Round 11 - The Detour Zone

 

On the 27th of September we went back up to mile marker 99 and put in another 10ish miles.

It was back up over the bridge and on across another aqueduct and into some sparsely populated semi maintained section of the trail.

We rode from the Williamsport Visitors center parking lot up to McCoy's Ferry campground. We were originally going to get off at Fort Frederick but you have to pay for parking there so we just took our small chunk and were satisfied.

The beginning of the ride was nice but I am glad we took a shorter day because there were significant detours.

Somewhere around the lockhouse near Dam 5 (The Honeywood dam) We had to get off the path and get onto the road.

In some ways this was good because Kiernan was in migraine recovery mode and exhausted.

In some ways it was rough because  there was a lot of meandering and bike carrying and stair climbing.

It was also the first time we had to worry about cars.

Some guy tried to hire Kiernan for 10 bucks to take his bike up this but were were 9 miles in to a 10 mile ride and my poor boy was both dehydrated and headachy.

It was a short ride but we were more than done when it finished.

In good news I did grab some papaws while we were taking a break.

Round 10 - To the pizza! Also we passed halfway.

Behold the midpoint of the C&O tow path!

We passed 92.25 miles yesterday.

This was our first long bike of the season as its early March and just getting warm enough to go out and ride again.

We had a bit of a quandary.

For our opening ride we had to drive about an hour away from home. As you can see from the map above or the linked page, most of the trail has no take in take out spots. We ended at Taylors boat ramp last time because there was parking there. Then there was another parking place about .2 miles up and another around 5 miles up and then nothing till lock 44 (18ish miles up. 

Our longest ride to date was 15 mile and it was rough.

But, between then and now Megan had gotten a new and much better bike and I have been working out bit.

Also Meg and I did a number of shorter (10 mile rides between Brunswick and Harpers Ferry) just for fun and snacks.

Beans in the Belfry Yummm!

So, Megan put a water bottle holder and kickstand on her bike and I put a water bottle holder, kickstand and phone mount on mine.

David fixed our flats and my chain and put the bikes and bike rack on the car and we were good to go.

It was overcast and quite cool.

I drove us back to Taylors landing with the heated seat cranked up and gave David the ambitious instruction to meet us in Williamsport to get pizza at Tonys

We rode for the firs t4 mile or so feeling great. We saw several things we were familiar with as this part of the path is near a place we went caving with The Haven group.

We stopped at this cool dam to take pictures and eat some snacks and drink some water.

I actually stopped quite a few times to adjust my seat but those were quick.

There wasn't much in the way of wildlife as its still below freezing at night here but we saw some baby Virginia bluebells all along this section. Also on the other side of the river just a ton of huge houses going up.

Out stops started to get more frequent around the 10 mile mark. First for more snacks and stretching of the hindquarters and then because Megan was getting frustrated and tired.

At this point we got a fairly hearty headwind.

There had been a chance of rain so in one way we were grateful for the headwind but it did make our tired legs protest a little more.

Then we hit a strange and unexpected section. 

We saw signs for falling rocks and then a long cliff hugging paved section.

The kids cheered.

We made better time and got jostled much less (the trail is for sure not as nice in this section. When not paved the ground is quite stony.

In this paved section we went past a few people fishing and 2 guys rope climbing the cliff just over our heads. We saw many more caves, one of which was about 10 ft up and had a blue rope hanging out of it and tempted me sorely to jump off the bike and go have a look but the wind was blowing in our faces and we were looking forward to pizza so we pressed on.

We hit the halfway point and I did stop for some pictures and the wind died down and my phone signal came back so that I could let David know where we were.

It was warmer and there were more flowers and I switched bikes with Megan.

She cheered right up and took off like a shot away from us.

We had a miscommunication with David about where to meet so were quite despondent to get back on our bikes after lock 44 and ride for another (grueling) .2 miles (hahah).

Then we carried our bikes over the bridge (that was what he had been trying to warn us about. Apparently you can cross at lock 44 without needing to carry your bike up and down stairs).

Aunt Lore met up with us here and we all went to Pizza together.

My le got a nasty cramp walking up the hill to the pizza. I've never had that before.

Boo to that.

The pizza was very good and we made just under 20 miles and I am so impressed by and proud of us (but especially the kids).

Our next ride will be down closer to 10 miles if we can help it.

Also weirdly the ride home was quicker than the ride out because we were right by a major road again.

If we do nothing but 10 mile rides from now on we will have 8 more to go before we finish the whole thing.

 

Round 9 - Going the distance

 

We knew it was going to be terribly hot so I got up just before 6 and loaded up the bikes and filled the water bottles.

David made us strawberry lemonade basil smoothies and off we went.

Our plan was to do 15 miles. That's our farthest at one go so far but Megan did so well with the Harpers Ferry leg that we were feeling ok with the decision.

Right off the bat we met the unexpected.

The detour that we left last time was completely cleared up and there was a new bridge to ride over. 

The trail that we last time found a little crowded was completely empty.

There were even downed trees in our path.

We were happy and flexible and the weather wasn't too hot yet so we breezed along for a few miles.

Kiernan told me I was going fast and I was pleased with myself thinking that I was getting into better shape and finally not having a horribly sore butt.

We have been talking about doing a sprint triathlon in the fall and I want Kiernan to use my 'new' bike because its so much lighter and faster.

My great idea was that at a certain mile marker we would all switch bikes so that he could try mine out.

Megan had only ridden hers and I had ridden everyone's, remember that previously I had been using Megan's bike on all the recent rides.

So we stopped for a snack and a drink and a look at the river, at an Antietam creek campground, and switched bikes.

Also Megan disappeared from the gnats down into the river.

The next few miles were a revelation.

Megan's bike is slow and heavy and the seat is soooo bad.

She did not want to trade back.

I cannot blame her one bit.

She had been gamely keeping up with us and not complaining a bit, but once she was on mine I simply could not keep up. I couldn't do it using my maximum effort as she blithely sailed away from me into the distance.

Not only that but my rear was so sore after a few mile that I had to stop and get off and stretch.

Her bike sucks!

Kiernan eventually came back to ride with me. He distracted me with tales of chess games and the history of chess.

I stopped a great deal to take pictures and just get off the bike.

We even went to try a cave or two.

There are caves all over this section of the path.

Fortunately we had helmets and lights already on our persons.

I also stopped to take pictures of paw paws.

Just as we were nearing the 15 mile point I got a text from David that there was no parking in that section and that he was another mile up the road at Taylors Landing.

My poor knee, my poor butt!

The worlds longest mile ensued.

It was, by this point, very hot.

Next time we go back to 10 miles. 

Once we have paid off a few things Megan is getting a new bike.

Good gracious!

Round 7 - Picking up the pace

I got a bike!

Megan might join us for some rides so I need to stop using hers. 

It’s a hybrid bike which is not the most suited for the c&o but it should be fine. 

This ride picked up at the Monocacy Aqueduct and finished 13 miles later 

Megan tried her hand at the C&O by riding back and forth across the aqueduct a few times. 

She and David drove off to Brunswick while Kiernan and I rode off until my poor butt hurt and we had to take a break. 

We did a few on and off stints and saw some great nature. He told me lots about the current state of competitive chess. He’s very into chess these days. He also told me about how to build a golf course in the video game Terreria. We went to a driving range last week and are all into the idea of golf. 

13 miles later we made it to Brunswick and food and David and Megan. 

We are at the excellent Beans in the Belfry and heard some lovely live music. 

 

 

Round 8 - This Time with Megan

 We rode from Brunswick up through Harper’s Ferry and almost to Antitum creek.

It was a beautiful day  

Originally we were only going to do 5 miles so that Megan could test her legs out on a longer ride. However we were unsure about the parking situation there so we picked a 10 mile ride. 

We did take a break for a snack in Harper’s Ferry itself. I was starting to recover from a respiratory thing and Kiernan was just coming down with it. 

10 miles was plenty. 

They both did great and we rode through some of the most beautiful sceanery we’ve seen so far. 

Also some of the most remarkable trail encounters. We passed a ton of people because Harper’s Ferry is a popular hiking destination. We rode on the Appalachian  trail for a bit. We rode beside a train at the same speed as the train for a long loud time. 

We passed a man down on the trail getting first aide from his friends for a bee sting to the knee. We hit a trail detour and a scout troop. We passed a pair of runners moving at a great clip who were out for a 20 mile morning run by the river. Finally we found David who had run a 5Kand loaded into the car. 

Round 6 - A return to the familiar

 So I decided to get a fancy biking top. This was due to watching too much Tour de France and to not having pockets for my phone. 

There is a certain amount and bitterness in my household about people dressed in bike racing attire on the roads, we always shout to each other “The peloton!”, as they block traffic and generally present as road hazards.

I therefore made lots of disparaging remarks to myself as I got one. It’s green (my favorite color) and has butterflies on it.

I was blessed in my decision by a butterfly, and now feel I made an excellent choice.

This time we rode from Whites Ferry up to Monocacy Aqueduct. 

The ride brought us to home turf. 

I took Kiernan C&O bike riding for the first time a few years ago, on this very aqueduct. 

It was a pretty day and in the mid 70s. 

We only rode about 8 miles and saw quite a few groups headed south. 

We passed the Dickerson power station up close, and we saw the big stacks. 

Got an obligatory majestic bird shot. 

We found a massive tree. 

Also we rode on nicely maintained trail (much nicer than last time) in the shade. 

There was a good deal of still, green, plant covered water. 

We took turns leading off and chatted about the old Nintendo game Punch Out. 

This time we wore helmets. 

We haven’t done that in the past. I didn’t wear them as a kid or teenager, when I did the most biking, so I’m not really in the habit. I’ve seen lots of bikers with them and read a few brutal crash stories recently so we are going to try to remember them in future. 

Kiernan was rewarded for his hard work with a sandwich from pump  and rye .