Test Walks

Metro's new Silver Line opens in six days. Over the weekend I attended a ribbon-cutting for the new station and came home with bus schedules and maps and a plan in my head. On days when I'm not driving or biking to the new station (and there may be many of those!), I may bus the five miles to the new station -- then walk home.

I tried out half the new route Saturday, Reston trail map in hand. I felt like a tourist in my own community. And in a way, I was. Like anyone else, I'm a creature of routine. I must be drug kicking and screaming from my well-trod trails and sidewalks.

But change is coming to this suburb, and I want to experience it feet first. So I parked in the Hunter's Woods shopping center lot and picked up a Reston trail that took me to a park, then a golf course and finally to within a 10-minute stroll of the new station. Today I'll amble the southern half of the course, from home to the shopping center lot.

So while Metro is doing test runs, I'm doing test walks. Soon we'll both be in business.