I am now on my second trip to Washington. Even though today got truncated on account of the rain, I am still having a very good time.

It is just so nice not having to deal with the constant speeding by cars. And on two separate occasions -- once on 16th Street NW around R Street, and once on River Road on Bethesda -- cars going in both directions stopped where there was no light, in order to let me make a left turn onto the big street in question (16th Street, and River Road, respectively). This never happens in New York.

Also, the bicyclists are generally well-behaved. It is wonderful to see groups of cyclists stopped at red lights; I think I have seen only one or two who blew a red light. By contrast, this is an epidemic amongst cyclists in New York, with the expected damage to our image.

In cruising around, I sure found where Washington keeps its hills! Yow! As you get up north, the city is surprisingly hilly. I expected much flatter terrain on a peninsula between two major rivers and with a significant creek running through it. Eastern Avenue in particular made me laugh; it's just constant undulations on that street. And today, before the monsoons came, I nearly hit 30 miles per hour on two occasions: going west on Loughboro Road, and entering Rock Creek Park at Sherrill Drive.

I enjoyed finding the Capital Crescent Trail, which I took for its whole length. But, once I was up in Silver Spring, I couldn't find the North Boundary Stone. (Even though I did locate two other Boundary Stones.) Conditions along East-West Highway -- no shoulder; speeding traffic; crazy hills -- discouraged me from intensifying my search for the northern marker. For Silver Spring to put up signs there saying "bicycles my use full lane" is mighty nice; but the street was very uninviting. That was one of two streets, the other being Dalecarlia Parkway, with its 40-mile-per-hour traffic and lack of shoulders, that I had intended to take but decided to forego after getting a look at it.

Riding on the Capital Crescent Trail was pleasant, even if it featured one strange moment, when a deer spotted me in the distance and decided to charge me! That was certainly the first time I had ever been charged by a wild beast! But I had already stopped my approach and turned around; and I was far enough away that the deer gave up after a few yards and melted back into the forest along the Potomac's bank.

The trail that I enjoyed even more was the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which parallels the Red Line. I took it up to Franklin Street; and I was encouraged to read that the plan is to extend it all the way to Silver Spring, where it will meet the Capital Crescent Trail.

But, more than any trail, I have been having fun just going through the streets. One funny moment happened when I came down with a case of what I dubbed "monument lock", as I found myself down between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and was unable to get out. After going around in circles a few times, I was relieved to find 17th Street, and to get away from the monuments (which, to be honest, don't really interest me) and back to the streets (which is the main reason I am here).

I go home tomorrow afternoon. I can say with satisfaction that I have had two great visits to this wonderful bicycling city.