Riding in the Rain

When you get searched by the Capitol Building Police for “suspicious activity” and minutes later slip down the Lincoln Memorial landing on your rump, it’s fair to say you’re in for a fun day.

The morning started off just right. Our host, Katie Kjellman, cooked Steve and I delicious egg sandwiches. From there, we walked to the best Coffee joint in existence (at least in D.C.). Katie and I enjoyed lattes, while steve sipped his earl grey tea. After all the fun, we parted ways from Katie. We headed off into the overcast land of Washington DC to explore the historic monuments.

This being my first time in DC, I was filled with enthusiasm. Rolling up to the Capitol Building with a gigantic smile from ear to ear, I whipped out my camera. A gentle rain began to fall over the city, and I became anxious. I was determined to get quality footage. I couldn’t let rain get on my equipment. I quickly snapped a few photos with my camera, then switched over to my camcorder. As I was setting up my tripod, a Capitol Police officer who had been observing us, approached. He told me to come over to him and that I had gotten his attention. “First of all, it’s illegal to use a tripod on the Capitol Building without a permit”, he explained. “Normally, I wouldn’t say anything because I don’t care, but you did something that I find strange. You got off your bike in a hurry and began searching through your bags. You then began to film at a fast pace rather than slowly panning the area. Now, if you were me, doesn’t that seem suspicious?” Well, I was trying to hurry because I was afraid of the rain”, I explained. “It’s not raining”, he interrupted. He was right. For a brief period of time, the rain had subsided. This did not look to good on my part. After some talking and explaining what we were doing, he lightened up and accepted a “Trailing The Sun” bracelet. “I can’t believe you biked from Mass. I don’t want to hold you up. Continue what you’re are doing”, he finished.

Once we reached the Washington Monument, the rain had become more steady. Steve and I took off our pants, and revealed our leggings. We wanted to make sure we had dry pants to wear later. I fastened plastic bags over my shoes to keep the water out. *never wear plastic bags on your feet while walking down the slippery wet stairs of the Lincoln memorial. OUCH.

As we began our departure from the city, the rain fell harder. Steve and I stopped under a bridge to adjust a few things. I fastened more bags over my feet and also over my gloves (This made eating my Dunkin Donut hash browns extremely difficult. It also humored Steve) Steve put on his booties and thick gloves.

The majority of the ride was a faint drizzle.

As the sun went to sleep, the clouds woke up. Freezing rain plumeted from the sky. Steve and I pedaled through torrential downpour for a couple hours until finally arriving in Nokesville. With a warm meal in me and dry clothes on my back, I am ready for sleep.

God bless!

Taylor

p.s. I’ve got a lot of great footage and when I get the chance, I’ll put something cool together!

p.p.s. Check the “Route” for update on miles per day and how far we’ve gone up to yesterday.

Pictures:

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