Originally Posted by
Duragrouch
I must admit I was totally ignorant of the existance of this trail, although I had moved west before its completion. Looks fantastic. I'd need fenders on my bike with a good flap at the bottom front to try to keep grit off the chain. I don't like riding on dirt, but online says its crushed limestone so may be cleaner than perceived. But sounds very... uh... "gravelly". It appears I can fit 2" tires on my 20", which will raise my gearing a bit, but not too bad, and grades are max 2%, way less than I currently do. Even with shelters I'd bring a tent if mosquitos are in season. I'd pick late spring just like you did, John, or early fall, not the heat, humidity, and possibly crowds of summer.
I'm more of a road tourer (with some mountain bike tours years ago), but the GAP/C&O are really unique. I got the sense that I was riding early in the season, which helped with weather and mosquitos. Still, there was one damp campsite on the C&O that had a lot of mosquitos. I got to try out this neat device that i got from REI - it worked well.
I suspect that a ride in June - August would be busier but it's still likely not too bad - local businesses seem scaled for it. In Meyersburg, for example, the town has installed bike racks with power outlets for ebikes (I know you're not an ebiker, but this is an example)
Most of the route is pancake flat, in market contrast to many of the roads in the area - particularly along the GAP
Like you said, it's "gravelly". Very fine gravel, nothing larger than 1/4". I think 2" 406 tires would be fine; I met a woman on a Bike Friday New World Tourist and they top out at 1.75"
The most challenging area is the C&O trail near Cumberland. Not because of the gravel - it's a dirt single-track/double-track that can get quite muddy when it has rained.
As a former mountain biker, it was fun. I would imagine it would be much drier in August or September, and not a problem with the right tires. I was on 2.15" Schwalbe Marathon 365 and they handled the mud great.
VIDEO: Good production quality! Good camera work, audio, music, this must not be your first.
Thanks. I'm trying to keep up with the times and learn video; I know plenty of fellow writer and photographers unwilling to.
I think you picked the perfect bike for this. Traveling with my folder was also easy on the train. Gosh I wish it wasn't such a long train ride from the west, air travel is an order of magnitude more difficult.
In 2022, I took Amtrak from NJ to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was long - I saw two sunrises. I had planned to spend that time writing, which was a total fail because the train rocked too much to stare at a laptop screen without getting a headache. But I ended up looking out the window and really enjoyed watching the landscape scroll by.