last weekend I went for a mellow mountain bike ride with my buddy Graham
as I have not been doing much mountain bike lately
I wanted something tame... I wanted something flat...
my thought was "the River Trails"
luckily we opted for something tame and flat
as after I fixed the broken spokes on my rapidly aging mountain bike
I had not realized that my hydraulic brakes needed to be bled
no front brake
and well...
the front brake is needed not just for stopping but for control
I was unable to ride anything technical
too scared of being hurt
as I am already coming back from an injury
so... our pace was tame
Graham and I met at Fletcher's Boathouse
I drove... he rode...
I rode all week at my job as a Field Bike Mechanic for Capital Bike Share
so... I did not need the extra miles
in fact...
I needed to rest my legs from the week
but I still wanted to ride
it was a beautiful day for a ride...
early fall
cooler air and the threat of rain predicted on the doppler radar
we did a ride north on the "River Trails" that border the towpath along the C&O Canal from Georgetown to Seven Locks
amazing "unofficial" trails
great "social trails"
it was an opportunity to make the last grab for some Paw Paws
but that was not our goal
sure I glanced as the trail meandered through patches of Paw Paws
but we did not stop
we did not shake the tree
we just rode past
although we did not stop for Paw Paws
I could not resist making a stop at Sycamore Island
as I have a friend who is a friend of a friend who is the caretaker of this property
which... well... thought could give me an in
so... we stopped... I sent a text... and sure enough
we were invited to get a tour of Sycamore Island from the caretaker, Doug Dupin
Sycamore Island is home to the Sycamore Island Canoe Club
rather than me claiming to know the history...
I am sharing the above link so you can review the history from this dusty HTML webpage
it was cool...
more to it than I expected
we walked the property
Doug showed up what "is" while telling us what "was"
WOW!
there is quite a history...
the island has had many incarnations
tennis courts? dance floors?
what and what else?
this place really seems to have had a heyday
not it is a shadow of its former self
as... this island often gets flooded
and
many of these floods have been damaging to the property
washing away previous buildings and such
this photo was found on a different page that wrote about the Sycamore Island Canoe Club
it was a highlight to an already wonderful weekend
sure... it would have been better had I scored some Paw Paws
that was not the objective of the moment
appreciate the tour... thanks Doug!
really enjoyed getting to experience Sycamore Island
I had seen the ferry leading to the island
and had always been curious about the island
as its buildings can be seen from the shore
now I know... more... a little more... but more than I once knew
very cool...
very cool history
thanks!
when talking to Doug
Doug mentioned that he had seen far more fruiting Paw Paws on the Virginia side of the Potomac
