Early Morning Bike Rides

It's early, it's dark and I'm ready to leave the house on a bike ride. Riding early in the morning is a much different experience than riding after work. My pace of preparation is a lot more relaxed. I loaded the bike last night, I've prepared some oatmeal and coffee and have caught up on the news of the day via Internet. I even have cracked open a couple of daily meditation books to center myself spiritually. Of course, I've gone to the bathroom twice already and it's not even 5:15 am. When I get to where I'm riding (Hains Point), there will be a lot less foot and road traffic than the afternoon/evening rides of last week.

I really love that peaceful feeling of the first couple of loops. Gradually the day starts to crank up. The first planes don't start leaving Reagan National Airport until about 6:30 am. The trains start rolling across the bridge. You can see and hear the rowing crews do their training on the Potomac. Cars start to back up on the bridges leading into DC. More cyclists arrive, some with their backpacks stuffed with work clothes. Another hour or so of hard riding, hopefully with not too much wind coming south down the river. Then the ride is over and it's time to get to the office. The best part of the day has ended, leaving me with a satisfaction that is hard to describe in words.