~6 miles @ ~9.7 min/mi

"I disbelieve you!" is my reaction when, at the north end of Fleming Avenue, Rebecca Rosenberg suggests that the Bethesda Trolley Trail makes a zig-zag turn to cross the I-270 spur. My mental map is disoriented and I don't see the signage. Rebecca finds my comment a charmingly polite alternative to the brusque "You're wrong!" that she expects. And in fact, she's correct about the trail route.

Today at about 11am I pick Rebecca up at her home; her car is intermittently overheating (stuck thermostat in the radiator?) and her friend An is fixing it. On our way to the Cabin John Stream Valley Trail via Tuckerman Lane I happen to spy a Bethesda Trolley Trail sign. That provokes an instant change of plans after we overcome my geographical confusion and find our way to Fleming Park, where a year ago (cf. 2010-12-24 - CCT and BTT) Cara Marie Manlandro and I met to take a similar trek.

At NIH Rebecca points out the cherry trees starting to blossom, their reaction to unusually warm winter weather. Chill winds today keep my sleeves rolled down. Scudding clouds reflect off the National Library of Medicine building. At the south end of the trail we meander through neighborhood streets until after an unplanned loop we discover ourselves heading north again. Our splits are, by GPS trackfile, 9:35 + 9:28 + 9:45 + 9:44 + 10:19 + 8:49. After the run I drop Rebecca off at her home, and on my way to Taco Bell witness light snow flurries. The next day orienteering comrade Peggy Dickison tells me that she saw me "and a young lady" running along Old Georgetown Road near her neighborhood. Small world!

(cf. official BTT brochure and BTT map, ...) - ^z - 2012-01-14