{"id":5974,"date":"2011-11-08T18:52:35","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T23:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=5974"},"modified":"2011-11-08T19:03:56","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T00:03:56","slug":"a-big-week-a-bike-ride-the-white-house-and-a-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=5974","title":{"rendered":"A Big Week – A Bicycle Tour, The White House, and A Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: – Autumn (Janette)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Last week was a big one in our family.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Autumn and I rode our bicycles from Pittsburgh, PA (shown above) to …..<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

to Washington, DC where we were met by our son who lives there. \u00a0He rode the last few miles with us. \u00a0FYI for you music lovers out there. \u00a0Our son has a blog relating to music that he publishes once a week called Your Other Big Brother. \u00a0 You can find it here<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first three days we followed a trail that was formerly a railroad track. \u00a0It followed a river through Pennsylvania and later Maryland.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We crossed the eastern continental divide and……<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

pedaled through several long tunnels.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There were some amazing views and…..<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

some historic sites.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Midway through, we had a visit from my parents who were very encouraging.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The final three days of the six day trip were spent on a historic canal path. \u00a0We rode on the path that mules used to pull boats along the canal that began in Baltimore and ended in Cumberland, MD. \u00a0The trail was very rustic.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We passed 78 locks that were once used to control the elevation levels of the water.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A little house sat near each lock. \u00a0That is where the lock masters and their families lived. \u00a0The entire canal and tow path are on the National Historic Register.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This was the first bicycle tour in which we have carried our own gear. \u00a0Normally on our bike trips, we send our luggage in a van, and it is waiting for us when we arrive at our destination at the end of the day. \u00a0We used our touring bikes rather than our road bikes. \u00a0Their frames are heavier and can support the weight of the bags.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We averaged 54 miles a day. \u00a0Some days we didn’t see another person. \u00a0It was like “Deliverance” on a bike. \u00a0I was expecting to hear banjos.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The canal trail was really muddy. \u00a0We had to concentrate on what we were doing to avoid crashing in the mud puddles, ruts, and rocks. \u00a0Luckily, we were able to hose our bikes off when we arrived at a bed and breakfast at the end of each day.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The day after Mr. Autumn and I arrived, our family was given \u00a0a private tour of the White House West Wing. \u00a0Seeing the Oval Office and the Rose Garden were big thrills for us. \u00a0It all made the my crueling bicycle ride worth it.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The following day we got to cheer on our daughter\/my blog partner Jordan and her husband as they ran their first marathon. \u00a0There were 30,000 runners in this annual Marine Corp Marathon. \u00a0Here she is at mile 11.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At Mile 16, they were still smiling. \u00a0The last time we saw them before the end was at Mile 20, and they were still full of energy and enthusiasm. \u00a0Many runners were suffering at that point.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Their biggest smiles came when they were finished and wearing their medals. \u00a0What an accomplishment!<\/h3>\n

Overall, it was quite a week. \u00a0We are all thankful that we have our health and are able to lead such active lives.<\/h3>\n

Take care.<\/h3>\n

Linking to\u00a0\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: – Autumn (Janette) Last week was a big one in our family. Mr. Autumn and I rode our bicycles from Pittsburgh, PA (shown above) to ….. to Washington, DC where we were met by our son who lives there. \u00a0He rode the last few miles with us. \u00a0FYI for you music lovers out there. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5974"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6029,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions\/6029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}