October 10, 2019
Done!
With the GAP that is
We had no alarms to wake us up early, but still were up and out by 9:00. We had passed a very pleasant night, not nearly as cold as the previous two thankfully, and had both slept well. I think we have gotten used to the trains as we hardly notice them coming and going anymore. A banana was enough to get us going with again, the hope of finding a place for something more substantial (and coffee, of course) along the way.
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The first little community we came to, however, had nothing open at all and so we pushed on. I remembered a guy telling us about a place a few miles down the road, so we put our hopes there. As we approached the small community of Sutersville. Some folks were out on the road in a group talking. They called out to us as we passed by that we should be careful as there were a lot of police up ahead – something about a missing girl. Oh no! Sure enough, as we went further down the trail, we saw a large collection of police, a blood hound and a drone ready to take off. They waved us on and so we kept going, but soon we had to pull off the trail to allow a Search and Rescue vehicle to come along the trail and shortly thereafter an ambulance came up behind us and we had to get off to let them pass. There were other cyclists on the trail and we all stopped to chat about what we knew, but no one really had any idea what was going on. At the trailhead, we had to pass through some police tape. It was all very disturbing. We later found out that the search had been for a missing woman and that unfortunately, her body had been found somewhere in those woods. This was a very sad thing to have come upon and it left us both feeling so sorry for the family and community there.
However, at that time we had no idea of the sad ending, and so found the restaurant we had been hoping to find open for business, although they didn’t serve breakfast. That didn’t stop us. We had a very enjoyable lunch (along with the much anticipated coffee) before heading out once again. The ride back into the city became filled with more than trees and trails and as we approached Homestead we were both excited and a little sad. We had really enjoyed these days away from traffic and the van. Cycle touring is something we both really enjoy so much. It is such a wonderful, slow way to experience an area. However, the cold nights were beginning to get to us, as were the endless trees, sadly. I do like rail trails, but after a few days, the scenery begins to look pretty much the same (especially when you come back the same way, lol!). So it was, with both happiness and sadness that we pulled into our hotel, finding the van just as we’d left it, and rolled the bikes into our room. We showered and after a bit, headed over to a local restaurant to celebrate the end of this ride with some well earned Margaritas! From here, we will head back towards DC, cycling bits of the C&O as we go and taking our time. I don’t think I will post those day rides here, but you will be able to find a description of them over on thepricesofwandering.com when I get that post up. We are not too sure what our next multiday trip will be on the bikes. So much depends on weather and how we are doing for time. We need to be in Waco for American Thanksgiving at the end of November and have a few must dos along the way, but we are hoping for at least one more before then. After that, we will look for some places to cycle in the Southwest, where we hope the nights will be a bit warmer over the winter months.
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 772 km (479 miles)
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