Originally Posted by
The Historian
3. Lights for the bike. A LOT of them. You have four tunnels to ride through, and while they claim Big Savage and Brush are lit, they are still very dark. Borden and Paw-Paw are not lit. And unless you are confident in your night mountain biking skills, don't ride through Paw-Paw tunnel.
Not really necessary. I just used a small head-lamp. Part of the trick is giving your eyes some time to adjust (go into the tunnel and, when it gets dark, stop and wait for a bit. One high-powered 2xAA flashlight would be more than enough light to ride through these comfortably.
The issue with Paw-Paw (there is only one "difficult" tunnel) is that the walkway is very narrow with a wall on one side and a metal railing on the other. And panniers makes your bike really wide! It is oddly disorienting riding without lights. But it's a short walk (that is, you don't need to ride).
Originally Posted by
The Historian
4. A jacket. Not only for the rain, but also to go through Big Savage and Paw Paw - both are long, cold, and (especially Paw Paw) wet.
Again, not really necessary (except maybe for rain).
Originally Posted by
The Historian
Also, there's a detour on the C & O that sends you across five miles of Maryland rollers.
It's not
that hilly and it's a nice change of pace/scenery from the "great green tube". If the hills seem big to you, go slow: it's a short distance.
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Watch out for the peacocks!!