Day Four Cumberland to Hancock-CandO Canal

Day four was the beginning of the C and O canal and my first ride with the 7 guys who came up to join me. Scott was the original organizer who got everyone together and planned the days, stops, and hotels. I rode the C and O in 2005 but bailed out at Brunswick with a bad knee and impending rain for my last day.

I was originally planning on joining them as they finished their last day but as I trained and time went by, I ended up joining for the whole canal AND later planning to extending the trip from Pittsburgh.

We stopped at the Queen City Creamery for breakfast, then got our bikes from the Holiday inn and headed down to the train station to start the ride.

Last night before the family left I switched my bike tires from "city" tires to full blown mountain bike tires to deal with the canal mud from the previous days of rain. This switch proved to be unneeded and costly. The trail was really only muddy the first day and the added friction from these tires killed my speed especially as I road with guys with MUCH smoother tires (and fresher legs).

We took some pictures at the trail head/train station and started the ride.

The ride out of Cumberland is smooth as if to tease the rider into thinking that the towpath may be as nice as the GAP trail. It is not long before you find out otherwise.

The as group headed toward DC we used radios to keep in touch and tried to stay in groups of 2 or more. The radios worked as long as we were with in a mile or two. We also stopped and regrouped every 10 miles or so because we did not want to leave anyone behind.

The trip here was rougher that the GAP trail and even though it was not raining the crew was COVERED in mud before we were 20 miles in. The first 20 miles were uneventful unless you count Dan crashing toward the canal, just shy of the water, while looking behind to check his bag and Steve getting stung by a honey bee.

Our first major stop came just before the paw-paw tunnel. We headed off the road to the convenience store in Paw-Paw where the stories about their subs ARE true. The sandwiched that a few of us ordered were HUGE!

The sign at the store said "no shoes, no shirt, no service" but I was expecting them to tell us to please undress before we entered. The workers didn't flinch as we walked in for sandwiched, drinks and Benadryl. We are hoping that the Benadryl would help Steve, who is allergic to bees, keep the swelling down in his arm.

After lunch we head back to the trail and the tunnel. I missed the sign that says walk your bike and rode into the tunnel with the other behind. Riding surely is not recommended. The tunnel is dark even with our lights. The surface is very bumpy and it is hard not to hit either the wall or rail. As we neared the exit, we came across some hikers who reminded us to walk our bikes and we exited to daylight.

One day I hope to come back and hike the trail that goes up and over the tunnel, for now me and my slippery bike shoes will have to ride on.

We continue along the trail and regroup just before the turn off to Bill's Place in Little Orleans. We stop for a break and a few of the team grab a beer for good measure as we admire the ceiling full of $$. We saddle up and go back to the trail toward Hancock.

As you approach Hancock you have to decide if you are hardcore or not. Three of us Mark, Dan, And Jim decide to continue on travel along the canal and the rest of us jump on the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT) to bike along the smooooth pavement into town.

There is a lot of discussion going on about the surface of the Canal especially compared to the GAP trail. It would be interesting to get a count of how many people doing the trip between DC and Pittsburgh jump off here and take the paved trail for the 20 + miles.

I think you would miss out on something if the C and O was not like it is, but the GAP trail sure was nice! People like me who are doing this as a challenge/vacation probably will do it either way but I really think there would be more local use/support for the towpath if it were smoother and more reliably mud free. If I am planning a weekend ride and one of my options is a bumpy and muddy canal, I think I may choose another route. Wouldn't you?

We glide into Hancock smoothly and stop at the Canal Bike Shop for some supplies and a few souvenirs (I think they could sell a lot more souvenirs if they had them). Two of us (not me I already have a comfy seat) opt to purchase the jell seat covers :)

We are covered in mud but glad to finish the day. Everyone is excited to get there first day finished.

I know Hancock well because my dad grew up there. I have been there many times and know the town. We head west on main street and loop up and around 522 to the hotel. We check in and take our bikes behind the building to hose them off. The staff was nice enough to bring us some old towels to dry our bikes off before we took them into the rooms.

My dad, who was actually nearby, stopped by to check on us. Since it looked like it might rain and we really did not to walk into town, we had my dad shuttle is into town to Weaver's Restaurant for dinner. It ended up that that was a great idea because they close at 8:00 PM and we got there about 7:45. If we had walked we would surely been too late.

After dinner we shuttled back to the hotel. I don't think anyone had problems falling asleep.

62 miles - total 218 miles