Final Day 3 Recap/Video - Rainy/Muddy

Today was a challenge with all the rain and mud.  Several sections of the trail were barely passable.  But it was nice to complete the three day journey.  I highly recommend it and hope to do it again next year.  Here's a video recap of today's ride. 

C&O Canal Towpath Mile 0

Day 2 Recap/Video

The trail conditions were excellent today. I rode 68 miles from Hancock, MD to Harper's Ferry, WV.  Here is a video compilation of today's ride. I had to break it up into two YouTube links due to video size. 

Day 1 Recap/Video

Had a great ride today from Cumberland to Hancock. The weather was perfect. The only issue was that my gear was very heavy on my rack which concerned me much of my ride.    Here are some pics along with a video compilation of today's ride.  60 miles in the books. 125 to go. 

  

 

En Route

Here I am at mile marker 184.5 getting ready to head out check back in for more updates. 

  

Arrived in Cumberland

Arrived in Cumberland in preparation for tomorrow's ride.  Stopped by Canal Place for a few photos. 

 

  

  

Bike resting for the evening...

 

Dodging the Weather Forecast - Starting Thursday Morning

The Saturday/Sunday weather forecast is a bit uncertain with potential rain both days, especially with Hurricane Matthew making its way up the coast.

Thursday and Friday look good, so I've decided to start Thursday morning and get the first two days in.   I'll need to play Saturday by ear.

Warmup Ride on W&OD

Had a great 20 mile ride on the W&OD Trail today. Here's a couple of videos of my ride. 

Another Long Training Ride

Since my C&O trip was postponed, I did a 40 mile training ride today on the W&OD Trail.  I rode from Herndon to just beyond Leesburg and back. Today's weather was perfect.   Hopefully the weather on the C&O next weekend will be dry.  

Postponing to Oct 7-8-9

The rain will be continuing through Saturday, so I have decided to postpone a week.  Hopefully, I'll get in another long training ride Sunday.

Forecast Rain - May Need to Postpone a Week

It's looking like rain in the forecast Wednesday through Saturday, which means lots of mud on the trail :-( 

If the forecast is accurate, then I will likely postpone my ride to the following weekend.

Final Long Training Ride

Today I completed a great training ride with a few ups and downs.  The "up" was that I rode 65 miles and felt real good afterwards.  The "down" was that I broke a spoke about 15 miles into the ride, but this was followed by an "up" when I found a nearby bike shop that was able to fix it.  I rode from my house in Herndon to the W&OD trail about 20 miles to Leesburg, then 5 miles north to the Whites Ferry over to Maryland, then rode the C&O Canal towpath 35 miles to DC, then took the metro from Foggy Bottom to Reston, then rode 5 miles home.  Here's a map showing my route from Herndon to DC.

Here's a video compilation of a few highlights of today's training ride:

Training Ride 9/20

Here's a vid of my 22 mile training ride today

C&O Canal Overview & My Trip Plan

(credit: graphic from http://www.bikecando.com)

Join me as I prepare to bike the C&O Canal towpath from Cumberland, MD (mile marker 184.5) to Washington, DC (mile 0) over three days Sep 30 & Oct 1-2.  I'll be posting updates during my ride along the way. 

On day 1, I plan to bike 60.5 miles from Cumberland, MD (mile 184.5) to Hancock, MD (mile 124). 

On day 2, I plan to bike 66 miles from Hancock to Knoxville, MD (mile 58). 

On day 3, I plan to bike 58 miles from Knoxville to Georgetown (mile 0). 

I biked the C&O Canal back in 1976 or 1977 when I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 25 in Muncy, PA. I think we biked it over 6 or 7 days.  This time, it will be a little more intense but I still plan to enjoy the beauty of the trail.   

I recently biked a 65 mile section from Williamsport, MD (mile 100) to Whites Ferry, MD (mile 35).  Here are a few pics and a video from that training ride a couple of weeks ago: