63.5 miles
My mom dropped me off at a commuter parking lot along Route 123 in Woodbridge, VA a little bit before 7am on her way to work. I loaded my bike and took off on the sidewalk that turned into a bicycle path along 123. I used Google to get bicycle directions for my first day and I have to say that while they can be a bit vague like turn left, turn left, turn right, they were accurate directions.
In Lorton there was a prison on either side of 123. They shipped off all the inmates to prisons farther away. Now they turned the workhouses of one prison into an arts center.
After bike paths along roads, I ended up on the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Trail for a bit more than half the days journey. I was reminded that small towns like Herndon and Leesburg existed before they were swallowed up by the ever expanding suburban sprawl. High tensile electric wires and the smell of honeysuckle.
Contrasts of extreme suburbia with McMansions and farmland. I met a number of people biking along the road including a couple from Chicago who loves to bike rail trails wherever they go and a woman who was starting the TransAmerica Trail with a group from Adventure Cycling on Monday.
Overview of a stone quarry along the W&OD trail
A bit of farm in the suburbs.
I rolled into Purcellville around 3pm. I was doing errands when John asked if he could look at my bicycle, having recognized it as a Bilenky. He invited me down to Velo Classique, where I met Wayne and chatted a bit about bikes and I admired his selection of bicycles.
I finished at Potomac Vegetable Farms, a bit north of Purcellville. Visiting with Richard, Ellen and Aaron and the crew.
Day 2: Brunswick, MD to near Williamsport, MD
Wayne offered to shuttle me to Brunswick, MD and I took him up on it. The only route from Purcellville to Brunswick is a 2-lane commuter route with little to no shoulder and traffic going at least 55mph. Thanks Wayne!
Harper's Ferry and the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers
A second day of hot, humid weather. Passed mostly people going from Pittsburgh to DC. I was passed by someone going from Leesburg to Hancock (about 90 miles) and the next day meeting up with friends in Cumberland and going to Seven Springs (about 130 miles). I didn't keep up with him. I saw someone carrying more than me. She had her front rack piled higher than the handlebars and a baby carrier on her back with a dog in it.
The trail was muddy. I had to stop and clean out my fenders with a stick multiple times. Finally it felt like I had the brakes on and there was a constant swoosh-swoosh-swoosh as the tire rubbed against the caked-on goo. I had to remove the tires and clean off the fenders. I kept seeing dark brown clumps of leaves and small sticks in the trees, anywhere between 4 and 7 feet above the trail. It took me awhile to figure out what they were. Then it dawned on me: leftovers from flooding.
Dam #4
The usual detour was expanded, but I didn't read the sign until after I had passed the area. Ooops!
Mosquitoes...
Day 3: near Williamsport to Hancock
42.5 miles
I started off and it was already another hot and humid day... I stopped in at the Cushwa Basin in Williamsport and saw the forecast of high 90 chance of showers.
I had been drying some laundry on the back of my bike and my shirt had fallen off. I decided to backtrack and find it. It took a couple of miles and I was ready to give it up for lost when I saw it hanging on a box elder branch on the trail. Thank you to whomever hung it up.
I decided to stop into Fort Frederick State Park. I pulled in and saw a bunch of groundskeepers hanging out on the front porch of the gift shop. No one there. Supposedly there is more during the weekends but since I was there mid-week it was desolate. A British fort from the French and Indian War era. It's an impressive walled fort with some barracks inside and the foundation of the officer's housing.
My knee was hurting so I took it slow and ended up on the Western Maryland Rail Trail (a 23 mile paved trail on either side of Hancock). I pulled off at signs for the Hancock Visitors Center and found that it had moved from in town to right along the C & O in an 1780s canal side house. They were just finishing preps for the grand opening the next day and allowed me to wander around the center. There are some great historical photos from the house and area surrounding Hancock.
I decided to focus on making my knee better so I ended up staying behind the C & O Bicycles in Hancock. I should have taken some pictures of the place. A screened-in section with bunks made out of plywood and 2x4s, a courtyard with an elevated pond with frogs, a couple of bushes, 2 port-a-pots and 2 showers converted from port-a-potties. Quite nice. I had two fellow travelers going the length of the C & O. They were going lightweight, so light that they had tubes but no pump nor tire irons. I hope they made it without any incidents.
Day 4: Hancock to Cumberland
68 miles
Thank goodness for ibuprofen, arnica, stretching and rest. My knee did well.
I finally got a decent start at 7:30 before the day heated up. I stopped at one of the hiker biker camp sites and made a second breakfast. I had passed a woman and 3 kids and wondered where she was headed. Well, Melissa had been camping at the site the night before. Her husband (can't remember his name) and her have 4 boys, I swear under the age of 5. One nursing and 2 in diapers (cloth ones). They were on day 11 of a Pittsburgh to DC ride. They ride about 20 miles a day. The boys are loving it. It's impressive! Here's all of them with one of their bikes.
The Paw Paw Tunnel
I had been watching the sky and trying to make it to Cumberland before the sky let loose but I didn't. About 10 miles outside of Cumberland, the sky started falling. I ended up at a lock house with a porch, hanging out with a guy that I had been tagging all day long. He was biking from Pittsburgh to DC. It was his 4th time doing the trail, the second going from DC to Pittsburgh. He is taking about 4 1/2 days, going solo and lightweight, staying inside, carrying one set of clothes and some food.
The thunderstorm finally let up and we headed out. Slow going through puddles and mud and over some branches that had fallen.
Cumberland from afar looks like a lovely town. In its heyday it was the second largest city in Maryland. Lots of industry has gone away but the remnants of railroad tracks that criss-cross the city, as well as I-68 going through the middle, make it not so desirable. There are plans to make the city bike friendly but for now it's not. It is the terminus of the C&O Canal and the beginning of the Great Allegheny Passage.
I stayed at the YMCA campground, which is right across the street from the Y and next to some railroad tracks. Luckily they had a pavilion so I just set up under it. It was noisy spot with the trains banging together, as they started out and stopped.
Day 5: Cumberland to Rockwood
47.5 miles
The first section of the day is 23 miles up hill. I was daunted by it and specifically planned my trip so I did it with all the energy I could muster. It wasn't as bad as my mind it out to be. I also discovered that if I determined that I was going to make it up the hill, then I would; mind over matter. The grade wasn't very large but it was constant. I met some people who work at the bike shop in Cumberland. Kurt was riding up and down waiting for a group of bikers who were going up 10 miles. He is a fan of 1980s vintage and handbuilt bikes and owns a couple of them. Craig is a trail ranger, biking up and down the trail on the lookout for mostly 4 wheelers that wreck the trail.
From Frostburg, I end up riding up the hill to the Big Savage Tunnel with a couple on a tandem (Gary and Mary Ann), who are training for the Race to the Lake MS 150, a Multiple Sclerosis fundraising ride from a little north of Pittsburgh to Conneaut, OH. They talked about the pros and cons of tandem riding and the tours they have gone on.
I passed through the tunnel and the clouds had parted and there was sun. The best weather yet for biking. Lots of people coming down the hill. I finished going up the hill to the Eastern Continental Divide. I had gone from about 650 feet above sea level to about 2300 feet. After that, it was downhill!
Salisbury Viaduct
I stopped off in Rockwood and called about campsite availability in Confluence. It was Memorial Day weekend and I figured the area around Ohiopyle and Confluence were busy with whitewater rafters and hikers. Nothing available, so I stayed in Rockwood at a place called Husky Haven. It is named after Huskies. The couple used to have a number of huskies that they kept in an area where the campground now is. The huskies used to pull a sled along the trail. They retired the dogs and in 2007 they opened the campground. One husky is still alive at 14.
Day 6: Rockwood to Cedar Creek Park
69 miles
Out by 8am and in to Ohiopyle by 10:30. There were a ton of people around. I had wanted to make it to Fallingwater but with so many people around and nothing at Fallingwater available until Monday afternoon, I decided to continue on. Before I left, I took a short hike around Ferncliff, a peninsula that juts out into the Youghiogheny. It's made of some hard sandstone and has resisted erosion more than the rest of the bedrock. Back in the day of trains, Ferncliff was a destination for Pittsburghers, and automobiles ended its popularity.
The trail was populated with people who don't know how to ride on trails. There were some close calls even with me ringing my bell, shouting "Excuse me" and "Passing on your left" for as far ahead as I could. I have now learned to avoid Ohiopyle on any fair/warm weather holiday.
I learned firsthand about chafing today. I knew the equation: sweat/moist skin and friction = chafing and now I understand it. Sorry, no pictures.
Made it to the campground and had a relaxing evening. I talked with John, who is planning on doing the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal in the fall on his recumbent, and is just exploring a bit of the trail.
Day 7: Cedar Creek Park to Pittsburgh
40 miles
I had a great start at 8am. Another humid day.
West Newton trailside sculpture
I talked with a bicyclist in Boston and he recommended to take 837 in to town, so I did. It wasn't too bad. I got off at East Homestead Ave and took it through the mall that occupies the space where the Homestead Works once stood. Across the Glenwood Bridge, and racking my brain about how to get over to my friend's in Homewood. I decided that the most direct route goes up a long hill or I would go up another hill or all the way to downtown. Who knows if the route I took was the best one but I did end up pushing my bike up most of Hazelwood Ave. Pittsburgh has lots of hills.
Even with the hilly route, I made it to my friend Brian's a little before he took off for a wedding.
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