Cycle2City

This is my dream. A full service, urban bike commuter station that has secure bike parking, air-conditioned locker rooms, showers, and laundry service for those of us who bike into the office but need a place to magically transform into our office selves. They even have flexible purchase plans (5 days a week, 3 days a week or daily)! Too bad you have to go to Australia to get it. Maybe one day...

Yoga Adventure

That's me, next to the guy in blue!

Reason #26,231 why I love Lululemon: free yoga under the Cherry Blossoms last Saturday morning. Granted, the incredible winds made for more of a “yoga adventure” than the calm, de-stressing yoga that I am used to, but we had fun either way. Afterward, I biked to brunch at Luna in Dupont with the fine ladies that you see below. ::I ordered an enormous amount of food just to make sure that I wasn’t on TOO much of a health kick:: As it turns out, every Lululemon store has weekly free yoga classes; you can check out the schedules here: Logan Circle, Georgetown and Bethesda.

Perfect Autumn Bike Ride

Cool, sunny, autumn days like last Sunday are made for long bike rides. So my biking partner-in-crime (and Ratatat concert partner-in-crime) Charlie and I decided to take on one of the area’s most talked about routes: the Mt Vernon trail. I was cursing myself for not bringing a camera because there are so many parts of this trail that are unbelievably pretty. We started out in Virginia, near Gravelly point, and biked along the GW Parkway through Old Town, Alexandria, Riverside Park, Dyke Marsh and out to Mt. Vernon. And then back to Washington. All in all, we biked a total of 36 miles in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. And while I wasn’t ready to run a marathon when we got back, it wasn’t too exhausting either. I can tell that this route is one that I will want to do again and again and again.

A couple of tips:
-The last three miles from Washington to Mt. Vernon are probably the hardest. It gets pretty hilly at parts, but the worst hill is the last one right before you get to the Mt Vernon parking lot. If you make it to the hill that you think you won’t be able to beat, you are almost there!

-There are two dining options at Mt. Vernon. A sit-down, fancy-pants restaurant and a food court that has a variety of sandwiches, salads, pizza, etc. Since you will likely bring a limited amount of cash and will be wearing spandex and a t-shirt, the food court is the best option. Grab a bite and then sit outside on the patio—nice views!

-If you need to stop for food or water before you make it to Mt. Vernon, there is a great little Safeway just past Old Town and before you go under the Wilson bridge.

-The guided tour of Mt. Vernon is a little pricey--$13 per person—so make sure you bring enough cash if you decide to do that.

Cycling Month in DC

Apparently September is Cycling Month in DC. Who knew? DCist has a nice run-down of events going on in this article. Of note, Bike DC on September 27th is a 17-mile (or more if you want to do the optional tours at the end) ride that has the added benefit of road closures.

There is also the 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride on October 11th, where you ride on streets named after each of the states and colonies. Something tells me that if I end up doing this one, I will opt for the 13 Colonies Ride over the "brutal" and "insane," 50 States ride.

Yay for biking!!