Ben's USA Cycle Blog: Washington DC

Stop one on my post ride travels is Washington DC. After breakfast in Portland on Tuesday I said my last goodbyes to my cross country comrades and took a midday flight down to the capital. After checking in to my 42nd hotel of my trip I took a walk down to the White House and Washington Monument. Yesterday I spent all day on open top tour buses and just wandering around. I like doing bus tours in a new place, it is a good way to familiarize yourself with its geography. My first impressions are very good, it is a very clean city with lots of trees and wide streets. The Dupont Circle part of the city in which I am staying is not unlike west London. There are no skyscrapers like in New York as planning permission forbids buildings exceeding the 555 feet of the Washington Memorial. The numerous memorials and museums are the main attractions here. There are loads of impressive memorials to ex presidents and other famous people and historical events. The majority of the museums are part of the Smithsonian Institute and are free to enter. Today I swapped the bike for alternative two wheeled transportation and took a segway tour. It was good fun and the guide was really informative. In the afternoon I spent some time in the Air and Space museum where I saw a really good 3D IMAX film of planet earth featuring footage from the international space station. There was some stunning film of the planet but also cool shots of the zero gravity inside the station which worked really well in 3D. I also experienced the Metro underground system which was very easy to use. There is so much to do and I only touched the surface during my brief stay but I got a feel for the place which was the objective.

I am still coming to terms with not being in the bubble of the cycling trip. It is a novelty to be staying in the same place for more than one day and having to making daily decisions about what to do and where to eat for myself again. I am still dreaming about cycling (as I frequently did on the trip) so am not completely back to normal. It was quite nice when viewing the numerous views of the earth in the museum earlier today, when I saw the US I was able to think to myself 'I cycled across that'.