President's Day Ride - Monday, February 18th - George Washington Themed

[Judd]

The Presidents Day Ride is back! This year's ride is all about our nation's first President, George Washington (redacted is a long discussion about whether John Hanson was the really the first President under the Articles of Confederation). This year's ride is being co-hosted by my good friends the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail.

Why's the Washington Monument multi-colored? Why is the Custis Trail called the Custis Trail and what does it have to do with GW? Explore the border of a 1200 acre plot owned by GW that you've biked past 100 times. See the Washington family pew which has been used by at least 6 Presidents and one British Prime Minister. See the best view

Meet
9:30 am at Velo Cafe (730 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Rollout at 10

Sites
We will visit the following sites related to George Washington:
Washington Monument
Custis Trail
George Washington Survey Marker
Christ Church in Alexandria - We'll go inside
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial - We'll go inside

Route
The route will be approximately 20 miles starting in SW DC and ending in Alexandria
Approximate route: https://goo.gl/maps/xps2ZohQyhB2

Bathrooms
Bathrooms will be available at or near each stop, except for a brief stop on the Custis.

Pace
No drop. Average of about 13 mph with a sweep.

Bring
Bike Lock
Small donation to Christ Church as a thank you to the volunteer docents
$15 for admission to The George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Snacks to prevent you from getting hangry

After Party
For those that want to grab late lunch/early dinner afterwards, we will find a mutually agreeable location in Alexandria.

Sign Up
There's an Eventbrite for this event so I can let the folks at Christ Church and the Masonic Memorial know how many folks are about to invade their facility and I can contact folks if there's any changes to the plan.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preside...16599?ref=estw

[Judd]

We are just one week away from the super awesome George Washington themed Presidents Day Bike Ride.

Don’t forget that I’m asking folks to RSVP on Eventbrite this year so that I can give Christ Church a heads up on how many people they can expect to show up at one time. The church has a wonderful group of volunteer docents who are going to show us George Washington’s church pew and tell us some other neat stuff.

It will also allow me to communicate directly with you should plans change due to weather or an unforeseen event.

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preside...ebapi&ref=eios

[CaseyKane50]

The City of Alexandria has installed flags along King Street in honor of Judd’s President Day Ride.

[Christob50]

Great job, Judd, putting together a fun group ride while also raising our presidential history knowledge!!
I love that I also got into a new area I’d never biked to (DC Wharf / Velo Cafe)!

Our knowledgeable tour guide explains that the early members of the Washington Society, having bought some land, discovered “building memorials is expensive tish!” while we all assembled atop the f.k.a. Shooter’s Hill before going in for diagonal elevator rides and copious Washingtonalia.