The See & Oh!
It was 8:00AM Saturday morning
and we were rolling down I-85 pulling a 5x8' Uhaul full
of all our biking stuff (well, almost all).
In the back of our borrowed Ford Expedition was
four other bags of the things you need when you are spending nine days away
from home. Susan and I, and our
neighbors Rod and Cheryl, were heading for one of our biggest biking vacation
adventures yet. We planned on arriving
in Washington, DC sometime that
afternoon. The next morning we had a
shuttle arranged to pick up us and our biking stuff, and deliver us to Cumberland, Maryland. From there we were planning on riding down
the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath back to Washington. We would bike five days and spend four nights
traveling 185 miles over a hard packed trail carrying everything two couples
need to survive the trip. Of course that
is to survive in relative comfort. With the key word here being “relative”.
We had your standard biking stuff: shorts, jerseys and riding shoes, as well as
curling irons, hair blowers, shampoo, conditioner, more shoes, off the bike
walking around clothes, more just-in-case we go out to a really fine restaurant
clothes, quilting stuff (both woman are taking a quilting course and didn’t
want to fall behind), four cell phones with recharge adapters, a short-wave
radio (I'll confess to that one), bike tools, bike tires, rain gear, and enough
of the previous listed stuff to last five days.
To carry all this we had four bikes, two bike trailers, three sets of
panniers (big, medium, small), three handle bar bags, and four bike racks. The towpath is almost flat with only a 2%
fall from Cumberland to Washington. We were taking the downhill direction so we
felt we could carry as much as a mule could.
Day 1 on the Towpath 33 miles
The next morning we were up bright and early and
assembling our stuff when I realized our pile of gear was a few feet short of a
mountain. It was missing one little bag
of stuff that at that moment was sitting forlornly in my garage, awaiting to be put into the trailer. This bag contained our helmets, gloves,
biking sunglasses, handlebar bags with their assorted stuff packed in them,
riding shoes that clip to my pedals, and a few other odds and ends. After checking the trailer a half dozen times
to see if somehow I missed it when unloading it finally sunk in that an empty
5x8 trailer just does not have that many hiding places, and the bag really was
not there. After a big sigh, we quickly
realized that everything but the helmets could be substituted for. Street sunglasses, tennis shoes, tough hands,
and hard heads would have to do.
By 9:00AM we were out front
awaiting our shuttle. Within ten minutes
up pulled J.D.Gross
in his big van with a four bike rack on the back. After moving the mountain of gear from the
sidewalk to JD's van and loading the bikes on the rack we were off on a 2.5
hour ride through the Maryland countryside to Cumberland. I must admit that I started the trip with a
southerner’s stereotypical view of anything north of Richmond. I thought I would see nothing but crowded
cities, highways, and very few green places.
It was my first time in Maryland and it was a
beautiful shuttle ride. We left Washington driving along the Potomac River, and then climbed
into the mountains as we left the river valley.
We drove through green farm lands dotted with stone barns and by pastures
outlined with rock walls. As we followed
the winding road into Cumberland and to the trail
head, the charm of the town is everywhere.
There are brick roads, and narrow winding streets. There are old brick
buildings covered in facade details not seem on any modern buildings. We saw slate and cedar roofs. You could just sit and look around for hours,
but it was 12:00 and we still had 31 miles of towpath to do as well as eat
lunch so the looking around would have to be another day.
We decided to have a quick lunch of hotdogs from the Wiener
King. This guy made the Soup Nazis on
Seinfeld look like Mother Teresa and his hotdogs weren’t that good. We are to excited
too grumble much, and by 1:00 we are riding out
of Cumberland.
The Potomac was on our right, the canal was on our
left, and over head was a canopy of hardwoods leaving the path dabbled with sun
light. For the next five days that would
be our primary view as we rode along this trail. Almost our
primary view. There was the rain,
and the mud, and the detours, but all that comes further down the C&O
towpath. Right then we were still
pointing out all the many turtles that lay on logs in the quiet, dark waters of
the canal, and enjoying the bright colors of the Gold Finches that flitted down
the towpath just a few feet ahead of us.
We stopped at the ruins of the many locks that allowed the canal water
to drop 631 feet as it made its way to Washington. We sat on the aqueduct walls that carried the
canal over the multitude of creeks and rivers it traversed as it moved along
the Potomac. Our
first day ended at the West Virginia town of Paw Paw, and was capped with a flat tire on
my trailer. The leak was slow enough to
allow me to pump it up and ride on into Paw Paw. We continued to talk of the many sights we
had seen as we rode across the bridge spanning the Potomac and the few miles
to our first Bed & Breakfast along the C&O.
We unpacked our bikes at the Heritage
House in Paw Paw.
Now Paw Paw ain't
big, but we were hoping for a restaurant.
We settled for the R&R General Store. The food was deli sandwiches, and it was
edible. It was sort like school food; it
would keep you alive, but you're not sure it's worth living for. The R&R is also the social gathering spot
for Paw Paw's town folk, young and old.
At night the teenagers hang there, all 8 of them. The next morning as we were packing our bikes
to leave, the old bench in the front of the R&R was full of gray beards
sipping coffee. It spanned all
generations. Fortunately for us the Heritage B&B breakfast was pure country
good! Lots of fresh
fruit, slab bacon, eggs, and waffles.
It was a great way to start another day on the towpath. With a big breakfast and a fresh patched tire
we were off.
Day 2, 36 miles
By 9:30 we are looking into one of the great engineering feats of the C&O,
and the USA at the time of it's completion. The Paw Paw tunnel. The canal and towpath go through a mountain
for 3118 feet, 5/8 mile. It took 12
years to complete. You can barely,
barely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Rod and Cheryl take off riding, but Susan and I decide to walk. In the middle of the tunnel you can not see
your hand in front of your face. About
12 minutes later we walked back into the sun shine and a valley with shear rock
cliffs on both sides of us. The towpath
travels along a boardwalk for a while and then it is hewn straight from the
side of a shell cliff, and is covered with shards of stone. Visions of flat tires kept going through my
head. After a few miles we rode back
onto the wooded trail with everyone's tires still holding air :) Today is also a short riding day with only 35
miles of trail to ride, so many hours were spent
looking at the locks and other sights along the way.
The trail has started to make a few demands on us as well. My pedals are made for a shoe that clips to
them, and they have started to cause blisters on both feet. Without gloves, the shock of the trail has
also caused Susan's hands to start to blister also, but the biggest pain is the
in the seat. Everyone needs more breaks and longer breaks to allow the bottom
to rest. So you can call it exploring
locks or overlooks, but my butt just plain called it a rest. We discovered that in the mornings we could
ride the first hour without a break, but after that we needed to stop every 30
minutes or so. So with more breaks than
we normally take, our short day was stretching out to a long day, especially
with an hour for lunch at Bill's Place in Little Orleans.
Now Bill is famous up and down the canal...mainly for being a crabby old
man. His place rents canoes, has arcade
machines, a liquor bar, and he sells bar type food. On the ceiling he has pinned one dollar bills
that folks traveling the canal have signed.
Now this is Bill's second place.
The first one burnt down a few years ago. This ceiling had a few hundred one dollar
bills pinned to it. The old place had
6000. No wonder Bill is crabby.
This day ends in Hancock, Maryland. We
pulled off the trail right next to a bike shop.
Here we stop and each buys a pair of gloves. From the bike shop we head to our next
B&B which is a mile from the canal.
As we ride toward our home for the night we discovered that the canal is
in a very narrow river valley and the Cohill Manor B&B is at the top of a very long,
steep hill. We struggled to the top and
rode on to the grounds surrounding the Manor.
As I hung over the handlebars gasping for air, I couldn't help but
notice the charm of the farm land surrounding the Cohill
Manor. The lush green land rolled around
us with a small pond in front of the manor.
In the pond a pair of gray geese honked at us for disturbing their
afternoon. They were joined by a flock
of speckled guineas squawking loudly, and if that wasn't enough, an odd couple
of a white goose and a white duck appeared to add their voices to the
noise. We parked our bikes and tiptoed
through the numerous piles of bird droppings covering the ground and up the
steps to the house. There we were met by
the owner, Debbie Cohill, and glasses of
lemonade. After that climb from the
canal we spent the next half hour sitting on the front porch drinking cold
lemonade and letting the pain slowly drain from our legs and our breathing to
stabilize. It was here we meet the
master of the manor, big John Cohill. BIG,
BIG, BIG, John Cohill. John was about 6-6" and 350 pounds. He
had a big black beard and thick curly black hair and hands that completely
cover mine when we shake. His smile is
as big as he is and he sits with us and talks about the area and our ride. After a rest break and a shower they offered
us their car to drive in to town for supper.
That was good, because I had already decided not to eat if I had to
pedal back up that hill. For anyone that
may ever come this way we ate in Brekeley Springs, W.VA. at
Tarey’s. It
was great!
Day 3, 55 miles
This morning we are up early because today is our longest day, 48 trail miles
with a 5 mile detour. Debbie has
breakfast ready by 7:00 and we are riding
by 8:15. There is some good news to start the
day. The first 10 miles we can ride on a
rails-to-trails paved path that parallels the canal. We cruise along at 14 mph. Even with a stop to allow a herd of deer to
cross our path, and a break to explore a 1700 cemetery, the 10 miles pass away
too quickly. When we cross over and
rejoin the trail, Susan starts complaining of rattling noise coming from her
bike. After a quick inspection I can
find nothing wrong and figure she just packed her panniers too loose and tell
her so. We all ride along trying to
enjoy the towpath while listening to this annoying little vibrating noise
coming from Susan’s bike.
The sky has become very gray as we ride into the town of Williamsport for lunch. It is here that Susan’s bike rack loses a
screw from the vibration of the trail and drops down into her chain. No damage done, and
the good news is the annoying little noise quit. We stop to fix the rack before finding a
place to eat, and I had to endure the I told-you-so’s as we rode into town.
Blah, blah.
We ate at the Corner Diner and I had my usual cheeseburger and
fries. They make great biking fuel. The sky looks really dark as we leave the
diner and start back down the C&O.
The rain begins falling before we get out of sight of Williamsport. Out come the rain jackets and caps.
The next ten miles we ride in a steady down pour that turns the
trail into a mud bog that sucks at your tires and covers everything in black goo, except me.
Before the trip I had installed a nerdy set of fenders on my bike that
now keep me clean and dry, and have my riding partners green with envy. At least the parts showing through the mud
are green, and I assume it’s envy. At every stop I constantly marveled to them
the difference in their appearance and mine, but after seeing the look in
Susan’s eyes after she dug a blob of mud out of her hair I figured I had
pressed this point long enough. The rain
finally slows to a light drizzle when we reach McMahon’s Mill, the start of our
detour. The trail has been washed away
the next four trail miles so now we must take to the roads. It is five miles of rolling hills before
reconnecting with the towpath, but we all enjoyed the mudless,
bounceless, smooth black top. The rain has now stopped but the tail is
still muddy, and I silently thank my fenders again. By 4:30 we roll into Sharpesburg, Maryland and the Jacob Rohrbach
Inn. After 30 minutes or so at the
garden hose to wash our legs, bikes and equipment we are finally allowed to go
to our rooms. Showers and fresh clothes
have us looking just like new.
Again the owners gave us their car to drive to supper and we go
to Shepperdtown across the river in W.VA. to eat. After another
great meal we drive around the Antietam Battle Field
in Sharpesburg. A solemn reverence hangs over this place where
so many Americans lost their lives. 23,000 casualties in one day. We drove slowly past the “Cornfield” and the
“East Woods”, and we stood in silence along the “Sunken Road” where 5,000 men
died. I did not get to see “Burnside’s
Bridge”. That would have to be another
day.
Day 4, 43 miles
We awoke to another great breakfast: yellow watermelon,
raspberry pastries, strawberries, sausages, and herb and cheese egg soufflé
with coffee and juice. It was 9:15 by the time we pushed away from the table and rode
off. Our Inn keepers had given
us a short cut that traded 3 road miles for 7 trail miles and again we get to
start our day on a smooth road instead of a rough trail. Even with the roughness of the trail the
bikes are holding up well. So far: 1
trailer flat, 1 loose pedal, and 1 lost rack bolt. The people on the other hand are starting to
nick and bruise. We bounced along with
anticipation of our next stop, Harper’s Ferry.
Now the map said we cross a foot bridge over the Potomac to get to Harper’s
Ferry. What it neglected to tell us was
you had to climb a twenty foot high spiral staircase to get on the foot
bridge! The foot bridge was located at
mile marker 60.7. When we arrived at the foot of the staircase I just could not
believe that was it, and continued on for two more miles before asking a
passing jogger. He turned us around and
we rode back to the bridge. By the time
we had carried four bikes and two trailers, all loaded
with gear, to the top of the stairs the jogger had caught up with us and passed
us on the foot bridge. After a few hours
in Harper’s Ferry and an ice cream cone we started back over the bridge.
Another bike portage down the stairs and a few minutes spent draped over the
bikes sucking in oxygen, and we are off.
A side note to the foot bridge experience. There is a sign at the bottom of the
staircase that says, “Bike Riders Must Dismount Before assenting Stairs”. Say what!!
I could barely carry my bike up those steps, much less ride it up!! What
kind of crack-head dummy came up with that sign? Do people really try to ride
up this thing?
The sky has turned battle ship gray again as we stop for lunch
in Brunswick, Maryland. By the time we finish lunch and start back
down the towpath the sun is poking through occasionally. It goes that way the rest of the day. Looks like rain, looks like sunny. Looks like rain, looks like sunny. Luckily the rain holds off as we arrive at
Whites Ferry and roll aboard for a short ferry ride across the Potomac to Leesburg, VA. On the other side the Owner of the Norris House, our B&B for the night,
loads us up for a five mile shuttle to his Inn in historic
downtown Leesburg. The Norris House is a
beautiful old home sitting on a shady green lot on the edge of town. The historic district of Leesburg is very Charleston looking with ornate
buildings presenting a very narrow front to the street. The town is also full of shops and
restaurants, and we enjoyed another great meal.
After supper we walked around town and decided we would spend the next
morning here shopping and exploring, and leave around noon.
day 5, 38 miles
We had a mediocre breakfast and found out that Don, the owner,
was the one that enjoyed the B&B business, and not his wife. That’s too bad, because it was a great place
that she managed to knock the shine off with her attitude. The weather had decided not to shine for us
either.
The forecast was for heavy rains and severe thunderstorms. We changed our shuttle to 10:30, and rushed around seeing what we
could. By 11:45 we were on the
other side of the Potomac and riding back down the C&O. So far the sun has been playing hide and seek
in the clouds as we hammer down the trail.
For the next hour and ten minutes we ride at top speed, dodging
roots, limbs, and mud holes in the towpath.
Finally we pulled over for a break realizing if it starts raining we
will never beat the weather to Washington anyway. From now on the pace is more relaxed as the
sun continues to slide in and out. After 20 miles we arrive at Great Falls. Here we stop and eat lunch and rest a
while. At Great Falls there are six locks
in less than a mile that lowers or raise the canal 41 feet. It is here that the one remaining working
lock is located, and you can take a barge ride along the canal and through the
lock. We watched as a barge traversed
the lock and moved up the canal being pulled by a team of mules. As I looked at my loaded bike I felt a real
empathy with those mules. As the barge
moved up the canal we started our journey back down the canal.
As we rode our last 15 miles I thought about how well the
equipment had done. I thought having
only one flat tire was a minor miracle.
You know, Fate has away of sticking it to you just when you think you’ve
won. As I was day dreaming about how
lucky we had been, Fate was punching another hole in my trailer tire. I first pumped the tire up hoping for a slow leaker, but I only made it a few hundred yards before it
was flat again. I pulled the wheel off
and got out the tube patch. With all the
experience gleamed from our last trip fixing tires, we were back up and riding
in less than ten minutes. The rain was
still holding off, and I was scared to death I was going to think about how
great the weather was. You know, with Fate looking over my shoulder and all, I
didn’t want her to decide to get me again.
She didn’t.
At 3 miles from Georgetown the towpath is
paralleled by the Capital Crescent trail, a paved bike
path:) The next
3 miles we flew along, surrounded by other bikers, joggers, and in-line
skaters. In Georgetown we got back on the
C&O towpath for the last mile. What
a difference in the look of the towpath now compared to the last 183
miles. We are surrounded by a large city
bustling with activity. We ride past the
Canal Chinese Takeout Restaurant, and through Georgetown University
Campus. We cross streets bumper to
bumper with noisy cars, and then there it is, Lock #1. We made it!
After a few pictures and hand shakes we start back up the trial to the Key Street Bridge a mile back the way
we came. As I rode along I knew the
quiet serenity of the towpath was gone.
No more stops where all you heard was the flow of the Potomac and the singing of
birds. Gone were the trees and the poison
ivy. No more gravel towpath, mud holes,
roots, rocks, and sticks and limbs. We
wouldn’t be gliding down the trail with the wind in our faces, or the rain
running down our necks, or climbing steep hills or dragging our bikes up spiral
staircases. Hey, wait a minute! I thought you were only supposed to remember
the good stuff from an adventure. I was
pondering this question as we rode across the Key Street Bridge and back into the
parking lot of the Marriott Hotel, and it begin to sprinkle rain. As the rain begin to
fall harder, I knew then I would miss the towpath, but I’d get over it.
epilogue
The rain ended that night and the rest of the rest of week was
beautiful. The next day the adventure
continued with one group shopping and the other going to the museums. Yeah, like it’s hard to figure out which
group did what. That night we all went
to Mount Vernon to eat and see Ol George’s place.
It was the only time the truck left the parking lot. Good thing too. We got lost three times! What’s with this town? Does no one ever make a left turn? And what’s up with all the blocked off
streets? Sheez
The next day we spent walking the mall from the Capital to the
Lincoln Memorial to the White House to the Capital, and everything in
between. To top it off we finished the
day with a walk and supper in Georgetown. I was never so
glad to get back to work in life. I’m wore out. Many more
vacations like this one and I’m going to need a vacation.
It was a great trip though.
One that we had planned for almost a year and it came off without a
hitch. The towpath was everything we had
hoped for, and the weather threatened us, but never really hurt us. Washington is an exciting
town, and 2 ½ days only makes you want to stay longer. I can’t think of any
part that I didn’t enjoy. Well, OK,
maybe the portage up the staircase wasn’t too fun,....and
oh, oh, what about that hill in Hancock, but that’s it. Except for maybe....
Statistics:
5 days
4 nights
total biking miles 204.9
2 trailer flats
1 loose pedal cage
1 lost rack bolt
Animals seen on
towpath
3 deer
2 musk rats
xillon water turtles (cooters)
½ xillon canadian geese
ducks
2 snakes
2 Red Head woodpeckers
bunches of rabbits
black squirrels
grey squirrels
1 white squirrel
box turtles
every color butterfly known