CD 3: Annapolis to Alexandria, VA. 53 miles/2,149’ gain

Foodies rejoice! History will take a pause, or at least a (very) temporary backseat to sharing some pretty healthy food choices. I’m thinking of you, C and J and Drs. K.

Chick and Ruth’s Deli on Main in Annapolis has been around for over fifty years, and has pictures of just about every Maryland pol on its walls.

Feeling it was high time I started trying to eat better (Tastykake Crimpets will only take you so far) I chose the broccoli/cheese omelet… probably the first veggies I’ve had on the trip. A few doors down a shop sold exotic teas, and the aroma made me think twice about Coke Zero.

Much of the day was spent on virtually empty country lanes like “Racetrack Road” outside Bowie, MD., with its covered bridge to no where and the long-since gone-to-pasture and decaying remnants of what was, for seventy one years, a horse track.

Beaver Dam Road (at center) was perhaps the best yet, with only two cars seen over many miles.

About 20 miles north of DC the route then began following the most spectacular series of bike paths I’ve ever seen outside of Germany. Portland, OR is proud of theirs, and greater Phoenix has an extensive series of paths that follow the canals, but both are poor examples compared to these, with smooth pavement, wooden bridges over the marshland, underpasses below every major intersection, no glass (!) and spectacular bridges over the rest. Paint Branch Trail is at top right, Northeast Branch Trail at lower left, and Anacostia River Walk Trail at lower center and right.

Better still, they were virtually empty.

Somewhere in there I was running out of zass (a name coined by step-daughter Courtney in an effort to get a fifty-point score in Scrabble; it is synonymous with “energy”). Feel free to use it. Stopping at a convenience store I instinctively reached for the cupcakes, then recalled a friend telling me to eat nuts (and raisins) when running low. Cashews to the rescue!

Riding through DC involved a few wrong turns, just to keep things interesting. The bike’s

Wahoo computer/GPS would then beep frantically, frustrated at my inability to follow its turn-by-turn instructions and forcing a U turn to get back on course.

South of town along Wharf Street I finally came across Maryland blue crabs in abundance (before, at left, and after being steamed, at right). There were three different businesses, all selling blue crabs and other seafood delights. Curiously, what I really wanted was a nice juicy burger and a 16 oz Cherry Coke Zero. Go figure.

The only monument passed was the neo-classicial Jefferson Memorial, honoring our 3rd president. It was designed by John Russell Pope and was contructed between 1939 and ‘43. During the 19th C this site was a beach, but then DC at the time was generally considered to be a swamp. Some might say it still is….

I reached yet another luxurious hotel, this time a Marriott, around 3:30 PM and flopped into my room, more tired than I should be after such an easy day. After being reunited with my two duffel bags of gear it was time to find something to eat outside the hotel (which sold my bev of choice or “only” $5/can).

Foodies, pay attention now. If you are ever in Arlington, VA I can highly, highly recommend Kohindoor Bhaba on Eads Street. Veggies! Naan! Excellent kabobs and… you guessed it, my long awaited Coke Zero.

Hey, at least I’m trying.

Tomorrow is a rest day and the first meeting of our official tour group. Two more nights at the Marriott and then it will be the REI tent and blowing up the Thermarest. I’m wondering if campgrounds have Coke Zero machines….

?