CCT to Occoquan

The Cross County Trail (CCT) extends from Occoquan Regional Park all the way to Great Falls Virginia.  I've been wanting to ride it from one end to the other for quite some time now.  And what better time to do it than when one is unemployed?

The CCT is part paved, part gravel, part shared road throughout the county.  This ride made me feel like I was in the Shenandoah given that the trail runs along a stream with high embankments on both sides.  It feels like a remote ravine.  A movie sorta comes to mind, something about "He got a real pretty mouth, there."

This past week I studied the CCT trail map and set out to what turned out to be multiple attempts.  I originally tried this on Sept 15 and got lost in Springfield.  My next attempt was last Tuesday which ended up being a 26.5 mile loop where I goofed at the CCT/Rolling Road interchange.  I followed up that attempt on Wednesday with a 28.5 mile loop where I made it further but missed the Pohick Road turn.  Thanks to Danimal for being his computer that day to tell me how to get home.

On one of the trips back along the trail I experienced a first with deer.  I've seen a ton of deer while riding around the county, but this was my first buck!

I took a couple days off to clear the cobwebs, re-energize and psyche up for another attempt.  This attempt was "mostly" successful, albeit a little off and another call to Danimal.  I made it to Occoquan Regional Park in about 1 hour 45 minutes.  Ride was almost 38 miles in 3.5 hours.

It's still a very confusing trail to follow as it's not adequately marked.  The trail down in Lorton goes right by the old prison, which is a very dismal place.  Clint's movie "Alcatraz" comes to mind.  Best line ever, "A man's got to know his limitations."

Here's the video of me rolling into the park.  This gets abruptly cut off since the battery wasn't charged.

I'm planning on riding the length again this week to catch the part of the CCT that I missed earlier.  Then the plan will be to take the CCT in the opposite direction and see if I can make it to Great Falls. I've tried that Difficult Run section before and got lost ... can't wait to do it again.

Garmin recap: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129453635

Posted in: bike