14. join an activity association, like a tennis club

I joined the Delaware Running Club last January but never actually ran with them, which is why I never posted about it. They run 8 miles in a night and well, I don't.

Two weeks ago though I joined the DC Chain Gang, which is a group of Washingtonians who all go on social bike rides around the city sometimes during the week, sometimes the weekend. Although I wasn't officially part of the group on fb before going on the trip, I signed up afterwards.




It was a beautiful day for the Bikes & Bluegrass trip! Although meterologists were threatening rain, the deluge didn't come until 5pm. My brother, Lee, joined me on the trip. He just got a Canadian road bike. My bestie, Sarah, said that I could use her bike since she's pregnant and living in LA and the bike was here on the east coast. It's a steel cherry red touring schwin from 1987. so lovely, I've named her Dottie, like from Pee Wee's Great Adventure, "I'm a rebel, Dottie."

The Chain Gang started in the Key Bridge Park in Georgetown. We rode through Rossyln down around the Iwojima Memorial, passed the Arlington Cemetary and continued south past National Airport to where the W&OD trail starts. Taking the W&OD north west through Arlington, we got onto the Bluemont Park Trail straight into Balston and then took the bike lane on Fairfax Drive into Clarendon. Stopped at Whole Foods for some lunch, and man, I was so SO hungry. Lee and I dropped about $80 because my eyes were bigger than my stomach :) But I took it home to Wilmington and it fed me all week too.





We took our food treasure into Lyon Park and listened to a twenty-year old tradition of bluegrass musicians jamming on Sundays in the park. There was one lady who was such a pip, she came over and asked us to share our food, and then she nudged a bunch of players to come serenade the group with a song about Bluebirds calling us back to the Blue Ridge Mountains and it was so beautiful, I got a little teary. As 5 o'clock came around the skies started getting darker and the wind picked up and the leaves turned over in the trees and it was time for Lee and I to hit the road, I had to get back to the Small Wonderful and Clawdia (my perfect kitten). Lee and I raced home but still got stuck in a downpour. We were so totally soaked by the time we got home that we just sat in the back yard and let the rain shower away the salt from the day. Hopefully this summer I'll get to go on another ride with the DC Chain Gang, now that I'm on the facebook group and get the notices for when rides are happening. Unfortunately, it IS in DC so I can only do weekend rides, but still, it's the joining that's important :)