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.