Fun Independence Day

We haven't been to a professional fireworks display since we've been back in Virginia, and not for a couple of years before that even. So I decided we should go check it out.

Manassas was having some music and things going on on Old Town, so we got on the bikes and headed down there about the time they were supposed to be getting started. We got into Old Town no problem, then had a crossing guard yelling at us to get on the sidewalk. I just laughed at her. 10,000 people down there and she wants us on the sidewalk "for your own safety." No thanks, we know what we're doing, and we had absolutely no problems with cars despite the heavy traffic.

We rode out and had sandwiches at Arby's and rode a few miles down Prince William Parkway, climbing the next hill after crossing the river. Terri hasn't done much in the way of hills on the recumbent, so we wanted to see how it went. No major problems, I think she did fine. Not sure I want her attempting to ride out around Purcellville to Lovettesville yet, but no problem here.

We rode back into town and find a decent spot on a hill to watch the fireworks. Good spot, although we were in the debris fallout area. Lots of mortor debris falling on us, but it was tolerable. We were all impressed with the display, Manassas put on a good show that lasted about a half hour.

Then the advantage of the bicycles became apparent. It took us just a few minutes to get out of the downtown area, we were clear of any significant traffic before most people got to their cars. A stop at 7-Eleven for ice cream or Slurpees rounded out the evening. Total ride was 24.8 miles, with an average speed of right on 12 MPH, and 1074 total feet of climbing.