At 4:30pm yesterday I was in that very particular pit of despair that comes from staring at spreadsheets for too many hours. My phone rang. Millennial that I am, I grimaced and braced myself. 

I ended up having a delightful chat with John, a gentleman in his 70s who was looking for some info on biking the C&O towpath from Cumberland to DC. He’d ridden the trail a few times, but not in many years. His main concern was whether he was allowed to ride the trail with his e-bike. I was happy to be able to report that yes, e-bikes are welcome on the towpath. We also covered other recent developments on the C&O—campsite water is no longer treated, so you need to filter or boil it, and White’s Ferry is closed, so your last chance to bail to the paved W&OD trail is the Route 15 bridge in Point of Rocks. It’s always fun to talk to someone who’s excited for a bike ride. 

Just after I got off the phone, my wife texted me a video of our daughter pedaling her bike on the Northwest Branch Trail for the first time. Mood improvement: complete. 

Even when you’re not riding yourself, bikes are a source of joy.

Things to do this week:

A fun route idea for the weekend

From the Glenmont Metro, head east on Glenallan Ave and pick up the unpaved end of the Northwest Branch Trail on the other side of Kemp Mill Road.  Enjoy the evolution of the trail from bumpy gravel to flowy mountain bike singletrack to paved trail as you cruise back to the West Hyattsville Metro. 

For an all-pavement experience, head south on Layhill from the Metro, hop on the Georgia Ave sidewalk for a few blocks, then ride through Wheaton Regional Park, cross Arcola Ave, and pick up the Sligo Creek Trail in Arcola Park.