July 6, 2016
Day 36 Hancock to Cumberland
We had a lot of type 2 fun today. After a smooth, comfortable start with 12 miles on the Western Maryland Rail Trail, we rejoined the C&O canal path. We had been told everything from "No way to ride it without a mountain bike" to "It's no problem to ride with your bikes".
Well, it was 48 miles of the most memorable riding of our trip to date. It was rough. It was muddy. It was slick. Both teams fell once.
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The biggest damage was to our pride, but falling in the mud is definitely Type 2 fun. (For a definition of types of fun, go here: http://www.typetwofun.com/2013/07/15/the-fun-scale/)Team A had a problem with their rack after they fell.
There were some interesting things to see. We passed more of the old aqueducts and many locks. The coolest thing was going through the Paw Paw Tunnel. It is 3100 feet long and was built between 1836 and 1850. We had hoped to ride through, but the surface was too wet and uneven to ride safely, so we walked the bikes through.
Hanging on to your handlebars for dear life in hungry work. We stopped for lunch at the Schoolhouse Restaurant on Oldtown, MD. It is in a modern school that was closed in 2000. The man who bought the school has a car restoration business there as well.
We made slow progress and took lots of breaks, but finally made it to Cumberland and the end of the C&O a few minutes before 7PM. Team A was able to get a bolt they needed to repair some minor damage from their fall and thee was a hose to clean the bikes. It took a lot of hosing the get the mud off! While we were cleaning the bikes, another couple came over to talk. They were Patty and Martin, from Brooklyn, NY, also riding the trail on a CoMotion tandem. We talked for a little while, then rode over to the hotel to check in and clean up for dinner. After going in and out of two restaurants, we ended up at the Crabby Pig. There were Patty and Martin. So we had a good dinner and good conversation with fellow tandem cyclists.
Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 1,816 miles (2,923 km)
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