As long as the weather is decent (sprinkling is ok, rain is a cancel) I try to do my Great Falls ride every other day during weekday mornings as soon as there’s light by 6:30am. Not only is it a good training ride, I never seem to get bored by it. Part of it is the visually stunning rapids and falls at my breakfast midpoint:

The other great part – the surprises. I truly regret not being fast enough with my iPhone to capture the image of the bald eagle that glided along my left shoulder over the canal on my way back. I’m not much of a bird person, but bald eagles are so impressive in flight up close. I hadn’t seen a live bald eagle until I lived out west, and now I’m truly happy that there’s at least one that lives within 15 miles of where I live in DC. Considering bald eagles were a threatened species until relatively recently, that’s very cool.