C&O Canal - Cumberland to DC

I have now seen every one of the 184.5 miles of the C&O Canal, and it was spectacular!  A bucket list item for a very long time was finally completed this past weekend.  I did not envision the ride being as fatiguing as it was, but my original plan to include 3 days of riding turned into just 2.

The trip to Cumberland started with an easy ride to Union Station from my Mom.  I wasn't so sure of the logistics with the bike and trailer.  But it turned out to be extremely easy.  There's a big door on the 29 train where bikes are strapped to the wall.  Easy hook up and leave the trailer next to it.  Badda bing!  Badda bang!

Waiting for my 4pm ride at Union Station

Note to self, wear a sweatshirt on the train.  There were a few other people who had completed the trip from Pittsburgh at the train station.  There was also a guy who just rode cross-country.  The camaraderie among bikers is pretty neat.  I got a trail update and all signs were green.  There was a huge storm that had multiple trees down across the trail that were difficult to cross earlier in the week.  I only encountered one at the Brunswick Family Campground that was easy to get over.

Arriving in Cumberland about 7:45pm kinda threw my 3 day plan into turmoil.  I was hoping to ride at least 20 miles to ease the distance.  But I forgot my bike light so there would be no riding in the dark ... and the trail gets very dark.  I rode 4.5 miles to the first campsite in my flip-flops.

Beginning of C&O Canal Trail

First night of camping at Evitts Creek

Every 5-6 miles along the canal is a hiker/biker campsite.  It's a mowed grassy area with a port-o-potty, fire ring, water pump and picnic table.  Serious kudo's to the National Park Service for keeping these campsites functional.  It'd be difficult to ride the whole trail without them.

First night of camping

My first night of camping was ok.  Temperature was cool enough, but there was a lot of noise.  You'll need to check the video for what the worst part of the night was.  And in truth, that was the worst part of the trip in total.

There is a fair amount of history along the trail.   My travel plans didn't really allow for too much sight-seeing.  These next couple photos are of an ancient cement plant.  It survived 3 fires but in the end it closed due to not staying profitable.

The plant mined limestone and ground it up to make cement.

Apparently, Portland Cement was cheaper to make and put this factory out of business.

Lock house

It seems that every lock had a house.  Guess someone lived there who maintained and operated the lock for the canal boats.  There are a couple you can stay in overnight, for $100.

Thanks, but I'll take the free hiker/biker campsite.

There are ~70 locks on the canal.  If you're wondering how they operated, here's a link.

The weekend temperature was in the upper 90's, but it was a lot cooler up north.  I benefited quite a bit from the shade, but it was still pretty warm. Not too warm, but when someone is riding a bike for hours on end ... it heats up.  Here's how we combat the heat and dehydration.

The Paw Paw tunnel is the most interesting feature on the entire ride.  It's ~3,300' feet long, over 1/2 mile and pure dark in the middle.  If you don't have any light, then good luck.  I only had my iPhone light and it was just enough to illuminate the tunnel to horror movie levels.  The uneven dirt surface rolls you side to side, with a solid brick wall on the right and a railing to the left.  There's no sound in the tunnel other than a drip drip drip of moisture.  You have to ride so slowly 'cause it's so narrow.   A couple hundred feet in and and I was ready to get out.  Creepy creepy creepy.

Here's my mechanical issue for the trip.  I can only imagine what I would have done if this had happened in the Paw Paw tunnel .. oh yea, I would have UBER'd.

64 miles into the trip and I'm feeling it.  Let's be real, that's a long ways on a mountain bike and towing a trailer.  I've still got 116 miles to get to DC.  All I could think about was I can't leave myself a century ride on Sunday.  I had to decrease that distance.

The trick is how much to ride.  Wear myself out today and nothing left tomorrow.  As it turns out, I wore myself out both days.






Below is a picture of my swimming hole.  North of DC the Potomac seems to be very clean.  Water sports crowd the river and a ton of people were taking to it in the heat.  I seriously would have traded in my dusty bike for a jet ski if someone had offered.

I just had to swim

And holy moly did I get a second bath after the swimming hole.  The skies opened up and you would've thought the Thunder God Thor himself was making a appearance.

I had a good conversation with a dude under a bridge while waiting for some the storm to pass.   He recently got out of prison on drug charges and getting his life in order with his 6 year old son.  Kudo's to him for getting his life on track, so send him a prayer or two, he'd appreciate it.

I ended up riding 111 miles on Saturday and that is the most ever for a single day on my mountain bike.  I've done two mountain bike centuries before, but this was a different kind of hard.  Given it was flat, there were no free downhill miles.  The day of riding began about 7:30am and ended riding about 8:30pm.  With a few breaks, that's ~12 hours of pedaling.  I don't train for these things, I just ride them.  As long as the body doesn't breakdown, I'll keep riding.

I rolled into Antietam hiker/biker campsite without my complete faculties.  When you're worn out that much you don't think quite as clearly, decisions are tougher, and you resemble a zombie.  So I slogged into the campsite, picked a spot, and set the tent up quickly.  I was gross, but fortunately the Potomac Bath Works was open so I slid down the dirt trail and fell into the river.  Clean as ever and ready for bed.   Unfortunately, I didn't have time for dinner.  This night there would be none, which isn't what the belly wants.

Here's the last video of the day.

Another crappy night of sleep on that uncomfortable mat.  How in the heck does Jared sleep on that?  I woke up several times and did what I could to sleep.  Eventually I fell asleep and woke up around 8am, without an alarm.  Surprisingly I wasn't feeling too bad.  The first few miles were ok as the limbs got loose.  The huge nag on me right now was hunger.  Oh man, was I hungry.  Fortunately, a town was really close.

I stopped in Brunswick for brunch. Fortunately for me, as I was looking around riding in circles some guy in a car stopped to ask if I was lost.  I asked about food and he pointed me to a pretty cute dinner pictured below.  Quiche and salmon lochs for lunch .. yummy!

Beans and the Belfry in Brunswick

Lunch could have been a real downer for me.  Turns out I left my wallet at the register when I paid for the meal, before I ate.  Later the guy came out and asked if I left my wallet there.  As much riding as I was doing, I would have been in no mood to turn around on the trail and retrieve it.  More kudos to the honest people in Brunswick!

I felt some joy when arriving at Harpers Ferry.  I had ridden my bike there once, so I was feeling pretty good that it was somewhere I had been.  The trail is relentless, one woodsy section after another.  Long stretches of straight trail that dims away as far down as you can see.  I was seriously getting worn down so anything familiar was helpful.

White Horse Rapids near Harpers Ferry

My dad took my sister and I canoeing quite a bit when we were younger.  One specific rapid I remember was White Horse Rapids.  It's just south of Harpers Ferry.  Below is my lame attempt at taking a picture of those rapids.  At this point, stopping was not an option.  The pedals had to keep turning.  I was having 4th and 5th thoughts about not making it to DC on Sunday.







I didn't take much video on Sunday.  After the first few miles it became a slog fest.  An endless unchanging trail.  Every time I put forth much effort the whole body would nauseate.  The only way I was getting through the day was carefully managing the effort.  I could pedal only so hard.

35 miles in and I'm wearing out (again), but I'm only halfway for the day.  The final portion was really a ride from one water pump to the next.  I'd get off the bike and dunk myself under each pump.  I'd cool off and start feeling pretty good.  I'd heat up by the time I rode the 5-6 miles to the next pump.  Again, dunk oneself and do it all over again.

Lunch at Great Falls

I was feeling downright cheery arriving at Great Falls.   Only 16 miles left to DC.  Under those good looks in that photo is one completely shot and worn out person.  Even my jaw was tired putting down the pork sandwich and potato chips.

Managing those last 40 miles was pretty difficult.  Any time I put forth a bit of energy my entire body would nauseate.  It was not pleasant.  There was a certain power level I could keep, but going over it was not an option.  Just keep pedaling.









Mom and her neighbor Brian showed up in Rosslyn 3 minutes after I did to pick me up.  Amazing how that worked out.  I'm dirty, stinky, nasty, and extremely relieved to be off the bike.  One of the hardest things on Sunday may have been getting my bike and trailer up the Key Bridge steps from the trail.  Wow, that took all the remaining energy I had left in my body.

Gramma is always there when you need her

For all you Fitbit fanatics, it recorded 50,797 steps on Saturday for 110 miles, and 36,527 on Sunday for 70 miles.  That 50k+ effort earned me the "Cowboy Boot" badge ... yee haw!

Another bucket list item is to ride the Great Allegheny Trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland.  That's a mere 150 miles.  Maybe a one-day ride? 

Strava stats:

• Day 1 - 4.5 miles
• Day 2 -111 miles 
• Day 3 -70 miles

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2013 Civil War Century

The Civil War Century is a must ride just because of its name.  I rode last year but this year was easier, perhaps I trained a little?  It starts out in Thurmont VA and rolls up, down and all-around through Maryland and into Pennsylvania.  It is kinda cool to ride through Antietam National Park and the Gettysburg battlefields.  Although by the time I got to Gettysburg I wasn't so interested in sight-seeing.

A 5:00am wake-up alarm got me moving and 30 minutes later I was in the car and heading north.  Surprising how many people are on the beltway at 5:30am on a Saturday?  Where are they all going?  It was an easy drive up and the weather was a chilly 58 degrees.  I'm wondering why I didn't bring a jacket.  No worries, because the start of the ride goes straight up for 5 miles.  You're sweating inside of 10 minutes.

Total elevation for this ride is ~6,100'.  Total ride length was 102.7. See that big hill at mile 60, ugh.  That's a decent climb that tears you down.  Good stuff knowing that if you can make it to mile 62 you've pretty much got the ride made.  Although all that rolling stuff later does take little nibbles out of you.  

We were still in pretty energetic moods arriving at the first rest stop about 26 miles in.  Best food on this ride was the peaches.  OMG, those were sooooo good and I'm not really a peach lover.  I ate my share and then some.  Reminds me of the Presidents of the USA - peaches for me, peaches for free.

Here's a quick clip at mile 73.  All cylinders still firing well.  Not sure what little town we're in as we've gone through so many at this point.

I had to get a quick shot of some cannons in Gettysburg.  It's good times to tour around here and see the area.  Been there a couple times with the Cub Scouts.  There was a fleet of people-movers that we blew by.  Who sight-see's on people-movers?

This is how a lot of rides end. I am worn out.  The last 10 miles was really hard because my stomach starting hurting and that throw up feeling wouldn't go away.  I don't think it was from the ride, as I had that feeling at the first rest stop.  I blame Jordan because she had a really bad stomach ache Friday morning.   I did get a great ham/turkey sandwich at the end of the ride and started feeling a heckuva lot better.

Riding time was ~6 hrs 40 mins.  So add 1 hour for total time.

Garmin statistics

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2013 Mountains of Misery Double Metric

MOUNTAINS OF MISERY 2013 The Mountains of Misery are named accurately, filled with misery stacked upon climb after climb.  I had quite a bit of trepidation leading into this event due to the memories from two years ago.  I rode the century route in 2011 and that was exceedingly difficult.  So what do I sign up for this year?  Something even harder, the double-metric ride!

126.2 miles with an elevation climb of ~11,390 feet across what felt like 5 mountain ranges.  That's almost half-way up Mount Everest or ~8 times taller than the Empire State Building.  Spider-man can't fight the Hulk because they aren't in the same power class, well this ride is outside of my rider class.

If this image doesn't scare you as a biker than nothing will.

The weekend started really well with an easy drive down to the camp site at the start of the race.  Beautiful weather was forecast, so why did my insides feel like a butterfly parade?  At the registration booth I made the questionable decision to "man up" for the double metric instead of the century.  Has anyone ever told you to "man up" where it did not result in your personal demise?

I slept really well in the tent Saturday night, got ready and rode 1/4 mile up to the starting line to receive my first and only good news of the day ... the double-metric folk get to start first!  There were about 100 of us and around 525 with more common sense opting for the century.  5 waves in all of riders started 5 minutes apart.  I think the only reason all the riders didn't pass me was because the double-metric and century routes diverged early on.


The first 25 miles are a steady incline that isn't too tough.  It's just the 7am hour that's early and it takes me a bit to stop wishing I was still in bed.  Then the first climb of the day up Pottstown Mountain, 2100 feet over 11 miles and it was steep.  You get a real feel for how high you're climbing when you overlook the sides and  and your brain asks you why on earth you're riding 2 feet from edge.  Next time I'm riding in the middle of the road.


The next climb is 1,200 feet over 4 miles.  That is really steep and I had to walk a short bit of it.  My bike gearing just isn't set for these tough mountain climbs and no one was around to tell me to "man up".  Misery was starting to take a toll.


After 3 hours I had gone about 40 miles.  The realization that I was only 1/3 of the way done hit like a ton of bricks and I was thinking the ride would be 10-11 hours.  Wow, I've never been on my road bike that long.  The couple mountain bike centuries have taken 12 and 13 hours.  This ride turned out to be every bit as hard as those single-track nightmares like the Wilderness 101.

I don't even know what to say after this point as all I did was keep pedaling.  Up the mountain, down the mountain.  It's interesting what goes on in your head during these times of isolation and stress.  Keep turning the cranks, check out scenery, pray those dogs don't jump the fence or break a leash.  Why does everyone in the country own a socially disturbed dog looking for a new chew toy?

Approaching the final hill I had a lot of thoughts going through my head.  None of them was that I would actually ride it.  I failed a couple years ago, so why would I be able to do it today with the increased mileage?  To my surprise and excitement I did ride that final hill from bottom to top.  It was very difficult.  I'm actually pretty tickled about making that climb.

At the top I had some good moments with the two riders finishing just ahead of me.  Ron and Hans were in pretty happy spirits.  Especially Ron because he finally beat someone, me.  I took the prestigious position of "last in class" when I crossed the finish line.

Hold up the number of people you beat.  

And what better way to spend the rest of the day with a 4+ hour ride home by oneself from Blacksburg, VA in the dark?  I was contemplating setting up my tent at a rest area but opted for slugging it out and arrived around 12:30am.  A quick shower and I joined the family in the pop-up camper in the driveway.  I felt pretty good on Sunday, just a little fatigued.  Will I ever return for more misery?  Only time will tell.

Official Lucky Last Place Results:  (Don't laugh unless you've tried to ride this course.)
http://www.mountainsofmisery.com/2013/data/2013-all-v3.pdf

Garmin Statistics

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