the weekday training diary continues with what has to be the big dog of mid-day training in the dc area: hains point.  the park is named to honour peter conover hains, a military engineer who was an engineer of the eponymous point and the physiography of a number of other dc features you probably assumed had always been that way.  it's commonly used for all manner of recreation as it's centrally located, accessible and scenic.  hains point even rates a wikipedia entry. 

it's not uncommon to see riders there throughout the day, but the 12:00 ride is the most entertaining.  the ride generally leaves relatively close to the start time with the riders doing a single 5k parade loop to warm up.

there's often a fair amount of chatter and jokes during the first one or two laps which makes the ride a lot of fun.

because it's also so long and straight and flat, a lot of people favor it for solo training.  for time trialing or longer lactate threshold workouts, it's a great place to work.  the loop has two lanes and generally, the cars take one lane and the cyclists take the other.  in bad cross winds, the road is wide enough to ride a true echelon and being put in the gutter there when the wind is coming hard off the river can be absolutely miserable.  Still, it's wide open and scenic and a great place to get a workout in.

be warned, after the first lap or so, the ride pace gets hot.  the ride generally strings out with lots of attacking and little groups forming to chase and bridge.  there are people who say that hains point is like a 365 day circuit race series.  and they are right in a lot of respects.  if you want to go hard, there's someone there who will go hard.  if you want to sprint, there's someone there who will sprint.  if you want to spin and tell jokes, there's are always people to do that with.  it's a really phenomenal resource, especially given it's location right in the middle of the city.

be aware of two things.  the first is that springtime flooding can be an issue.  the second is that durign the cherry blossom time, many people will avoid hains point at all costs.  the number of cars driving two abreast at ten miles an hour is crazy and the cyclists response is no better.  try the ride, i think you'll like it.  introduce yourself and i'm sure you'll make friends.

-sg