Fifty Plus (50+) - Pictures of C&O Canal (some bikes involved)

Last week a friend and I cycled the C&O Canal in Maryland, USA. I had done sections many years ago, but this was my first time from end to end. Our total distance was 348 km, including sidetrips. (I know, they don't have km in the USA, but our odometers are metric.) The canal is 184.5 miles long, from Cumberland to Georgetown (Washington). We had good weather (no mud, despite a lot of rain the previous week).

The adjacent Allegheny Highlands trail goes from Cumberland to near Pittsburgh, about 150 miles. There is presently a gap between Cumberland and Frostburg that is scheduled to be completed later this year, which will make for a continuous trail of about 335 miles.

Please excuse the plagarism, but I was inspired by the Stapfam thread.

Cool pix--and thanks for the cool trail-related web side on your profile.

I'm very seriously thinking of cycling from my family's place in Northeastern Indiana to Washington DC this summer. The plan would include picking up the Allegheny Passage west of Pittsburgh and then connecting with the C&O Canal towpath in Cumberland. http://www.atatrail.org/

It would be a beautiful, relatively flat, almost traffic-free ride through history. Every non-cyclist I mention it to (including spouse and mother) thinks I'm nuts.

Cool pix--and thanks for the cool trail-related web side on your profile.

I'm very seriously thinking of cycling from my family's place in Northeastern Indiana to Washington DC this summer. The plan would include picking up the Allegheny Passage west of Pittsburgh and then connecting with the C&O Canal towpath in Cumberland. http://www.atatrail.org/

It would be a beautiful, relatively flat, almost traffic-free ride through history. Every non-cyclist I mention it to (including spouse and mother) thinks I'm nuts.

Cool pics, and what a great ride. I somehow pictured the trail as paved or something, even though I have once been on a very small portion of the trail in MD, and it wasn't!

Blackberry, I would LOVE to be your riding partner, but I don't think I can sell it to the wife right now.:cry:

Blackberry, I would LOVE to be your riding partner, but I don't think I can sell it to the wife right now.:cry:

Hey, that would be fun! Just remember, the selling job begins with the word "no."

Hey, that would be fun! Just remember, the selling job begins with the word "no."

Her health right now wouldn't allow it, nor would/could I leave her. Everday is an adventure, health-wise.

But, I can still dream.

Looks like a great ride. Also looks like 28MM or wider tires would be in order. Is most of the trail similar to what one can see in the photos?

Great pictures, have more we can look at? I'm hoping to do some long distance riding this year, not sure what and when though.
Dave

Looks like a beautiful ride. I must try a long distance ride one day. I bookmarked your homepage -- my wife and I regularly visit TO and Elora, although she doesn't ride.

. Every non-cyclist I mention it to (including spouse and mother) thinks I'm nuts.

Well, count me in for some future date. Of course I'm in Texas and you're much closer.

Two years ago my jogging CPA friend and I were planning the C&O for September. I had even gotten him to cycling every Saturday on a rail-trail with me. Then one of my sons was in an accident the week before we were to leave and we cancelled.

C&O is still in my future. I am planning Katy trail this summer.

Since I tour, I would have no problem with either camping or B&B/hotels.

Who knows, maybe there is a 50+ tour to be held in the future?

The adjacent Allegheny Highlands trail goes from Cumberland to near Pittsburgh, about 150 miles. There is presently a gap between Cumberland and Frostburg that is scheduled to be completed later this year, which will make for a continuous trail of about 335 miles.

Please excuse the plagarism, but I was inspired by the Stapfam thread.

Glad to see that someone else is using the Bikes to give an excuse to get in some scenery. Only problem I can see with this ride is that My suspension would be redundant. Nor knocking your trail at all, but Canals don't go up very steep hills and I can't see any rocks or ruts to keep my co-rider awake. FANTASTIC.
I may have a reputation of a Mud plugging Nutter, may be deserved, but for a couple of weeks, I am looking for trails just like this to stretch the legs on between cafe's. 355 miles- what a ride that will be. May have to take a few days on it though to soak up the scenery.

Last week a friend and I cycled the C&O Canal in Maryland, USA. I had done sections many years ago, but this was my first time from end to end.... The canal is 184.5 miles long, from Cumberland to Georgetown (Washington). We had good weather (no mud, despite a lot of rain the previous week)....

Ken,

Thanks for the post and the great memories. I grew up in Maryland and our Scout Troop did sections of the C&O Canal in various stages to complete the entire 184.5 miles over a couple of years. We did it by hiking, biking and in canoes on the Potomac River. I believe my first trip there was a 20 mile hike in one day as an 11 year old! The first time I biked it I was probably 12 or 13 and we did 35 miles. At that time I rode a Sears single speed coaster brake bike with balloon tires. It weighed a ton! The last time I was there was in the fall of 1981. I took a couple of teenage boys from the church youth group who liked to bike. We managed 50 miles in a cold rain one Saturday. The trail was rutted, slimey with mud and dropping leaves, and a washboard with roots running diagonally across the trail (sound like your kind of ride Stapfam?). I did that ride on my 1979 Schwinn Traveler I had bought with wedding money before heading to seminary. It's the greatest distance I have ever ridden on that bike in one day--- but now I ride it all the time and not just for the occasional big trip.

In planning a trip, I found this site to be the absolute best link for info on biking the C&O Canal. Take a look

http://www.bikewashington.org/canal/index.htm

Looks like a great ride. Also looks like 28MM or wider tires would be in order. Is most of the trail similar to what one can see in the photos?
The trail surface varies a lot. Most of it is two tracks, there are some dirt areas that can turn muddy, and, because most of the route is heavilly treed, there can be a lot of fallen branches. My tires are approx 38 mm, which is an appropriate size.

I was worried about mud because there was a lot of rain the week before, including showers the day before. However the trail dried quickly. They constantly add granular to problem areas so the condition is better than my first visit 10 years ago. Here are a few more pics, including a composite panaroma taken at an overlook near Little Orleans. The owner of the B&B drove us up (would have been a tough cycle).

In one pic you see a couple pulling a trailer. They were heavilly loaded, but we appreciated the homemade cookies and brownies they gave us. The person pulling the trailer worked very hard (they alternated). There are plenty of campsites along the trail, but we went to B&B's and motels.

By the way, although you can see light at the end of the tunnel, it is more than half a mile long and pitch black in the middle. You should carry a light and push your bike through.

I have done the Cand O and Allegheny highlands ( well, most of it). Is there web site that describes the new connection between the two. I didn't know it was planned to be finished this summer.

Ken,

I camped many a night in Little Orleans. I can promise you that in the late 60s and early 70s there were no B&Bs! It was an amusing place, even for us Scouts. Chickens and pigs were usually wandering across the road that led up from the canal and campsite to a little general store--- which was also a post office, restaurant, bank, hardware store, tackle shop, hunting license place, and bar, just to name a few of it's multifunction possibilities.

I found a few pictures taken on the canal in the mid 70s. In the first picture I'm the one in the back with the red hat. I believe I'm riding a Sears Free Spirit 10 speed which was stolen the next year at college. The second is in front of the Paw Paw Tunnel. I'm on the left with my 2 brothers and father. Obviously we're hamming it up for the camera! :D Again, many thanks for the fine memories.

Ken,

... a little general store--- which was also a post office, restaurant, bank, hardware store, tackle shop, hunting license place, and bar, just to name a few of it's multifunction possibilities.
Bill's Place. It was one of the highlights of the trip. The decor can best be described as "redneck". Bill has a cigar permanently inplanted in his mouth. I had 2 beers (Yingling, very good), 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, for $10. The place burned down a few years ago (a grease fire, of course) but they rebuilt.

Bill's Place. It was one of the highlights of the trip. The decor can best be described as "redneck". Bill has a cigar permanently inplanted in his mouth. I had 2 beers (Yingling, very good), 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, for $10. The place burned down a few years ago (a grease fire, of course) but they rebuilt.

I love Bill's Place. I remember it from a ride about 15 years ago. It was back during the Burger King "Have It Your Way" days. Bill had a sign on the wall that said, "You get the burger our way or you don't get the sucker at all."

The trail surface varies a lot. Most of it is two tracks, there are some dirt areas that can turn muddy, and, because most of the route is heavilly treed, there can be a lot of fallen branches. My tires are approx 38 mm, which is an appropriate size.

I was worried about mud because there was a lot of rain the week before, including showers the day before. However the trail dried quickly. They constantly add granular to problem areas so the condition is better than my first visit 10 years ago. Here are a few more pics, including a composite panaroma taken at an overlook near Little Orleans. The owner of the B&B drove us up (would have been a tough cycle).

In one pic you see a couple pulling a trailer. They were heavilly loaded, but we appreciated the homemade cookies and brownies they gave us. The person pulling the trailer worked very hard (they alternated). There are plenty of campsites along the trail, but we went to B&B's and motels.


Thanks! That's very useful information. It will be helpful in planning this fall's vacation. This is one I want to include in the short list of possibilities.

Bill's Place. It was one of the highlights of the trip. The decor can best be described as "redneck". Bill has a cigar permanently inplanted in his mouth. I had 2 beers (Yingling, very good), 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, for $10. The place burned down a few years ago (a grease fire, of course) but they rebuilt.

I don't remember it having a name 30+ years ago, just "The Store" in Little Orleans. I'll have to ask my Dad if he remembers if it had a name.

Sure looks like a great ride! I'd love to do it someday.

I have done the Cand O and Allegheny highlands ( well, most of it). Is there web site that describes the new connection between the two. I didn't know it was planned to be finished this summer.

Check out ATAtrail.org, click on Maps, they're the best info on the Pgh-Cumberland side of the ride.
Ed

The last couple of weeks I did a stretch (2 rides) on the Canal just to experience some flatland. It's an interesting ride and your photos are great. I usually stick to the National Forest areas, but it's nice to just hammer out for some speed on a mountain bike from time to time. I rode there yesterday from Brunswick North for a 35 mile ride. No rain thank goodness. I got caught in a downpour the week before and the mud splatter is something else.

Just posted On the share our rides, but Thought I'd get even by showing scenery we have- See the share our rides for one of our local Abodes.