The Great Allegheny Passage

 I’m in Georgetown after a long day of riding. 56 miles with lots of different trail conditions. I’m having a celebration dinner of pasta and wine near my small hotel. So glad to have done it and absolutely a sense of accomplishment. See you soon!

Church in Harpers Ferry Thomas Jefferson Rock Potomac River Nice section of CO Appalachian trail marker  Tomorrow I ride 60 miles to Washington DC or actually Georgetown. It will be a big day with the miles and a big day to finish my ride of the GAP and C&O towpath; some 335 miles in total. I can tell you I’m tired every day.  Today was both good and bad. There was a massive rain and thunderstorms last night and I was worried about both the trail and 3 flat tires I had yesterday with no spare tubes if something happened. Well the trail was sloppy wet but rideable and about 20 miles into my 40 mile day, I flatted. I had to call the outfitters who sent someone to pick me up and drive me to the nearest town 5 miles away. The bike shop set me up with new tires and tubes, washed down my bike and lubed the chain. It purred the rest of the day. I’m in Harpers Ferry where American history abounds. Thomas Jefferson came here and declared it worthy of crossing the Atlantic just to s...

 I started the C&O towpath today which starts where the GAP trail ends in Cumberland Maryland. It goes 184 miles to Washington DC. The trail wasn’t nearly as well maintained as the GAP, but I made it the 46 miles today to a small town called Little Orleans. I got to be honest, it was a hard day with the distance and sometimes rough sections of trail. There were no stops along the way so nearly full time riding from 8am to 3pm. I normally stop for lunch or at least a snack break, but I had given all my snacks to a guy who had lost his gear and not eaten for a day. Anyway staying at a really nice B&B tonight which really helps. Tomorrow should be easier as there is a paved trail for 20 miles the parallels the C&O which I’ll take. Amping the cool stuff today; the water in the old canal was loaded with hundreds of Turtles basking on logs the whole way. Even a couple on the trail I had to turn and miss. The I saw a large totally black snake cross the trail right in front of ...

 For people that know me, I’m pretty sure most would say I have plenty of character, so did I really need more? The forecast for the day was 100% for rain so I was really not looking forward to the 32 miles I had to do to get to Cumberland and finish the GAP trail. I rushed through breakfast and go out in my rain gear as fast and I could in light rain. The first 8 miles to the East Continental Divide was uphill and knowing the packed dirt trail could quickly turn soft. I made it to 2 miles before the peak before it tore loose with heavy rain and lightning and thunder which was a bit scary being exposed on the trail. I huddled up in a trail side covering for about 1/2 hr before I sensed a bit of an opportunity. I made it to the tunnel and the next 20 miles were downhill and that was good but the trail turned soft with the rain and it was some work to ride even down. I got dumped on once more and the bike got a bit squirrelly in the soft trail. Long story short. I made it here a bit ...