Day 39: Coming to Arlington

Sleep came easily for us in Strasburg and waking came with equal ease because we knew we had an amazing breakfast made by Phil’s mom waiting for us.  We gathered round the large dining room table and shared our last meal in Strasburg with Phil’s mom and step dad.  A breakfast casserole an monkey bread geared us up for the long ride to Arlington Virginia where my brother would host us for the night.  Today was very different than any other day on the trip because for the first time there were four bikes that rolled out of the garage instead of our usual pack of three.  Phil had decided to bike with us to DC which gave us an extra boost of energy as we worked closer and closer to our final destination.  Phil guided us through the Virginia countryside on our way to Purcellville where we planned on picking up the Washington and Old Dominion Bike path that would lead us around the DC traffic and safely to Lee’s house.  While zooming through the countryside we spotted a large flea market and we couldn’t resist stopping and checking out the local fare.  All of us came back empty handed, except Steve who scored a TI-83 calculator for 2 dollars.  We finished out the morning by climbing our last two mountains of the trip before dropping down into Purcellville.  We showed Phil how to navigate the McDonald’s Dollar Menu at lunch and then hit the trail with hopes of meeting Lee halfway. The trail was relatively flat and crowded with local bikers ranging from casual exercisers to serious bikers out for long training rides. Once we were on the trail we stopped twice to fix some flats one of which turned out to be a mystery because once we had it all taken apart it appeared to hold air.  Jody and Steve told me that next time Id better get a second opinion before taking such actions.  Later Steve ate his words as the same thing happened to him. Regardless we powered down the trail, meeting Lee which provided us with another morale boost as we continued on the trail to Arlington.  Steve was keeping track of our total mileage so we stopped along the way to celebrate our 3,000 mile mark, with a photo shoot.  The afternoon dragged on as we pedaled down the long straight path, but we eventually arrived around five oclock.  We were definitely glad to have avoided the DC traffic and be safely at our destination.  That night Lee made us some incredible burgers and pesto lasagna with some freshly harvested basil from his garden.  Later in the evening, our friend Scott Turner who is in DC for the summer stopped by to visit.  We all enjoyed relaxing in the evening and sharing stories with both Lee and Scott.  That night we went to bed full of good food and ready for our day off tomorrow which we had planned to spend in DC.

92 Miles