Originally Posted by
phughes
...
..., I am still amazed when I hear people telling horror stories of the path when wet. I did it during a hurricane that was hitting DC. As a result, we had torrential downpours while on the trail. I used Continental City Contacts for the ride and had zero issues. The surface gave decent traction despite being soaked, and having standing water. Many of the horror stories came from people riding with no fenders. I believe a lot of the negativity is a perception based on the mess and aggravation caused by the lack of fenders. When one is wet and muddy, your perception will never be positive, unless that is your type of thing.
I still tend to prefer the C&O over the GAP, which is the trail I ride frequently. I wish the C&O were closer so I could ride it more.
My experience matches yours.
The C&O puddles had a solid firm surface under the water, I rolled through quickly and did not get bogged down in mud. I only rode both trails once, that was 11 years ago. But I clearly remember being surprised how firm the underlying soil surface on the C&O felt given the conditions.
I had fenders, my touring partner with the red jersey in the above photo did not. That was his last tour without fenders, since then he has toured with fenders. His bike is in the photo below on our GAP and C&O tour.
Since I have not been there for over a decade, things may have changed since my tour.