Cold but fun FABB Social Ride in Reston

We had a good turnout for the Reston tour today, one of a series of FABB social rides. It was in the low 40's when we started at the Reston Town Center but the sun was out and it got much warmer during the ride.

We checked out the new Wiehle Ave Metro station under construction, pondering how users will be able to access the station from the south side and where bicyclists will park their bikes on that side. On the north side there will be 240 spaces, many of them in a secure bike room that includes a Fix-it station, that is part of the Comstock development Reston Station. We discussed the Monkey House scare in which imported monkeys living in lab near Newton Square in Reston were thought to have contracted the Eblola virus. The best-selling book The Hot Zone is a fascinating account of that episode.

Bowman Distillery next to the W&OD Trail

We stopped at Old Reston Ave and discussed the early attempt to establish the town of Wiehle. The site is where the Bowman Distillery was located. The whiskey Virginia Gentleman was made there up until 1986. The photo on the right shows W&OD Trail users passing the distillery.

We then rode to historic Lake Anne Village Center and eventually made our way back to the Reston Town Center. Afterwards a few of us had lunch at Vapiano. Check out the Reston Museum Virtual Tour page for links to other interesting historic photos.

We hope to hold more rides next year. For more information about our rides, including cue sheets for previous rides, visit the FABB Social Rides page.