On a cold and windy Thursday morning, Linda Bankerd, Janet Shipko, Jessica Hirschhorn, Sue Gunter, Esther Stewart, Althea Johnson, Robin Garnett, and Anonymous User joined Sherwood Byers and Steve Palincsar, Ride Leaders for the Oxon Hill Bike and Trail Club (OHBTC) annual Cherry Blossom Tour.
All meeting at Daingerfield Island Sailing Marina, and a short pre-ride briefing the tour started on time. The decision to do this tour during the week instead of the weekend to avoid the chaos of the traffic and crowds proved to be of great benefit. The weather conditions also helped.
We continued our ride to Hains Point where the ride was pleasant and virtually free of pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic. We took a group photo just west of the point and then continued on to the Tidal Basin
for some final memory photos before the cherry trees are cut down for the reconstruction of the Tidal Basin Wall.
After a tour around Haines Point and the Tidal Basin a brief respite was taken at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial the group began its trek up the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) to Kenwood for the tour to continue of its viewing of cherry blossoms. No one seemed to want ice cream today so we just continued past Sarah's Ice Cream and into the Kenwood community. Climbing a slight incline toward the incline the blossoms started to come into view. All met at the circle where we all rode through the neighborhood viewing the trees in there glorious showing of blosoms. After the viewing we all returned to the circle to regroup and continue to Bethesda for a rest stop.
During our time at the rest stop it was starting to get late and approaching rush hour we all decided to return utilizing the CCT which allowed us to save time without being involved in the Rock Creek Parkway "Mad Rush".
Flickr photo album here.
