Originally Posted by
NoRacer
For anyone who gave a thought about doing this ride, but got scared off due to the rain, you missed a good one. It was a little soggy at the beginning and we were tentative/cautious on all of the descents while the roads were wet. By the time we stopped for lunch at the Blue Moon Cafe in Shepherstown (WV), the sun started peaking out of the clouds.
The average amount of climbing on this ride is reported at 7,500ft and my bike computer registered a couple of climbs in the 15-17% range.
The highlight of the day, other than the sun coming out, was the crossing of the railroad bridge in Harper's Ferry descending down the "spiral staircase" (carrying our bikes) to get off of the bridge and down to the C&O Canal towpath (hence, the name of the ride, "Century of the Spiral Staircase).
Grrr... NoRacer, you are such a tease with these DCRand ride reports. That one looks like a ton of fun. I'm always working saturdays when it seems they have the best rides. I could have done sunday's ride, but it looked pretty slap-dash. (an up/back piece of a 400K fleche). So, I've yet to meet the legendary Chuck and Crista, but I'm sure it will happen soon enough. Nor have I met you either. Keep in touch if you happen to head out for one of their sunday rides. I'd happily carpool.
Meantime, keep the ride reports comin'
-GB
BTW do you have any of the DC Rand centuries mapped online? or as gpx files? I'm always looking for future routes.