Graffiti on the Trail

I'm guessing most folks who ride through the Vienna area have already seen it, but someone spray painted that white concrete thing that has the date 1860 (I think) on it, near the town line on the east side, near mile 10.5. Until now I've really never seen any graffiti or vandalism along the trail (aside from the destruction of vending machines at Smith's Switch a few years back), so this was kinda shocking to see.


On a happier note, I got some nice pictures of the dogwoods on my way in today.

Wet! But beautiful...

Well, as you probably could have guessed, yesterday was a wet day along the W&OD. I rode to work about 9:30 or so, and it was raining pretty hard the whole way. With the added excitement of thunder and lightning... just close enough to make me glad I wasn't out there too long. There are lots of puddles on the trail, and a LOT of standing water in the low spots alongside the trail. And the various drainage ditches and small creek beds which are usually dry or nearly so are running high and wild.

On the other hand, the dogwoods are blooming and look absolutely lovely! And the peepers are loving the wet, as was the frog I saw hopping across the path last night on my way home. All in all, a fun day out there, once I got used to the idea that it was going to be wet. I was grateful for my fenders and Burley rain jacket.

W&OD Trail Patrol Seeks New Members

The W&OD Trail runs through the communities of Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Hamilton, and Purcellville. The Trail Patrol is seeking new members to be on-scene ambassadors of safety, courtesy, information, and goodwill. All adult trail users--cyclists, walker, runners, skaters, carriage pushers, dog walkers, horse riders, or wheel chair users--are eligible to apply.



Four orientation sessions are already scheduled for 2008: The first will be held on Thursday, April 17 in Alexandria from 7 to 9 pm, the second will be held on Saturday, April 26 in the Ashburn Library from 2 to 4 pm. The third will be at the Raflo Park in Leesburg on Saturday, May 3 from 2 to 4 pm and the forth will be Saturday, May 17 at the Vienna Community Center from 10 am to noon.



For further information and signup please contact John Boone at 703-726-6993 or jmboone1@verizon.net.