Oh, man, it was hot today, and I was travelling by bike in a city I don’t know well. By the time I righted all my wrong turns from Columbia Heights to Georgetown to meet H. for brunch, I was a sweaty, frazzled mess. I folded down the Brompton and went into the air conditioning to wait. The bike tucks so neatly under a table, and I think I’m finally over my nerves that folks won’t let me bring her inside. After we parted ways I headed down to the alleged bike/ped path along the old C&O Canal, but I just wasn’t up to dodging rocks on the unpaved trail or hopping upended bricks on the other side. The heat was already geting to me, so rather than try to follow the googleymap, I just gon on Pennsylvania Avenue and pedaled until I got a nice breeze going. Eventually I saw a sign directing traffic to the Lincoln Memorial, so I took the soft right until I was in the well-signed tourist area. The place was summer-crowded with school tours in matching t-shirts, so I got off and walked until I found myself on the right side of the memorial~the side with the sprinkler. Oh, thank you, National Park Service! I snapped this picture before getting myself sprinkled, and then I was back on my way, past the Korean War Memorial, around the Washington Monument, and past museum after museum after museum until I reached the Capitol Building. Union Station’s right behind there, so I took a right, pedaled up the hill, dodged cars and pedestrians in the roundabout, and was finally back in air conditioning. I sucked down a couple bottles of water befoere boarding a delayed MARC train back to Halethorpe for a quick pedal to my car that I left on campus yesterday. And now I’m home, rehydrating, and looking at maps of DC for my next trip, hopefully after the heat wave has waned a bit.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 
It made me sweat just to read this today. Glad you made it without have a heat stroke! Keep cool there.
Bromptons are perfect for the kind of day you had. It was insanely hot today – hard to believe it could be worse than yesterday but it was. My bike trips today were short yet it felt as though I was cycling through an oven. You covered some territory that’s very familiar to me. I commute from home to Halethorpe going through the campus, and have both walked and ridden around the Mall and Lincoln Memorial. Columbus Circle and the 1st Street intersection in front of Union Station have been a mess for some time. I can’t wait for the construction to be done.
Welcome to DC!
It’s a lot easier to get on the canal towpath via the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT). The first part of the canal cuts right through Georgetown and is nearly impossible to ride. The CCT is a paved trail that runs right next to it. You can get on it at the end of K St/Water St, next to Jack’s boathouse. Once you are on the CCT you take it up to Fletcher’s Cove, and then you can hop on the towpath. Or stay on the CCT and take it to Bethesda or Silver Spring.