Hi Charlie-
Attached is the ride report I wrote in August 2002 for our ride down the C&O... if you need more info, let me know-

enjoy the trip! (I would recommend you find someone to do it with--that's a long ride alone).

train safe-


Tony sent out a note asking who would be interested in riding the
C&O Canal from end to end…in one day. I had done it over 3 days
some 12 years ago, with a large group, where we spent nights in
Hancock and Harper's Ferry, and saw a lot of Civil War re-enactors
along route. That time it was more of a `tourist' ride; we stopped
at every waterfall, stopped at most sights and rode easy. It was a
lot of fun, and with only around 60-65 miles a day, it left a lot of
time to check out the towns we spent the nights in. This would be
decidedly different. I told Tony I was interested, but didn't
confirm my `slot' until Thursday…we were leaving Friday night for
Cumberland. No one else opted in. So it was just Tony and me. I
have had several great rides with Tony, so I knew we were well
suited for each other and that we could ride hard if necessary
without fear of the other being dropped.

Friday we left Reston around 7:30 pm for the drive to Cumberland.
We pulled into the hotel around 10 and went in search of something
to eat… Tony being British, we did the `fish and chips' routine, at
Long John Silver. Not quite what he was used to, as they also
included hushpuppies…that Southern specialty known for filling one
up before one can order… Anyway, we left a wake-up call for 4:15
am. We figured we would need about 13-14 hours to ride the length
of the Canal, from Cumberland to Georgetown…advertised as 186
miles. 4:15 came awfully early. We stumbled around, went into
the lobby to get the free coffee and found their complimentary
breakfast was served! What a surprise! We then drove back into
Cumberland and parked in the Holiday Inn. At 5:35 am we left the
car and were on our way.

I should mention a little bit of trivia—we were both riding top-of –
the-line bikes. Tony with a LiteSpeed, circa 2001, and I with
a "Performance Aspen", circa 1987. Tony with full suspension…mine
with (what is suspension and what would you use it for?)...well,
let's say mine with `no fancy stuff'. I understand where the term
hardtail comes from. Also mangled wrists and sore elbows, but that
is for later.

Tony had a headlamp, and I had a battery-powered light on my
handlebars (which of course refused to turn on…). We rode by the
light of Tony's light for the first hour or so, until the sun came
out. When we stopped, it was only to put the light away, go to the
bathroom, and get back on the bikes. Two hours after starting, at
7:30 we were at the Paw-Paw tunnel. The tunnel is about a kilometer
long, and pitch black inside. Tony started first, without lights,
and about a third of the way in decided he was going to fish his
light out of his camelback. I decided to see if my light would
decide to cooperate, and pushed the button…there was light! I
pulled ahead of Tony and led the way through the brick-lined tunnel
to the finish. It was remarkable. To think how they built that
thing, and then pulled barges through it… tough life back then.

We rode most of the day side-by side, as the terrain really didn't
lend itself to drafting. Too many bumps, roots, rocks, holes...you
name it, it was there. I realize now why mountain bikes have front
suspensions. My arms shook all the way down the path. The biggest
hazard we faced was the deer. There were hundreds of them. I'm
sure we saw over a hundred in the first 30 miles alone. That and
the blue heron, the hawk, the countless squirrels (even a black
one), the odd raccoon and other nameless rodents. Not too many
bikers, at least in the first half of the trip. We literally had
the canal to ourselves.

We maintained a steady pace and were averaging over 15 miles an
hour, including stops, for the first 120 miles or so. Then our
stops grew a little longer (we had to refill camelbacks and `make'
Gatorade from the powder we carried). Also, we would stop to savor
some `real food' (in this case fig newtons, which were the only
thing we had that didn't start with the word `power').

At around mile 100, we had to take a 5-mile detour to get around a
short section where there was a lot of flood damage. We went up a
hill (really, a HILL), then decided we better go back and read the
directions for the detour…so we did HILL REPEATS! (Well, we ended up
doing the hill twice). Ironically the detour brought us to the
final 8-½ miles of the JFK50 course…the part on Dam #4 Road. We did
about 4 miles of the course before dropping back into the canal for
the next 26 miles into Harper's Ferry. I have done the JFK50 twice,
and never has that stretch felt so long…I realize that all of us who
do that race are truly a little over the bend…

To make a long story short, despite the detours, where we actually
had to walk our bikes up some steps and go around stretches of the
Canal, and the fact that you really can't get speed on the canal (I
think the fastest we rode consistently was around 17 or so miles per
hour). Our top speeds were around 25, but they were short down some
of the locks. We finished the ride 13 hours and 25 minutes after we
started it…averaging just under 15 miles per hour including stops.
I figure we spent about a total of an hour off the bikes, so our
rolling average was around 15.2 or so.

(Tony went back to Cumberland on the train to pick up the car-- they don't let bikes on the train-- hopefully you can arrange for a ride to Cumberland, as going back is a pain).