Tales From the Trail - Day 4

On Day 4 (Wednesday), the intrepid band of bikers completed the 185 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, MD along the C&O Canal Trail. The final leg to Cumberland was the longest leg to date at 63 miles. It was also not without its problems. The first real ones since they started off on Sunday. One of the riders (not daughter#2) got three flats. One in the back tire and two in the front tire. They managed to patch them up enough to finish the ride. The girl in question, however, did discover she had the wrong size tubes for her tires so they couldn't replace the tubes. In addition, the final 15 minutes on the trail, as they were coming into Cumberland, it started to rain soaking them all. Before going to their hotel, they stopped at a bike shop to replace the patched tubes. The rain had lowered the outside temperature to the 60s and inside the air conditioned bike shop it felt even colder to the soaking wet bikers. Hot showers all around were in order once they reached the hotel.


However beginning their trip on Day 4 from Hancock, MD, one of the first sites was an old cement works.




They also biked through Little Orleans, the last easy access to the trail by car until Cumberland due to the mountainous terrain. This is Bill's Bar in Little Orleans, which apparently has burned down.





At Mile marker 155 is the Paw Paw tunnel. They rode through it rather then dismounting and walking through it (as recommended). Daughter#2 said it was cold and dark.



This section of the rail has a lot of abandoned track, most from the Western Maryland Railroad. This trestle bridge is a Mile Marker 156.



Just a view of the canal and trail around Mile Marker 166. That's Lock #69 in the foreground.

This bench and tree is at about Mile Marker 178. I put it on for The Son in Law who deals with trees all the time as part of his job. The plaque next to the bench reads: This tree is the most outstanding Swamp White Oak specimen known in the State of Maryland. It is listed as a Maryland State record in the Maryland Big Tree Champion program. In 1991, the tree was 16 feet, 2 inches in circumference 4 feet above the ground. The tree was 82 feet high with a spread of 84 feet.

As they got closer to Cumberland, the signs of civilization begin to appear - at Mile Marker 182, a sewage treatment plant.

The very last Mile Marker at Cumberland.

The very end of the C&O Canal Trail is at the Cumberland Visitor Center. This statue is outside the Visitor Center.

Congratulations to Daughter#2 and the girls with her for finishing the trail. Halfway done. Day 5 starts The Great Allegheny Passage.

Tales From the Trail - Day 3

Day 3 (Tuesday) found our group of riders traveling from Shepherdstown,WVA (Mile Marker 72) to Hancock MD (Mile Marker 124), a distance of forty (40) miles. Again the weather gods smiled on them with a sunny day and temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s. This leg saw the first minor cracks in the group. One rider had a funny noise coming from her bike and another is experiencing a sore knee. Luckily Hancock has a bike shop for the first problem and a pharmacy for the second. The girl with the problematic knee will test it out on the ride from Hancock to the end of the C&O Canal Trail today to see if it will hold out or force her to drop out.

During the ride on Day 3 the group passed Barrons Store and Museum. This is the country store from which Ann and I rescued Daughter#2 and a friend who were riding the C&O Trail from Cumberland to Georgetown before thunderstorms drowned them out back in May. The couple who own the store gave them shelter (the store was technically closed) and gave them some tea to warm them up until we could get there. You can read about it here. I hope they stopped to say hello.

Along the canal at various places are feeder dams for the locks. That is WVA on the far bank and the building actually houses a working electric generator. As a reminder, these pictures (and most of the facts) come from the Virtual Tour of the C&O Canal Trail at McMullens.org.

As beautiful as the Trail is, it has been ravaged by storms over the years, which have taken their toll. This is what greets travels at Mile Marker 86.

The Trail here has been completely washed away. I don't believe there are any plans to try and restore it. Travelers are rerouted via a detour around this section.

After returning to the Trail, the group got to see this old Mill complete with a paddle wheel. It's known as McMahon's Mill.

A common companion to the C&O Canal are various railroads. Once a upon a time the Canal and railroads were competitors. The railroads were the overall winner, but along the trail are remnants of abandon tracks and bridges. This bridge was used to raise the tracks over the canal. It was replaced with the truss bridge in the background, which is still in use.

The group did not pull off the trail for lunch as they had the day before in Harper's Ferry. Instead they brought along lunch and ate on the Trail, which according to Daughter#2 consisted of bagel and hummus. Doesn't sound all that great for lunch but they also had some power bars and what not to sustain them. Another view of the Trail somewhere between Mile Marker 100 and 106. What a way to spend a day.

According to Daughter#2, the highlight of this leg was visiting Fort Frederick (Mile Marker 112). Built in 1756, its original purpose was to protect the area and settlers during the French and Indian War. The Fort has been restored to its original appearance and future plans call for re building the Officer Quarters. The barracks are already rebuilt and often staffed by re-enacters. I assume that's primarily on weekends and holidays. Daughter#2 didn't mention seeing any.

After Fort Frederick, our weary band of bikers arrived in Hancock, MD. Daughter#2's biggest complaint so far is getting off the Trail. Every exit requires a steep climb on already exhausted legs. Hancock does have a bike shop that I assume caters mostly to Trail riders.

The Group had marked out the Hancock Town Tavern as a possible eating place for diner, but I forgot to ask Daughter#2 if it fact they ate there. Their resting place was Americas Best Value Inn in Hancock. It did not rate high on her list.

Tomorrow they bike the last 63 miles of the C&O Canal Trail and finish up in Cumberland, MD. There they will pick up the Cumberland and Pittsburgh Trail - The Great Allegheny Passage.

Tales Fram The Trail - Day 2

Day 2 of the ride from Washington to Pittsburgh started with the group (Daughter#2 included) headed back to Whites Ferry to cross the Potomac and hook back up with the C&O Canal Trail. They found out from the hotel that they have a shuttle to the ferry so that saved them about 5 to 6 miles of biking, particularly along busy Rt 15. They had a great day for biking. Sunny and in the 70s. Little wind. Daughter#2 called in to let me know that they are averaging between 11 to 13 mph and stopping every 8 miles or so for breaks or if they come across a point of interest. To get a feel for the trail, I added this picture from mile marker 41 and includes Lock 27. I should add that all pictures are from the McMullen C&O Canal Virtual Tour. If you visit their site you can see many more pictures of the canal.

Further along is the Monocacy Aqueduct. It has 7 arches is just over 500 feet long and is one of 11 aqueducts along the canal.

Another view of the trail at the remains of the Noland's Ferry Bridge. I have to admit the trail is a lot flatter than I would have imagined and while not paved looks like an easy ride. It also looks like an incredibly beautiful ride.

The Potomac has relatively few bridge crossings considering it flows through a major metropolitan area. The only crossing up river from Washington until you reach Harper's Ferry is at Point of Rocks. This is the train station in the town.

Leaving Point of Rocks and passing Brunswick, MD, the C&O hooks up with the Appalachian Trail, which is kind of interesting in my opinion. Daughter#2's group stopped in Harper's Ferry for lunch. They dined at the Cannonball Deli. You can read a review of the deli here. A very positive review. As a number of the group are vegetarians, sometimes finding a suitable place can be a challenge. Luckily, considerable research had been done prior to their leaving so they had an idea where at least one vegetarian restaurant was available at each stopover (less one stopover, which will be discussed later in the week). The original idea was to do some sight seeing in Harper's Ferry, but after eating, they decided to save their strength and by pass the sightseeing. Below is the bridge crossing into Harper's Ferry.

Leaving Harper's Ferry, the group passed the Antietam Aqueduct, which crosses Antietam Creek. This Aqueduct though somewhat similar looking too, should not be confused with Burnside's Bridge, which is part of the Antietam Battlefield. This Aqueduct is downriver from the battlefield itself. They won't pass Sharpsburg and the battlefield until tomorrow.

Their stop at the end of Day 2 was Shepherdstown, WVA. This is the bridge into town.

Dinner was at the Blue Moon Cafe. Daughter#2 had some sort of salad with Bruschetta. Not my choice, but then I'm not vegetarian. So far the trip seems to be going well and well worth the time and effort.

Tales From the Trails Day 1

As I sit down and write Daughter#2 is on a ridiculously long bike ride with three companions. Daughter#2 is riding from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. A distance of 33o miles over seven days. They started off yesterday from Georgetown and will ride the C&O Canal Trail to Cumberland, MD. At Cumberland they will transfer to the Cumberland and Pittsburgh Trail that will take them on to Pittsburgh. Overall the route is known as The Great Allegheny Passage.

Day 1 was a 40 mile ride starting in Georgetown in DC to Leesburg, VA. This leg totals 40 miles. The day was overcast with temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s. There were widely scattered light showers. Now technically Leesburg is not on the C&O Canal, but they do need a place to sleep overnight and Leesburg was the choice. The highlights of this leg was riding by Great Falls.

In order to cross the Potomac to get from the C&O Canal Trail in MD to Leesburg in Virginia, they took Whites Ferry.

From the ferry it was about a 5 mile ride into Leesburg with a very short portion being on the W&OD Trail. They shared a room at the Comfort Inn Suites. I haven't gotten a report yet on where they went to eat for dinner. So far everyone has kept up, which I know was a concern for Daughter#2. We'll see how the rest of the trip goes in that regard.

Day 2 will have them riding from Leesburg to Sheperdstown, WVA with a mid day stop at Harper's Ferry, WVA. I'll get details on this leg and post about it tomorrow.

Vacation 2008

Vacation is over and I'm back at work and I must say work is kicking my ass this week. Deadlines are a bitch. So vacation. As I mentioned, Ann and I went to Cocoa Beach. My Dad's girlfriend, Lee, owns a condo on the beach that she graciously lets us use - for free. And how weird is it so have to say my Dad has a girlfriend even though they've been together for years and years? People always look at me funny when I tell them I'm going to Florida during August. The reasons are pretty clear. First, the price is right. Free condo right on the beach? Yes! But it will be so hot you say? It's not any hotter then in Virginia this time of year plus you have a nice ocean breeze. And look at this beach. There is no one on it. You think the beaches at Ocean City or Rehoboth look like this? Hardly. It's wall to wall people up there. Plus Lee cooks for us and does laundry nonstop. We hardly have time to wear something before it's washed, dried and folded. It's amazing. I think we made the right choice. This is view from the condo. Sweet.

Since we traveled without the kids, Daughter#1 wasn't there to organize every minute of the trip. So a typical day would be:

7:00-7:30 Get out of bed

7:30-8:00 Read paper, slurp down my morning Coke, watch Today Show

8:30-9:00 Enjoy hot tasty breakfast cooked by Lee

9:00-9:30 Get ready for beach

9:30-12:30 Sit/Lay out on beach and read books. Maybe take a walk

12:30-2:00 Lunch, including a few beers

2:00-4:30 Back on beach

4:30-6:00 Shower and cocktail hour

6:00-8:00 Dinner Sometimes Lee would cook us dinner sometimes we would go out

8:00-10:00 Read or watch TV

10:00 Lights out and sleep

Repeat the next day. t was very relaxing to say the least and much needed. Ann doesn't share my love for being out on the beach and frying so she did most of her reading inside. She would come out with me first thing (before 10:00) and we would take a walk on the beach. Here she is reading Merle's Door: Lessons from a Free Thinking Dog, which she loved and thinks you all should read it too. She liked it so much that she gave this copy to Daughter#2 and bought a second copy so I could read it. While Ann was reading about Merle, I read 1948, Polar Shift, and a Patricia Cornwell novel, which I can't remember the title. All good beach reads except maybe 1948, which is non-fiction, but interesting enough to keep my attention.

We've been to Cocoa Beach a number of times now so we've developed a list of restaurants that we enjoy going too. Since Lee was nice enough to make her condo available to us, we picked up the restaurant tabs (except one which my Dad picked up). Here is my Dad and Lee at the Sunset Waterfront Cafe on the Banana River. I had the blackened scallops. Mmmmmm.

Tradition all calls for us to eat at the Pig and Whistle our first night there. Fish and Chips and Bass Ale gets the vacation off on the right foot. Our last night before heading home we always hit Rusty's Seafood. It's a loud, raucous seafood place (notice the seafood theme), which is a nice way to wrap up our stay. Here my Dad and I enjoy some steamed clams. Something we did often during our vacation.

My Dad and Lee were able to join us for the entire time at the beach (they actually live in the Orlando area) so that was a good deal since we don't get to see them enough. My sister lives in Melbourne, which is right next door to Cocoa Beach, so we got to visit with her and her husband. They are a cute and fun pair.

While in Florida I celebrated my birthday. My Dad was very generous with his gift. Also a Happy Birthday to my brother, whose birthday falls two days before my own.