Hancock to Harper's Ferry.
MM 124 to MM 62 about 58 miles
9:30am to about 930pm, 12 hours
Although we did not hit many bad obstacles, for some reason it took us forever this day to finish.
Breakfast at the 1828 Inn was probably my favorite: three-cheese omelet in a croissant, bacon, and more grapefruit. Also with some blueberry muffins, which we saved along with cookies (chocolate chip with walnuts?) for snacks along the way. Said bye to Bill and Darlene and their excellent house. There was an awesome Jacuzzi tub which I highly recommend you seek out. It made up for the climb up the hill to park the bikes behind the house.
The first 10 miles we took the Western Maryland Rail Trail that runs along side the C&O but it is paved. It would be awesome if this trail was even longer. After this we rode 15 more miles along the C&O and I suspect we slowed down considerably. My butt was really feeling it this day and at Williamsport, MD MM 100 we stopped by the bike shop River City Cycles and I got a new saddle (Selle brand). I was not sure it was going to help but I had to trust the bike shop owner. Well it did help and I think it might have saved me. Much less stopping for pain and butt stretches. I had looked up home remedies for saddle sores and the only thing I had to help was Neosporin. We also stopped at a really cute place for lunch: The Desert Rose. Excellent chicken salad sandwich and cheetos. PIC had bbq sandwich. This was the best place we stopped for lunch. Great food, good place to sit. Big bathroom. Even asked if we wanted a refill for the water bottle! Blessings. They also had some ibuprofen which we were in need of. They also had bike racks on the side of the building. All in all Williamsport was a nice little town and worth going up the hill for (this hill was small in comparison to the one we had to do at night). They also had a pharmacy a few doors down.
We passed by the midpoint of the C&O Canal MM 92 but there did not seem to be any signs for it and rode on. There were about 10-20 feet stretches of bad mud we had to walk bikes around and two bad washout areas we had to walk over too. Then we made it to the relatively new Big Slackwater area MM 86. It's a flat surface (?concrete) along the river, maybe 1.5-2 miles long. It was windy this day so getting near the edge was a bit scary for me. I also had a new-found fear of falling into cold water. Maybe this is just a rational fear? PIC said it was not.
It was getting dark soon after this and the fear and annoyance of riding in the dark was strong this night. Terrain was OK but at some point, fairly close to our destination I just couldn't ride on and felt like something was stuck in my bike but it wasn't. We hit a dead end and was pretty nervous about what to do next. Turns out we missed a light veer right and wasted about 20 minutes. Crucial in the dark cold.
At some point we also passed Sharpsburg but it was too dark and late to care.
Around 920-930 we finally made it to Harper's Ferry and were told to turn right on Appalachian trail. We see this bridge but only stairs to cross it. That can't be right. No bike access???? We rode on in hopes for some ramp but there was none, time to face to facts that we have to carry bikes up stairs. Wanted to cry. Crossed the bridge which was kind of nice and there was a ramp to get off of it. Rode down and wanted to cry again. Giant hill, about 0.7miles to our destination. This sucked. Arrived a little before 10, no food in town. Thankful we had leftover pizza from the night before and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies the Angler's Inn had. Soaked in the tub again, passed out. One more day to go.
Again we don't really know why this day took us so long. It was a shorter distance. Overall the elevation map said net downhill (didn't feel like it). No huge obstacles except getting lost once and the stairs, and the big hill. Maybe the days were just wearing on our poor legs. This day I started to really complain of my toes hurting. It felt like the big toes were stuck in clay at the tips of my shoes.
1828 Trail Inn:
http://www.1828-trail-inn.com/
Harper's Ferry:
http://www.nps.gov/hafe/index.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60722-Harpers_Ferry_West_Virginia-Vacations.html
Big Slackwater:
http://www.canaltrust.org/trust/index.php?page=big-slackwater
Angler's Inn:
http://www.theanglersinn.com/
River City Cycles:
http://rivercitycyclesinc.com/
Desert Rose Cafe:
http://desertrosecafeandcatering.com/
Williamsport, MD:
http://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/williamsportvisitorcenter.htm
http://williamsportmd.gov/businesses.html
No comments:
Post a Comment