The Ride
is in two distinct parts: the C&O Canal and the Great Allegheny
Passage.
Part 1 is along the
towpath of the former Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, from Arlington, VA,
to Cumberland, MD, a distance of 198 miles, paralleling the Potomac
River, the water source for the canal. The towpath was constructed
for the mules that pulled the barges along the canal. There are
numerous locks to raise the barges from sea level at Washington to
605 ft above sea level at Cumberland, MD. Between locks the path is
level. Once outside the environs of Washington, the cycle path is an
unpaved “two tract”, wide enough for two bikes to travel abreast.
The surface is not smooth, having been invaded by protruding tree
roots and featuring numerous “pot-holes”.
This part with the towpath
along the canal is the C&O Canal National Park
http://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm.
There are numerous Park camp sites and commercial campgrounds along
the entirety.
Part 2 is a rail-trail
along the former rail bed of one of the lines through the Great
Allegheny Passage from Cumberland, Md, to Pittsburgh, PA, an
additional 152 miles http://www.atatrail.org/.
Partially paved, and smoothly-graded and hard-packed where not
paved, the rail-trail climbs steadily from Cumberland to the Eastern
Continental Divide, a total climb of 2,392 ft from Washington. From
the Divide, it is mostly downhill to Pittsburgh, PA, a net decline of
1670 feet from the Divide.
The total
distance cycled from Arlington, VA, to Pittsburgh, PA was 350 mi.
over seven consecutive days. And that, folks, is an average of 50
miles cycled per day!
The Tour
Company we used is Adventure Cycling Association.
This was a
fully-supported ride. There were 37 paying riders from 20 states
plus us from Canada. There were seven support staff. We camped in
our own tents and sleeping bags that were transported by truck to
each campground. Bob Westgate was our Tour Leader. Chris was our
luggage handler and truck driver. We rode with an experienced
bicycle mechanic, Don.
Various support roles were pleasantly filled
by Sue, Karen, Val, and George. All the staff cycled for on-trail
moral support and rotated responsibility for the twice a day
“Nutrition Breaks”. There was always a staff member cycling at
the end of the pack, to “sweep” the trail for stragglers (often
Peter and Catherine) and recover the directional signage. On more
than one afternoon we unapologetically used the “Sag Wagon” on
the sometimes steep final approach to the campground.
Breakfast and
dinner were catered at the campgrounds by Anne and Serge of “Culinary
Insider”, traveling with an professional kitchen in an 18 ft
trailer. The meals were spectacular, fresh and varied. http://www.culinaryinsider.com/
This tour was
fast-paced, to put it mildly. In the mornings we followed a 6-7-8
schedule. Up at 6 AM to knock down tents and pack gear for the
luggage truck. Breakfast at 7 AM. Make and pack our own lunch. In
the saddle by 8 AM. In the evenings it was also a 6-7-8 schedule.
Dinner at 6 PM after having set up tents. “Map talk” for the
next day at 7 PM. In the tents by 8 PM to sleep deeply after the
day's exertion.
Our group
included riders more experienced than us. Several of them, even more
aged than us, cycle well over 1000 miles per year. We were shamed by
their fitness levels and their cycling performance. Their
comfortable pace of riding brought them into camp much earlier than
us, so they had more time for socializing in the afternoons than us
laggards who frequently arrived just in time for dinner. This was
our longest ride to date, and we are motivated to improve our
fitness year-by-year, so as to increase our enjoyment of such tours
as this. "If we had known that we were going to live this long, we would have taken better care of ourselves."
Our co-rider,
Ed Wojtaszek, has posted on his blog, Edek's Attic, a day-by-day
description of the ride, ACA C&O Canal and GAP Tour 2015
http://ow.ly/TAvZY. We refer you
to his post for that description, which we will not repeat here.
Instead, in our post we describe what were highlights of the ride
for us.
There was a
mass start from the hotel in Arlington. The group rode together to
the National Mall for the traditional “start photo” on the steps
of The Lincoln Memorial.
Still in the
Mall, riders dispersed to various monuments and memorials, including
the Vietnam War Memorial, where Catherine is, of course, always drawn
to the Memorial to the Military Nurse. This statue portrays two
battlefield nurses, with wounded soldier, anxiously awaiting arrival
of the medi-vac helicopter.
In the vicinity
of Washington, the towpath is busy with walkers, runners, bicyclists,
backpackers, and families with dogs and strollers. There was even a
group doing Yoga on stand-up paddle-boards in one of the Canal Lakes.
It was pleasing to see so many enjoying the Great Outdoors! During
the first day, as we pedaled northwest, the towpath traffic thinned
out quickly and we soon found ourselves in a more rural habitat.
We enjoyed the
remnants of the locks and the well-preserved lock keepers houses,
some in very attractive locations between the Potomac River and the
Canal.
There was
socializing at the Nutrition Breaks and along the towpath at various
highlights such as dams, bridges, and aqueducts.
The ride along
the towpath was spectacularly scenic. We pedaled through a lovely
hardwood forest, in the early stages of fall colours, often quite
close to the Potomac River. By this point the bike traffic was very
light, so we often had the forest to ourselves.
It was obvious
that the remains of the canal provide a wonderful natural habitat for
deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds, turtles, fish, and frogs.
Each evening we
re-built our tent city.
The Paw Paw
tunnel was a highlight. National Park Service Ranger Rita Knox gave
us a nice summary of the construction and history of this 3,118-foot (950 m) long tunnel allowing the canal passage through the mountain. We
walked our bikes, using head and tail lights, along the towpath
through the tunnel as it was too narrow and dark to ride. Just
imagine the mule handler and mules pulling the barges years ago,
hoping no one is entering at the other end. There must have been
some way to coordinate traffic in those days before cell phones!
Among historic
sites along the C&O Canal are Harpers Ferry
http://www.nps.gov/hafe/index.htm
and The Antietam National Battlefield
http://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm
. As we have previously visited these sites, we did not linger this
time.
The C&O
Canal terminates at Cumberland, MD, where we enjoyed a night in a
hotel, especially the tub full of hot water! Riders dispersed in
small groups to numerous nearby restaurants.
The next
morning we made the transition from C&O towpath to Great
Allegheny Passage rail-trail. The rail-trail passes through, or
near, more communities than does the C&O towpath. These
communities provide a multitude of services, including commercial and
free campgrounds, bicycle rental/repair, canoe/kayak rental, lodging,
grocery stores, and restaurants. The GAP rail-trail would be doable
as a B&B to B&B ride.
There is still
much rail traffic close to, sometimes very close to, the rail-trail.
In particular, this made for some noisy campgrounds, with trains
being made up or passing throughout the night.
However, all the
campgrounds were scenic and we had some very pleasant evenings.
Click on this video for a sample of campfire entertainment. Yes, the
video is too dark, but the sound track of the live music is terrific.
The scenery
along the rail-trail was simply splendid. There were many attractive long views where we rode alone or in small groups.
There were also lovely forested sections.
Particularly attractive were the numerous rail bridges converted for use by bicyclists. Click on this video for a sample.
Near Ohiopyle, there was a side trip to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home “Falling Waters”, famous for it's spectacular cantilevers over a natural watercourse. The tour of the interior (no photos allowed) was well-presented and highly informative.
Eventually, we
arrived in Pittsburgh, where bikes, luggage and riders boarded trucks
and buses for the return to Arlington.
We definitely
recommend this ride and, in particular, were pleased to have done the
trip with Adventure Cycling Association, which met our expectations
in every way. Check out their various tours at
www.AdventureCycling.org
and consider taking a tour with them. We will again!
"Recreational biking by those over age 50 increased 62% between 2001 and 2009, as compared to a 22% increase in the general population."
Peter Zarzecki
and Catherine Gallagher, now wintering in the Eastern Caribbean
www.svcharlotted.blogspot.com
