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Xiong's Cafe (老地方)

Biked over to Houston's Chinatown-area. It's not a very centralized chinatown and is mostly comprised of strip malls but seems like there are some real gems in there if you can find them. Unfortunately it's 15 miles from my house so I won't be spending tons of time over there. I ate at little place called Xiong's Cafe(老地方). It wasn't amazing but it wasn't americanized so I was happy. My tomato, egg noodles weren't the style I was hoping for but they were tasty enough, and I was excited to find hezi (合子) on the menu. And best of all there was aged Vinegar on the table, so in true Shanxi fashion I doused everything in it. If you're itching for a noodle fix seems I'd recommend the visit.

Houston Zoo

ATL

Bike Commute: Southern, MD to Washington, DC (Pt. 2)

A crushed sea shell path connects National Harbor to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail.
Looking back at National Harbor. From the bike trail overpass looking back at Maryland. Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the Shore of Virginia.
Underneath the Wilson bridge on the Virginia side. Passing through old town Alexandria, a little slow going with all the stop signs. After old town you can pick up the Mount Vernon Bike Trail. There is no shortage of bikers over here. This part reminds me of the pterodactyl cages in Jurrasic Park III. A couple of these wooden pathways. Passing the end of Reagan National Airport's runway. The afternoon is a bit neater because there are more planes landing. Looking back across the Roosevelt bridge; it's a little narrow for two way traffic. K and 21st We're here! I took a little detour, so the milage is a bit off. I think it is pretty close to 28 miles but my speedometer didn't have a magnet for most the summer so I never got a precise measurement.


This is the second half of my bike commute from Waldorf, MD to Washington, DC. See part 1 for more information.

Bike Commute: Southern, MD to Washington, DC (Pt. 1)

Me and My hog. Turning out of the neighborhood onto Rt228/Berry Rd. Sunrise over the old sod farm. Now google says the road ends here, but... To the right is a path that leads around to the old road. Badabing! It's actually a fun road to bike, you just have to climb over the two cement barriers after the bridge. It cut about 2 miles off my old route too. I bike through lots of neighborhoods. But unfortunately you still have to bike a mile and a half along the highway, uphill too. A few backgrounds with not the widest of shoulders but there aren't too many cars Closed road number two, though it's pretty short. Cut through the park at the end of Aurthur Rd. Now there is a fence around National Harbor, but...
At the end of this street is a hole in the fence you can cut through. Cut through the loading docks for the gaylord, and that puts you right on the water front.


This is the first half of my refined bike route from Waldorf, MD to DC (Pt. 2 here). You should be able to view the details of the route at MapMyRun. It is not always ideal biking conditions but it is the best route I could find while not adding too much distance. It takes me about 2 hours going and 2 hours 15 minutes coming back, but usually I only ride one way and take the bus the other. On the whole I'm pretty happy with it and i hope it can be useful to anyone else looking for a good route to DC. Any comments are welcome.

Lunch

Mixed greens and farm fresh tomatoes, covered in northern white beans and anchovies, and topped with chipotle hot sauce. I have weird taste buds.