distance and the Jefferson Memorial off in the distance, not likely to receive my company on this day. It was at this point that Brad Neely's "Washington, Washing-ton" video began playing incessantly in my mind. "Six foot twenty fucking killing for fun..." I sped off across the bridge.
Bike Arlington mentions several rules of biking on sidewalks and in the vicinity of pedestrians. When passing, do so on the left and call out your intention to pass with enough time for them to accommodate you. Pass with at least two feet between them and you. These were sensible enough, and I was eager to play by the rules and mesh cleanly and neatly with this strangely inviting bicycle culture. The Arlington people responded nicely to "passing on the left" and instantly reacted by moving to the right. I said thank you each time, and surely no feathers were ruffled.
On the Washington side, things were different. The Arlington Memorial bridge takes you directly from Arlington Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial which today was full of tourists. As I approached their flocks, pedestrians either ignored the announcement "passing to the left" in which case I darted around them, or they froze like possums and then started moving in random directions, many of which made things worse. My patience was beginning to diminish, though my skill with handling the bike in crowds without sacrificing much speed was growing. My confidence in doing so grew as well, and I began to label my tour through DC an act of "pedestrian bowling." At one point, I approached a single white male with plenty of room to clear him, so I decided to play a trick as I passed. "Passing on your left AND your right." He just looked around confused as I zipped by. Quantum Cyclist was amused.
My plan for the day was not to visit museums but simply gather intel regarding the arrangement of various sites of opportunity, test the utility of my bicycle, and to enjoy the weather. It's still rather cool and clear here, and today there was a gentle breeze puffing softly to the East [I would later call the same breeze a raging impenetrable squall as I pressed back home this afternoon].
I passed by the Reflecting Pond lined with scores of onlookers, the Washington Monument, and I entered the National Mall. The Air and Space museum was visible from afar as were several other museums. The expansive US Capitol Building dominates the far end of the Mall, so I resolved to see it. But first, I turned north believing the White House to be nearby. I quickly encountered Pennsylvania Avenue and zipped through the obstruction blocking automobiles from passing by. The sidewalk narrowed, and the White House South Lawn came into view. It was rather pretty, and I attempted a few camera phone photographs. For some strange reason, other people taking photographs did so not from against the fence but from the far side of the sidewalk, so while there was space to pass, doing so interrupted their photographs. It was an odd trend. He saves children but not the British children.
I turned North and passed by the US Treasury building stopping for a photo. Coming around again, I passed along the north face of the White House which is much closer and took another photograph. I finally made it back to the Mall and made a beeline toward the Capitol. As I approached, I noticed an arrangement of chairs and and a voice came over a loudspeaker. Apparently George Washington University was practicing their graduation arrangements. Future be ware; he's coming.
I made it up to the Capitol steps and parked. I overheard someone asking police manning a human barricade whether tourists were allowed inside. "No sir. This is the USSR and citizens are not permitted to observe their government in action. Just kidding, you have to be on a guided tour and you can get tickets [nearby]." I reflected on the notion of an open government, and took a photo pridefully. I called Nic who suggested I visit the Courthouse and gave me directions.
Biking around the Capitol, I got a better sense of how large a building it is. The great size surely is intimidating and impressive to arriving dignitaries. Twelve stories tall made of radiation.
Continuing on, I came upon the US Supreme Court building. Nic had asked if there were protesters, but I could only spot one person in the otherwise relatively vacant space of the Courthouse steps involved in a protest. She was at the foot of the stairs with a piece of red tape over her mouth on which the term "pro life" had been written. She stared plaintively at the courthouse but glanced over to me a few times. I figure dropping a pile of bloody wire coat hangers off at "pro life" protesters feet might send a bit of a message, but no one I know has time to be politically active during the week; we all have jobs.
The rest of this block is devoted to House and Senate offices which I paid suitable attention to. Being the weekend, no one ostensibly important was likely to be coming out of them, so I didn't wait too long. I pedaled around to the south edge of the mall and entertained the possibility of visiting at least one of the Smithsonian Museums. It was pointed out to me earlier and reiterated today that the American History Museum was closed for renovations which is rather disappointing. I arrived at the Air&Space and began casting about for a place to put my bike. In doing so, I noticed the lines of eager visitors and decided that I should probably do that a different day so I started out for home.
As I arrived at the Memorial Bridge, this time on the north edge, I came upon a hillside with stairs facing the river. Airliners on approach were flying directly overhead at perhaps less than 2000 ft and mushing along at high angles of attack, low airspeed, and slipping in a cross wind. I decided to rest and watch them for a while.
Emma called me and gave me reports of her 31st story hotel room in downtown Boston in which she'll spend the remainder of her trip [stirring my envy]. We talked for a bit, and as we did a small sailboat with a single sail came into view. A middle aged couple were out sailing in perfect weather with a constant wind blowing across the river meaning you can go north or south with very little effort. Their novice sailing skills became apparent when the wife lost her hat and they attempted to pull up along side to retrieve it. This maneuver is identical to man-overboard drills, so coming close enough to pick up the floating object on the first pass without hitting it with the boat is an important thing for any sailor to be able to do. They made three passes, accidentally gybed a few times [with the consequences on a larger boat that someone might get hit in the head by a fast-moving boom having the force of the wind behind it], and moved under the bridge and out of my view without having retrieved their target. They were having fun though.
I resolved at that point to somehow go sailing in the Potomac at least once, preferably more. This may require buying [or building] a boat if I can't rent one. Hmm. He threw a knife into Heaven and could kill with his stare.
I finally crossed the bridge with the wind in my face, up the hills that I had so effortlessly glided down, and eventually made it back to Fairfax drive and then to my house in Fields Park. It was a delightful day.
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This said, I highly recommend biking through Washington. The city is friendly toward bikes, and if you can handle pedestrians and other cyclists you can get around rather quickly without spending a lot of energy doing so. It's also a lot of fun. A bike rack at Emma's capable of carrying three full-size bikes is available to anyone wanting to come visit.
Here I am exhausted after a rather good day. I'll try to get the camera phone photos up soon.
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