Originally Posted by
mirfi
John,
Last weekend when I was on the passage I only saw one person with a folder(non e-bike folder). Made me wish I had brought my Downtube FS9 instead of my road bike. 406 fat-ish tires, full suspension, incredible low end gearing. Maybe next year.
I saw two other folders on my trip, both Bike Fridays. A woman on a 700c gravel bike said that she was impressed that I was doing the trail on a folder, but I don't think it's that big of a deal, particularly on a relatively non-technical trail. Having good tires that can handle the mud are key, at any tire size.
Originally Posted by
StarBiker
^
Unless you like mud and riding through it. I have no use for wet trails, and never had a problem with a "dry" limestone trail.
Especially in the colder months. Never get enough sun and the trail never dries out. Especially along high rock formations on both sides. Sun angle never gets high enough to hit many spots along with cold.
Road through a few spots on the NCR the other day that are almost muddy, to slop in the cooler months the that were drying thanks to the warmer weather, high sun angle.
Those pics in the tenth post are unacceptable to me. Common, but not for me.
All of this really depends on the trail in question.
When I was there in May, there were certainly parts of the trail that did not appear to get any sun, and I stayed at a couple of hiker-bike campsites that were pretty soggy. I was expecting bugs, so I tried to stay away from campsites near standing water, i.e., portions of the C&O. But bugs weren't really a problem; maybe it was too early in the season.
Anyways, here's Chapter 2 of my trip, from Dravo's Biker-Hiker to Ohiopyle on the Great Allegheny Passage: