2012 Arlington Fun Ride

October 10, 2012

With the threat of a temperature-dropping cold front, I had hedged my bets for my weekend ride; I wasn't sure to ride on the W&OD with the Potomac Pedalers, but when Friday night's weather forecast put the storm's arrival into the afternoon, I instead set my alarm and got up to ride on the 2012 Arlington Fun Ride. It uses the Arlington loop that I had been riding, but this time coming up the Custis Trail. I rode to the East Falls Church Metro so I won't have to ride my neighborhood hills to get there. The ride down to Phoenix Bikes from the metro station is a nice fast slightly downhill affair, and I made it to registration right at 8am.

After registration, the event was kicked off, with Arlington City Council Member Walter Tejada addressing the crowd (who rode the entire way, and was even chided a bit for the crosswalk timing at 4 Mile Run and George Mason Drive), and off we went. One of the more festive bikes was a Bubble Bike accessory that provided spirit lightening bubbles down the trail.

There were three stops along the way, in Crystal City at the park right beside the tunnel to the MVT, at Rosslyn on the corner of Lynn St, and on the Custis Trail, at the intersection of the path that would take you in to Ballston. After the ride, there was a raffle, with one of the prizes being a custom built bike from Phoenix Bikes for the lucky 12 yr old who won. I did enjoy the format, this being a group ride, but not a competitive ride at all. Got to ride and banter with Tim Kelley from Bike Arlington, and meet some of the folks that frequent the Bike Arlington Forums.

Oh, and I got a cowbell for the bike. Nothing is more satisfying than in the middle of a pedal-mashing hill, getting the bike bouncing, and having the cowbell make some noise. It's almost as good as the ping-bell for letting people know I'm behind them.