At the time I documented this ride there was considerable construction taking place along Potomac Ave. in Potomac Yards and along Long Bridge Park in Crystal City. The directions will remain the same, but some of the trails may have been finished and you may be able to alter the route slightly. Start at the Lyndon Baine Johnson Memorial Grove Parking area adjacent to the Pentagon's north parking. 0.0 - Head down the ramp to enter the grove and turn right and ride over the bridge. Immediately after the bridge turn right and follow the stone path towards the Marina parking Area. 0.1 - Bear right away from the stone path and ride on the asphalt path. Continue to the right and enter the parking lot. There is a narrow path that travels along the parking area if you choose to ride that. 0.4 - Turn left at the stop sign and then immediately right to enter the path that will take you towards the Mount Vernon trail. Ride under the parkway and enjoy the great views of the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. 0.6 - Turn left at this intersection slightly past the Navy and Marine Memorial, then turn left at the "T" intersection to join the Mount Vernon Trail. 0.8 - Continue past both intersections to remain on the Mount Vernon Trail until we reach Alexandria. 1.6 - Continue through Gravely Point. 2.5 - Continue straight on the Mount Vernon Trail. The right turn will take you towards Crystal City and Crystal Drive around 18th Street. 3.6 - Stay right at this intersection to continue towards Alexandria. 4.5 - The Marina is to your left. This can be an alternate point to your ride. 4.9 - Veer to the left to follow the more "scenic" river ride. 5.5 - Continue to the right and then left to follow the trail along the railroad tracks. The left fork is a nice walking trail. 5.7 - Turn right on Canal Center Plaza/First Street continue until it dead ends; turn left on Royal. 6.2 - Turn right on Pendelton St. 6.3 - Turn left on St. Asaph St. 6.5 - Turn left on Princess St. To the right you can see the historic section of Princess, still paved with the original its stones. We'll ride some of these a little later. 6.7 - Turn right on Lee St. 6.8 - Turn right on Cameron St. The Carlyle House will be on your left, and slightly further up on the corner of Cameron and Royal will be Gadsby's Tavern. 7.1 - Turn left on St. Asaph and then immediately (7.2) left again on King Street to ride through the historic "main" Street. You can see the Friendship Firehouse across the street as you make the turn. Further down King St. are several other historic locations, including the Apothecary Museum and Market Square. The Ramsey House Visitor center will be at the intersection of King and Fairfax to the left as you head down King. Worth a stop to get info and additional maps with historic markers. 7.5 - Turn right on Union and then make an immediate left on Wales Alley. Bike the Sites will be to your left. Make an immediate right on Strand and continue towards Big Wheel Bikes. 7.6 - Turn left on Prince and then immediately right to continue on Strand. Big Wheel Bikes and Chadwick's will be on your right. 7.7 - Turn right on Duke St. 7.8 - Turn right on South Fairfax. The Old Presbyterian Meeting House is at this intersection. 7.9 - Turn right on Prince St. You'll ride over a section of pavers and then a section of old stones that have been preserved to show what the streets of Old Town used to look like. 8.0 - Turn left on Union St. and continue on Union until it ends just past Oronoco Park. You'll pass the Torpedo Factory after crossing King St. Great place to lock up the bike and explore Old Town a little by foot. You can also walk through the Torpedo Factory to access the Alexandria waterfront, this is one of my favorite places in the D.C. Area. 8.5 - Turn left on Pendelton St. 8.6 - Turn right on Fairfax St. 8.9 - Turn left on Montgomery St. and continue until you reach Washington St. The block before Montgomery on Fairfax has a couple of nice little shops, including a wine store, Au Domaine, with a great selection of European wines and a wonderful coffe shop, Extra Perks, that shows European Soccer on weekend mornings when the EPL is in session. 9.1 - Cross Washington St. and continue right on Powhatan St. 9.4 - At the intersection of Bashford and Powhatan is Vaso's Cafe - great place to hav a greek lunch on their outdoor patio. 9.6 - Shortly before the light for Slaters Lan turn left on the crosswalk to ride on the sidewalk towards Rt. 1 and the bridge that cross es over the railroad tracks. At the light (9.7) turn right and go over the Rt. 1 Bridge towards Potomac Yards. 9.8 - Turn right on Potomac Ave. and pick up the bike path immediately after crossing Main Line Ave. Note: at the time of this writing there was considerable construction taking place along the sides of Potomac Avenue - the trail or designated bike lane will be on both curbs of Potomac Avenue. By the time you read this Potomac Park will likely be in place and offer many amenities. 11.8 - Turn right on Crystal Dr. 12.8 - Crystal Dr. veers to the left and turns into 12th Street, you'll want to continue straight into Long Bridge Park and the path that parallels the railroad tracks. You'll get a phenomenal view of the Washington Monument at this pont. Note. at the time of this writing there was considerable construction taking place along Long Bridge Park so the path layout may have changed slightly. 13.2 - Take a left and then another immediate left to head down towards Long Bridge Road. When you reach Long Bridge turn right to continue north. Rest rooms are available by the athletic fields. 13.5 - Turn left on Boundary Channel Drive and continue for one more mile until you reach the starting point. 14.5 - Complete the loop.