The Route

We'll be riding from Pittsburgh to DC on this trip. The total distance is about 330 miles and we'll manage that in six days. The GAP trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland is "civilized," being mainly crushed limestone and a bit of paved surface. We have read that even in wet weather it holds up well and is rideable so long as you lower your expectations about what your average speed will be.

Riding the C&O Towpath is the thing that gives me a case of the Howling Fantods (Google that please. And then read anything by David Foster Wallace, but especially Infinite Jest) The C&O is a historic trail run by the National Park Service, and as such, has been left in its historic, unaltered state. Less delicately put, it is still a dirt path that can turn to slop in the rain. I have heard, and read, horror stories of what the towpath can become if you are riding through a very rainy stretch of weather. Boggy. Muddy. Horrible. Impassible. Impossible.

There are pictures of the towpath looking more of a stream or lake, than path. There are pictures of wheels and fenders fouled by mud that resembles some sort of evil, overcooked gumbo. For illustration, a small sample of worst case scenario photos from other folks' journals are cut and pasted below.

From: "Day 3: Husky Haven Campground to Oldtown, MD" by Don Rambo

From: Onward to the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Towpath Trail (aka "Slipping and Sliding on the C&O Trail"): Cumberland MD to Hancock MD by Dwight Pittenger

From: "Cumberland to Little Orleans: Let the rains begin on the C & O Towpath," by Andrew Sninsky

I admit that in seeing such sights, I worked myself into such a lather about the possibility of encountering a muddy monsoon that I began trying to convince Margaret we should bail out and plan a trip somewhere else ...someplace dryer. In her usual level-headed manner she basically said, "Naw. If we get wet and muddy, we'll have a great story to tell. Let's still do it. We'll just hose off the bikes at the end of the day."

That kind of calm outlook is a steadying influence and I agreed we'd roll the dice and go for it. Mud be damned.

A couple other looming concerns were also succesfully demoted to interesting trifles. On the C&O there is a major earth shaping project taking place at the mouth of a huge tunnel, which had been forecast to require cyclists to use a gnarly looking detour calling for a mile or so of bike-pushing up, over, and down a significant hill. Recent news shared that the work can be done in a way that actually allows cyclists to transit the tunnel as per usual at the cost of only a 10-15 minute delay. That was another of my personal boogey-men eliminated.

The final worry I managed to solve all by my anxiety ridden self ... A portion of the C&O is closed because of chronic wash-outs due to high water and flooding. The C&O website said there is no viable detour because of unsuitable roads for cyclists, and that bikers would have to use a shuttle service provided by a couple local bike shops. Chat boards on the internet said that the service could only guarantee to arrive within a two or three hour window of time and that it charged $150 dollars per trip. That seemed like a losing proposition. Instead, with the help of Strava Global Heat Maps and Google Street View, I was able to map out a ride-around to avoid the closed portion of the C&O. We'll cross the Potomac and zip into West Virginia for a few miles, then re-enter the trail at Point of Rocks, Maryland. I was feeling quite smug about my rational problem solving on that one, I admit.

Bottom Line: Feeling at ease about the possible setbacks and challenges thanks to the sedating effect of my wife's common sense.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	2

Lyle McLeodHi Mike,
I did the suggested Google search and then proceeded down the inevitable Howling Fantods labyrinth of rabbit hole links. I’m a bit of a Philistine when it comes to literature and had never come across David Wallace before. On the reading list now … thanks. Also looking forward to the rest of the journal, ….. in an odd retrospective fashion since this tour is a few years old, but new to everyone here …., to see if you encountered wet conditions on the C&O. Hoping you didn’t, but if you did, I’m sure the retelling will be entertaining!
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

Mike JamisonTo Lyle McLeodGood on you for taking the bait Lyle! As always, follow another person's reading and/or music recommendations at your peril : - ) But that said, here's a suggestion .... if you have a used book store around - or better yet the public library - grab a copy of Wallace's book titled "A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments." It's a compilation of non-fiction (though I think some work is embellished) essays he wrote for various magazines. There are a handful of articles in it that are more academic in nature .... literary theory basically ... that you could skip. But there are four absolute gems I'd steer you toward: "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley," "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All," "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness" and my favorite and one of Wallace's most famous essays, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." Warning: People either love Wallace's work or despise it. There seems to be no middle ground. The novel Infinite Jest is his "Magnum Opus" ... a 1084 page beast and probably not the place to start.

See? I'm proselytizing. Nothing worse than a rabid fan. Let's get back to biking, shall we?
Reply to this comment
2 years ago