~7 miles @ ~13 min/mi

"Now is the perfect time," Kristin says, as we glide through the twilight separating night from day. Kerry and I quietly agree. Today is the funeral of a local high school student who died suddenly, unexpectedly. We share in the sadness. We're exploring a new area, the Southridge neighborhood of McLean. After temperatures in the teens this morning's 31°F feels almost warm. We unzip jackets, take off gloves and caps. Summer seems unimaginable.

Birds greet us, school buses rattle by, and angular architecture provokes commentary. On Opalocka Dr a brilliant blue bungalow clashes with a garish green one a few houses down. A cat sits on an outside window sill, eying us, then turning back to peek into the home. I pause to rescue a not-too-shabby ice-scraper abandoned on Westmoreland St, and Kristin almost falls down laughing. "I knew you would pick that up!"

(Trackfile) - ^z - 2015-03-18