The toughest day yet was today. The comparatively easy Allegheny ended in Cumberland and we now continue south on the C&O Canal.
As predicted the night before, it rained that night and then rained all the next day turning the C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) into a virtual swamp. We rode all day in the deluge on a slick and muddy trail which at times disappeared into a lake sized puddles. Riding through these puddles, we didn’t know if we would glide through easily or hit submerged roots or worse, a pothole which racked the bike and everything on it. All one could do is put their head down and just pedal hard… for 60 plus miles into Hancock.
I rode alone most of the day and at times thought I might end up in the canal which mostly resembled a overgrown bayou. I would emerge looking like Swamp Thing while still holding onto a set of handlebars.
There were a couple of highlights though, including the Paw Paw tunnel which runs several hundred feet. The canal runs through the tunnel with a hanging walkway resembling more like a precarious catwalk running the length along side. Only the brave enter the darkness of the tunnel while the weary take the detour up and over. I chose the fool hardy and rode my bike passed the “bikers dismount” sign with one hand on the handlebars and one on my camera all the while glancing off the brick tunnel wall and the three foot rail which somehow kept me from falling into the black abyss below.
Finally though there’s a silver lining to the end of an almost miserable day when just before being forced off the trail, because of a series of detours, I find the beginning of the West Maryland Rail Trail which,” oh sun-shining day,” is paved, making for a less painful fast 15 mile finish.
Even more fortunate though, the days of camping are over as we had a hotel room to get cleaned up, warmed up and dried. The hotel, bless them, even let us use their hose to wash the slicks and globs of mud off of our bikes and ourselves.
One of the best riding days was the last part of the upward push on 2% grade to the Eastern Continental divide and then what many cyclists call “The Glide” down hill and into Cumberland, MD.
Eventually we betray the north and head over to the otherside
We passed over more trestles and through the Big Savage tunnel
The thirty miles to Rockville was another hot day. Even though chugging water on the trail, I struggled with thirst. That said the 2% climb upwards was slightly easier and a bit more entertaining; Alone somewhere in between the middle group and the last group I saw something big black and hairy enter the water from my side of the river and immediately recognized it to be the biggest black bear I’ve seen in the wild yet and watched it swim across the rapids to the other side and lumber out onto the shore.
Midpoint of the days ride I hooked back up with Andrian and Bruce and shared lunch in Ohio Pyle and getting much needed relief from the saddle and pressure from the handlebars (breaking in a new Brooks saddle is NOT recommended on a multi-day tour btw)..
From there we continued up and up, constantly pedaling until finally we arrived at Rockville, PA, a very Pensylvanian town, quite and quaint where the locals gather at the corner coffee/pizza/local baked goods store called the Opera House. Listening to “horror” stories about the booked campground where the fast group had arrived a few hours earlier, we started questioning whether or not we wanted to stay there. Over heard by one of the cafes owners he recommended that we stay at his hostel which was not officially opened but would take us never-the-less. The three of us jumped on the opportunity much to the chagrin of the others as we were not looking forward to the hike from the campground to the showers which were on the otherside of the train tracks. The hostel was well worth the risk to being left on the side of the road by some of the others (they did it anyway).
Hot day today. Somehow the 40 mile day seemed longer than the previous day of 60 miles. Heat, wrist issues continuing, saddle-sore (continuing), and jet lag which finally caught up to me all felt like an all fronts attack on my endurance and psyche . Never-the-less, I made it to the Riverside Camp ground which was fortunately a nice place to relax a little and get cleaned up before the next days continued climb up the Eastern Continental Divide.
