Vermont Avenue Farmers Market

Vermont Avenue Farmers Market

For my last springtime bike ride before summer officially begins this weekend, I leisurely rode around the downtown area for a while before going to a farmers market named Farmfresh Markets by The White House, located on Vermont Avenue between H and I Streets in northwest D.C. (MAP), just across from the northeast corner of Lafayette Park.  Every Thursday from April through October, the street is closed to traffic while it temporarily becomes an open-air market and street fair.  Although only a block long, a number of booths and vendors set up with a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other products like breads and baked goods, kettle corn, artisan cheeses, milk and yogurt, fresh-cut flowers, and jellies and jams. There were also some places serving lunch, and even a street musician providing background music.

But on this occasion it was one particular booth run by a Mennonite family that caught my attention. It was operated by Kinley and Rebecca Coulter and their family, from Coulter Farms of Honey Grove, Pennsylvania. They were selling a variety of products, including organic meat, free range eggs, raw milk cheeses, and a variety of flavors of raw honey.  What initially caught my eye was a display for their honey that included a large hive and a swarm of hundreds of live bees, which they had set up on a table in the front of their booth. It was all behind glass, so it was safe enough to get up close, and it was very interesting to stop and watch for a while.

The Coulters also had a large grill set up and were serving lunch, which consisted entirely of products from their farm. I had a certified organic 100% grass-fed beef sausage with fresh grilled peppers and onions on a homemade roll, and a big glass of iced tea flavored with raw honey and fresh-picked mint.  I then took my lunch across the street to eat it in Lafayette Park. I ate on a bench near a fountain in the park, and listened to the street musician as I watched an ongoing protest in front of the northern portico of the White House.

There are a number of farmers markets in the D.C. area during the warmer months, including one sponsored by the Department of Agriculture every Friday.  While I have visited a number of them, the one on Vermont Avenue remains my favorite.  And this ride and stopping by the market was a relaxing and enjoyable way to say goodbye to spring.  And it left me looking forward to many more rides during the coming summer.

          

          

         
[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Towpath

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath

If you’re out for a bike ride in downtown D.C. and you find yourself wanting to get away from the frenetic activity of the city, one of the quickest  ways to escape is to head over to the Georgetown neighborhood where the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O ) Canal and Towpath begins (MAP).  Then, use the towpath to ride west.

A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a canal, river, or other inland waterway that allows a land vehicle, mules or horses, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge.  This mode of transport was once commonplace in areas where sailing was impossible or impractical due to rapid currents, obstructions like tunnels and bridges, or unfavorable winds.  After the Industrial Revolution, towing became obsolete when engines were fitted on boats and when railway transportation superseded the slow towing method.  Since then, many towpaths, like the one along the C&O Canal, have been converted to multi-use recreatonal trails.

The C&O Canal and towpath is located along the northern bank of the Potomac River, and runs 184.5 miles starting in D.C. and ending in Cumberland, Maryland.  The canal was built between beginning in 1828, and was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River.  It operated sporadically between floods, until it became obsolete in 1924, after which it was abandoned.  Today, much of the canal has been drained of water and reclaimed by the forest.  However, the entire towpath remains.

Three decades after closing down, in 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas organized an eight day hike up the canal’s towpath in an attempt to draw attention to its potential as a recreational area, and to save it from being converted to a parkway, as was being planned by Congress at that time.  His efforts succeeded and the canal and towpath were saved from development, eventually to become the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.  The park was established as a National Monument in 1961 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in order to preserve the neglected remains of the canal along with many of the original canal structures.  Further ensuring preservation efforts, portions of the towpath are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The C&O Canal National Historical Park now receives more than three million recreation visits annually, and is a favorite of bicyclists like me, as well as hikers, joggers, birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts, and others.

Most recently, in November of 2013, the C&O Canal Towpath was designated as the first section of U.S. Bicycle Route 50, which is part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System.  The system is a developing network of interstate long-distance cycling routes in the U.S.  And with the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail from western Pennsylvania to Cumberland, it is now possible to ride a continuous 339 non-motorized vehicle-free miles from D.C. all the way to Point State Park in Pittsburgh.

So I caution you to be careful when you’re in D.C. and decide to go for a ride on the C&O Canal Towpath.  It is such an enjoyable and peaceful environment for riding that, if you’re not careful and paying attention, you may end up finding yourself in Pittsburgh.

         

         
[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]