A long Saturday ride

Yesterday, I headed out to Sterling to go for a ride on the W&OD Trail. The W&OD Trail starts in Alexandria and ends forty-five miles later in Purcellville. I usually park near the trail in Sterling, and then ride out west from there. The western half of the trail has significantly fewer road crossings. The trail west of Leesburg is very rural, which is a welcome change from the urban sprawl of DC.

About a mile west of Leesburg, I stopped at a clearing to strech. While I was stretching, a passing cyclist said, "Did you see the deer?" I turned around, and there was a deer munching on the vegetation. He didn't seem concerned that I was there, and even posed for a picture.


A deer having lunch

The highest point along the trail (591 feet) is at Clarkes Gap. The trail runs underneath an old stone bridge, and then winds up a switchback to the intersection of Colonial Highway and Rt. 9.


Clarkes Gap

When I reached the end of the trail at Purcellville, I was feeling pretty good, and decided to add an extra loop. I headed north on Rt. 690 up to Hillsboro. Since Hillsboro is near the edge of the mountains, the roads start to encounter hills. The hills are extremely fun to ride at 30+ mph down, but are rather challenging going back up. On the west side of Hillsboro, I turned on to Stony Point Road, and then on to Woodgrove. Woodgrove is a "Virginia Byway", and the scenery is beautiful. It's almost enough to forget the hill-climbing.


The mountains west of Hillsboro

I eventually made it to Round Hill, where I picked up Rt. 7 and headed back to Purcellville. From there, I headed back to Sterling, and made it back with the sun low in the sky. The total trip mileage was fifty-six miles, which wasn't bad for a leisurely Saturday ride.