Day 3 - Williamsport to DC

The day started with a quick breakfast at a Waffle House.  I had sausage gravy over biscuits since we are now south of the Mason Dixon line.  Although it is clearlyq unhealthy, I like to order it when I'm in the south and I know I'm going to burn it off before it gets to my arteries.  Later in the afternoon, Chris Thorpe, my long-time friend from Penn State, had agreed to join us on part of the trail.  We calculated some ETA's along the trail and texted them to Chris.

We were back on the trail some time after 7:30 AM.  We were both sore all over, but after about 15 minutes my Achilles tendons were loose enough that I could ride without severe pain.  The rest of the day my Achilles pain would be most severe when starting up after a break and after riding for a long time.  Sitting in the seat would relieve that pain but bother my saddle sores, standing out of the saddle would bother my Achilles.

The C&O trail was OK in some places, but in other places had mud-holes or course gravel, and small to medium sized rocks.  These obstacles never stuck up more than an inch or so above the trail surface, but they were still enough to send vibrations through my rigid frame to my body.

The mile markers were concrete posts positioned on the right side of the trail, painted brown with white lettering.  They rarely seemed to come soon enough, especially at the end of the day.  The C&O trail also has water pumps operated by long handles.  As we went along the trail, we used them to refill bottles and soak our heads.  They became like a oasis to a desert caravan, something to look forward especially during the heat of the day.

Countdown starting

Water pumps helped get us there

For a period of time, the trail had been diverted around a trouble spot between miles 88 and 85, where the trail had been rendered impassable where clung to the side of stone cliffs that ran immediately adjacent to the river.  However, a trail improvement project had recently been completed, so we no longer needed to take the detour.  The trail had been rebuilt during a 2 year project which built miles of concrete retaining wall between the rock face and river, with a smooth riding surface on top.  This was a significant project which probably had a large price tag.  The smooth surface was a welcome relief.

As we progressed east, we could tell we were getting close to a trail head by the increase in local trail traffic (walkers, runners, families on bikes, etc.).  Shepherdstown, WV was the first significant town along the trail, and we noticed a large increase in trail usage on both sides of the town.  The is located on a bluff overlooking the river from about 70 feet above.  I had spent a weekend in 2007 in the town with Anne.  It is a nice place to visit if you have a chance.  Attractions include Shepherd University and the amenities of a college town, antique shops, and Antietam Battlefield is only short drive to the north.

We had a nice view of Harper's Ferry across the river, 
from the trail on the east bank of the Potomac.

The next major town along the trail was Harper's Ferry, WV which is an even bigger tourist destination.  Located where the Shenandoah joins the Potomac River, and then flows through a gap in the Blue Ridge.  the town was where some significant events of the Civil War occurred, and is also where the Appalachian Trail headquarters are located.  The town starts along the railroads at rivers edge and climbs up over a steep slope between the 2 rivers.  It has a lot of old residential, and commercial buildings that have been beautifully restored.  There are a lot of outdoor adventures that you can take part in, around this area.   There was an even larger amount of trail traffic around this town, with people hiking, riding bike, carrying tubes, etc.

The next section of trail was reportedly the roughest section on the C&O, it seemed to be true but at this point anything seemed rough.  Our lunch stop was in Bruswick, MD which was just accross the railroad from the trail.  The diner that Dale ate at last year was closed, so we went to El Sloppy Taco.  I had a chicken burrito, which was large enough to provide the calories we were looking for.  The restaurant was a little rough around the edges, but the food was good and was served pretty quickly.

Further down trail that afternoon, after more mud puddles, rocks, roots and water pumps, we made planned short stop at White's Ferry, MD.  A ferry operates across the river year-round, carrying cars, bikes and passengers.  There is a small store where we loaded up on drinks.  As we were getting ready to leave, we saw triple (bicycle built for 3) pulling up, being piloted by Neil Braunstein, with addtional power provided by his daughter Shoshana and her friend Anja.  I worked with Neil at Lancaster County Planing in the early 2000's and we rode together a few times.  Since then, I have followed his cycling adventures through photos and commentary he posts online.  It was quite a nice surprise to see him along the trail, as they were riding

With Neil, Shoshana, Anja and their bike, at White's Ferry

White's Ferry

Now it seems manageable

When we hit the 25 mile mark, it became clear that we were going to be able to finish, barring any major mechanical problems or injuries.  however, it was not giomg to be easy.  At about mile 21 we were joined by Chris and Andrew Thorpe, which was a real boost to our morale.  Riding with them helped take our minds off our own mental and physical state.  We were able to ride 2 by 2 for a while, and chat about a lot of things.  When we got closer to the trail heads, the traffic became heavier than we had before, forcing us to ride single file at times.  They had entered the trail at mile marker 10, so when we reached that point they treated us to some cold drinks and snacks.  That

Dale warned me that the trail would be rough inside the 4 mile mark.  He also said that there was a parallel paved trail that we could ride on, but that he wanted to ride on the actual C&O trail to the finish.  Considering how bad his saddle sores were, he was very determined to finish this off right.  I said I would stay with him, and blocked the paved trail out of my mind.  He was right, the trail was rough in last 4 miles, so it was last big challenge of the trip.

As you approach Georgetown, MD and DC, you are surrounded by trees and the river, so there are very few signs of any urban area along the way, except when you pass under the beltway and a few other bridges along the way.  When we finally hit Georgetown the trail crossed over the canal and then became very narrow as it was on a ledge between a stone wall and the canal.  We were now surrounded by old Georgetown, which was becoming very active as it is a very popular entertainment destination on a Saturday night.  We started passing people who were using the path as another pedestrian route.  We also had to make a couple street crossings.  We were both sweaty, smelling very bad and our legs were covered with dried mud and dust from the trail, and everybody else was dressed and ready to go out for an evening of fun, but at this point it we didn't really care as we were so focused on finding mile post 0.

OK, so finding milepost 0 is not as easy as you would think, especially when you are completely exhausted mentally and physically.  Since leaving Pittsburgh the trail had been so easy to follow, now it got lost in the streets and paths of Washington between Georgetown and the area around the Watergate Hotel.  We consulted the Trail guide book, used Google Maps, and finally asked someone at the Thompson Boat Center where it was supposed to be located.  We did have to go around the boat center, across a small bridge and there it was.  The last quarter mile is very poorly marked, but we finally made it.  It was a great relief to know that the trip was done.

Mile Zero

Glad to be done

One more leg still remained and that was getting through Washington and back to our car parked at Union Station without getting run over.  Our plan was to connect to K street which headed directly to our destination.  However, we ended up somewhere near the mall, so we ended up riding along the north side of the mall to Capital Hill.  Along the way we passed the White House, the Smithsonian and many other important buildings and monuments, but we were just too tired really take notice.  At this point, if we had stayed in one place too long, we might have been mistaken for homeless people.  So we kept going, and we had to ride up Capital Hill which was probably the steepest hill of the whole  trip.

Driving out of Washington was a real test of patience, since we were both very tired.  We made a couple wrong turns, backtracked a couple of places, and even went the wrong way on a short very steep street in Georgetown.  Finally we were on 270 heading west toward where Dale had parked his truck.  pushing the clutch while driving was very painful for my Achilles tendon on my left leg.  After dropping him off, I got some food and caffeine for the 2.5 hr trip home.  I made it home around midnight very sore, and totally exhausted.

Daily Statistics
Bike computer was not working for a short time around mile marker 30
Total time: 8:20:47
Total distance: 97.33 miles
Average Speed: 11.6 mph