John Aylward Photography

Today’s Highlights:
We had an amazing breakfast this morning at the 1812 Inn in Hancock. It was elegantly served outside on the large front porch of this majestic house built around 1890. We had a view of their gardens, and it was the most pleasant cool, sunny morning. We really did not want to leave, but our bikes were calling us.

We set out on today’s adventure at 8:00 AM, and continued on the paved Western Maryland Rail Trail which runs parallel to the C&O Tow Path for ten miles to the east. It was nice to start out on smooth pavement. We saw only a few people along the way. We then jumped back on the C&O trail and cycled for another fifty-four miles on the dirt path, ending in Harper’s Ferry for our last night out.

The entire day was sunny, with high puffy clouds, and the humidity was much lower than all our previous days. It was great for cycling. The trail was damped from yesterday’s rain, so it was much less dusty today. We had fun dodging the puddles too. Although the trail is well maintained, the uneven dirt, rock and roots still took a toll on us after hours of riding. We had trouble finding food and water along the way today, because we passed through only a couple sizable towns and would have had to take significant side trips in them to find something. By the time we finished our 8.5 hour aerobic challenge, we were all very tired and hungry.

Along the way, we saw many canal locks and several lock houses. In places, the old canal bed was completely transformed into forest, and you wouldn’t know it was once a canal unless someone told you. We also traveled closer to the Potomac River today, including a few miles where we were right at its shoreline. It looked beautiful under the blue summer sky. It is the 4th of July, so other people were out enjoying boating and water-skiing in the Potomac River. Traffic on the trail though was as light as mid-week, and it still felt like a wilderness adventure for the most part. We also made stops at NPS visitor center in Williamsport, and at the Stonewall Dam.

Reaching Harpers Ferry, we walked our bikes across the pedestrian bridge and into the historic town. It is also a national park with many buildings from the early 1800s. We are staying at the Town’s Inn in the middle of the historic district. It’s a convenient location and they have a nice restaurant. However, we were a bit surprised that our accommodations are similar to a hostel. It was built in 1840, and our rooms look like a cave with its thick stone walls and minimal lighting.

GAP and C&O Day 06

Joe’s picture of the day:
http://www.aimlesswanderings.com/Travel/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-1/Day-6-Hancock-to-Harpers-Ferry

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/4/2014, 4:58:29

Duration: 08:33:39

Ascent/Descent: 466 ft 670 ft

Distance: 64.79 M

Today’s Highlights:
Today was our longest ride of the trip so far (76 miles), so we were up early and prepared breakfast in our rooms before the café was open. We were on our bikes at 7:00 and enjoyed the cool morning air and the sight of mist rising off the mountainsides. The fifteen miles from Frostburg to Cumberland were all downhill, which was a fabulous way to start the day. We cycled on a crushed stone surface still, and this time followed the Western Maryland Rail line, which is still operational for tourist rides. We passed through the Brush Tunnel about half way to Cumberland, and passed by some pretty farms too.

We reached Cumberland one hour later and stopped for a photo op at the junction of the Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake &Ohio Canal Tow Path. This was the finish of the 150 mile long GAP ride and started our 183 mile C&O ride.

The tow path is a little more rustic than the GAP trail. In general, it is narrower and has more dirt than crushed stone. There are occasional ruts, roots and stone, but it is overall a well maintained trail. For short distance rides, one can be quite comfortable on it, but for longer rides like the sixty miles we did on it today, it can wear out a number of body parts. The tow path follows directly along the old canal, of course, and the Potomac River is a short distance on the other side of the path. The canal bed is completely dry in some spots, swampy in others, and algae-covered ponds elsewhere. Ducks and turtles were very common, and we saw a lot of deer along it today also. There were very few street crossings and few towns, so we still have the feeling of being very remote on our cycling adventure.

The old stone lock walls and some wooden lock doors are still in place, and it is interesting to see these old structures. Just as impressive are the remaining lock houses. We saw several today. Some further down the trail are actually open for overnight guests. We also passed several campsites today, as many cyclists tent camp on these trips.

Riding through the 3118-foot Paw Paw tunnel was one of the highlights today. It is not lit, and is very dark inside. Chris and Stacia had bike lights and that helped a lot. The narrow path through the tunnel was very bumpy with lots of puddles. We had a lot of fun there.

There was only one place to get food along the way, and it was not easy to find, but we did. It was Bill’s Place in Little Orleans. The people were really nice there and we were very happy to get something to eat besides the bananas and energy bars we snacked on for sixty miles. Just as we finished there a thunderstorm rolled through and we got a bit wet. We rode another five miles on the muddy trail, which just added to our fun adventure. For the last twelve miles, we moved off the old tow path and onto the Western Maryland Rail Trail all the way to Hancock. It was paved, and that felt a lot better on our bike seats!

We reached our hotel around 4:00 – almost nine hours of biking. This was the longest distance and time that both Stacia and Joe have ridden! Another milestone achieved. Congratulations to both of them! We were greeted by Bill, the very friendly inn keeper. They are very experienced with cyclists here. We started off at the bike washing area, and hosed down our very muddy bikes and bags and legs, and were even given towels to dry things off. There were energy drinks and cookies and other snacks for us. They even had laundry room use, which was appreciated after our dusty, muddy day. And the rooms and supplies are very nice here.

Once again, Stacia’s friend Terri spoiled us with a gift of wine and bike ornaments. She’s the best! We have another long day tomorrow to get to Harpers Ferry for the 4th of July.

GAP and C&O Day 05

Here is a link to Joe’s pictures:
http://www.aimlesswanderings.com/Travel/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-1/Day-5-Frostburg-to-Hancock/

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/3/2014, 3:59:50

Duration: 08:44:11

Ascent/Descent: 690 ft 2623 ft

Distance: 76.42 M

Today’s Highlights:
Lynn and Debbie, inn keepers at the Rockwood Trail B&B, made us a hardy breakfast this morning to fuel us for our ride. We left just before 9:00 to cycle 28 miles to Frostburg Maryland. It was another warm summer day, and we again missed the predicted rain. Our decision to keep the mileage low for another day was a good one, as it let us enjoy many of the trail features along this short stretch. We still enjoyed the now-familiar sight of the tree-lined path following the Casselman River. At mile 10, over the Salisbury Viaduct, we turned away from the Casselman and started following the Flaugherty Creek. This eventually fizzled out as we neared the continental divide. Although we left the river banks, we were still surrounded by the beautiful eastern hardwood forest, and enjoyed some more open views at the higher elevation.

There were many highlights today. The best one was that Stacia reached 1000 miles of cycling for the year, between all her training and this trip. Congratulations Stacia! She reached that milestone celebratorily on one of the main features today, the 1908-foot long Salisbury viaduct. Here, we also got the last good view of the Casselman River and some farms along its shore.

Shortly after the viaduct, we reached the town of Meyersdale and made a side trip for some water. There was a nice visitor center there, and the town looked very nice too. A little further up the trail we saw the Bollman bridge. It’s a small bridge, but is a very interesting design. We pressed on for another seven miles of our 20-mile climb, passing over the Keystone viaduct, before finally reaching the eastern continental divide. Happy to have completed the multi-day climb, we stayed for a while to take pictures, ate and rested a bit.

The downhill grade toward Cumberland is steeper than the climb up the other side, so we really enjoyed the next eight miles to Frostburg cruising easily at a higher speed. This section included riding through the Big Savage Tunnel, which is lit inside because it is so long – 3300 feet. That was really fun, and refreshingly cool inside. Next, we crossed over the Mason Dixon line where Chris and Stacia reenacted the feud. Finally, a few miles before Frostburg, we passed through the 900-foot Borden Tunnel.

We reached Frostburg around 2:00 – a long but fun day for only 28 miles. We cycled up a steep hill to get to the Trail Inn where we will stay tonight. A while later we walked the rest of the steep hill to enjoy a well deserved late lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Still not done for the day, we walked a couple more miles to get groceries for tomorrow’s long ride.

GAP and C&O Day 04

Joe’s pictures of the day:
http://www.aimlesswanderings.com/Travel/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-1/Day-4-Rockwood-to-Frostburg/

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/2/2014, 5:49:54

Duration: 04:40:41

Ascent/Descent: 766 ft 680 ft

Distance: 29.47 M

Today’s Highlights:
After a light breakfast at the Laural House, we set off at 8:80 AM for your 30-mile ride to Rockwood. Since the trail is a constant climb in this section, we planned for reasonable mileage. At an unhurried pace and with some goofing off, we completed the ride four hours later. The trail was similar to yesterday’s section on hard-packed crushed stone, surrounded by lovely tall trees, and with a refreshing meandering river beside us. We again dodged the rain predicted for today and enjoyed a very comfortable, although humid, sunny summer day.

The first half of our ride followed the Youghiogheny River. At the town of Confluence, named for the merger of four rivers, we crossed the Youghiogheny and began following the Casselman River. As we climb upstream toward the Eastern Continental Divide, the river is getting a bit smaller, shallower and clear. In some sections it is lined with smoothed river rocks, and there are more areas of small rapids. Most of the rail bed we are traveling on is 20 to 30 feet above the river, with a steep drop off to it. We found a place where there was easier access to the river’s edge and hiked down to it so we could jump in. That was one of our highlights of the day. The water was very cold and very refreshing.

For much of the morning ride we had the trail to ourselves. It is surprising to ride these distances and see so few people. We eventually met a group of six or so people and chatted along the ride, sharing our plans and delights in the ride. Several of the people we have met in the passed few days are return riders to the GAP. It’s easy to understand why when you ride it for the first time.

We arrived in the small town of Rockwood at 12:30 at a very nice B&B called the Rockwood Trail House. They greeted us with cookies and iced tea. Then the next big highlight of the day occurred. Stacia got another special gift from an awesome friend! Yep, she was given a 1-hour massage at a place a few minutes away. If any of our family is out there reading this, we really think this is setting a new precedent that we would welcome immensely. So just to recap – Sunday was chocolate covered strawberry and wine, and today was a massage. If you want to try to raise the bar, go for it. We will be in Frostburg tomorrow at the Trail Inn and Campground.

We went to the Opera House for a late lunch. Today is also laundry and bike cleaning day. Soccer watching is on the schedule. Then another late dinner. We are all doing well and having a ball.

GAP and C&O Day 03

Here is a link to Joe’s pictures.
http://www.aimlesswanderings.com/Travel/2014-GAP-CO-Tail-Ride-1/Day-3-Ohiopyle-to-Rockwood/

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/1/2014, 5:23:43

Duration: 04:03:24

Ascent/Descent: 694 ft 175 ft

Distance: 30.03 M