1. C&O TowPath Trip (April 30 - May 1, 2018)
While on a family trip to DC, I planned and took a two day trip along the entire length of the C&O Towpath that follows the Potomac River for 184.5 miles from Washington, DC to Cumberland, MD. After starting in Virginia, the trail hugged the Maryland side of the river (opposite West Virginia) most of the route. And it's all dirt, which the Moots just loved. (Me too!)
The Towpath, which is a national park, has a lot of history. Being from the 19th century, it served as a transit alternative to the sometimes rough Potomac River, which ended in DC. It offered the ability to transport cargo on a canal parallel to the river with a set of locks (~75 of them) without the risk of damage from rough river conditions. There was quite a bit of civil war era history along the towpath, including mills, homes where the lock operators lived, and a couple of factories. And at least one was still in the same family as back when they were operating. Unfortunately, most in terrible shape and deteriorating. While not currently operable and sometimes completely dry, the canal and its towpath offer a pretty, car-free hiking and cycling area. So, that's where I rode! I split the distance into two days. It was fairly cool weather and windy, but that kept the sometimes muddy sections dry. I rode 118 miles on day one (including about 15 miles from Alexandria to the start in Georgetown. Then I finished it up on day 2 with 94 miles. The aspects of beauty included the quiet and solitude without cars. Given the time of year and chilly days, there were very also few cyclists or hikers. I basically had the whole route to myself!
Although camping is freely available along the towpath and many do so, I found a cheap hotel right off the trail in Williamsport, MD. It allowed me to travel light and not worry about weather. I did the trip one way, so I rented a car for the return to DC on day 2. I rode a total of over 18 hours and drove back in 2.5 hours. The Moots really held up with no mechanicals and only a slow tire leak at the very end, which I didn't even discover until rolling in to get the rental car! No rain, no flats, no crowds, no cars.......but lots of fun! Sublime.
Here are a few details of the trip.
- There were a few cyclists close to DC as I started, but my guess is only about a dozen total over the whole 184 miles. Most had double panniers and seemed to be camping.
- I met up with my friend, Bill from Berkeley (and Annapolis) who met me at about mile 35. He planned to join me for a bit and ride maybe 20 miles out and back to his car. But it was chilly (high 40s) and so he didn't really last as long as I thought he might. A quick roll, a rest and then I was off on my own for the rest of the trip.
- Temps started out at a chilly 43 degrees on the first morning in DC and never really hit 50. On day 2, it ranged from 50-75 degrees. But it was clear and sunny. While the wind was present both days, it calmed down and warmed up and was much more pleasant on the second day. It seemed to me that the wind was whipping down the river valley into my face the whole time. Perhaps I should ride the other way if I do this again!
- The elevation gain was only 2500' over the 200+ miles. And it wasn't rolling; it was just a slight uphill for most of it. So if I rode the opposite direction, it could have been downhill with a tailwind? Mmm....
- I made out ok with food by stashing bananas, a few bars and a couple of bags of gorp in my pack. Water was readily available at the many handpumps at the campgrounds, which were every 5-10 miles. While a little funky tasting, the signs on the pumps said the water was treated with iodine, so safe to drink. I did stop for real food in small towns once each day. But I was fine with my on board stash of calories!
- The river waters were ALWAYS moving, but the canal rarely ever. In fact, the canal was often dry. There were at least two real dams, some rapids and even a waterfall (which I never saw). And as mentioned above, many locks (~75). Close to DC, there were some rock outcrops with rapids, a favorite place for kayaks. That area was very pretty and there were plenty of hikers out there, as it was a Sunday morning.
- There were areas with tons of small and medium sized turtles sunning themselves in the canal on half-submerged logs. Very cool! I tried to photograph them, but as soon as I stopped...plop plop plop into the water they would go. Turtles aren't as slow as it would seem. These critters seemed to be most prevalent in the last 50 miles.
- The trail surfaces were all unpaved, but differed slightly.....some more packed than others, different sized gravel, a little soft sand, some grass and the occasional (I was lucky!) mud puddle. They apparently can get pretty gnarly after big rains. I think I must have pinch flatted my rear tire on some larger gravel the second day. Thank goodness for Mr. Tuffy tire liners for saving me the rest of the time!
- The trail surfaces were all unpaved, but differed slightly.....some more packed than others, different sized gravel, a little soft sand, some grass and the occasional (I was lucky!) mud puddle. They apparently can get pretty gnarly after big rains. I think I must have pinch flatted my rear tire on some larger gravel the second day. Thank goodness for Mr. Tuffy tire liners for saving me the rest of the time!
- Back to some bike details. I replaced the rear wheel just before leaving, since I discovered the old wheel was about to pull apart from the spokes! I used my Mavic Open Pro from another bike and it was great. I used a 32c tire on the rear (the biggest allowed on the Mavic) and a 38c tire on the front to handle any sand and that seemed to work. I had a frayed front derailleur cable, which I should have replaced. But given the flat ride, I only had to shift and use the small chainring once the whole trip! That was on the Paw Paw tunnel detour, which was really too steep to ride anyway. Typically, I was in just two gears (50x25, 50x28) for the whole ride.
- The Paw Paw tunnel was supposed to be a highlight, but was closed for repairs. It is totally dark and about a mile long. Its purpose was to help the canal users avoid a small mountain. But due to repairs, I had to climb OVER it. The detour was amazing with about 2-3 miles of single track dirt. Up was about 1/2 mile at 15-20%. Down was more gradual and well over a mile. And it had a beautiful view of the Potomac at the top!
- Once over the Paw Paw climb, I was getting hungry, so ventured over the border to West Virginia for the first time....to the nearby town of Paw Paw. The town was very "Appalachian", with lots of pickups, along with camo and overalls on the men. It seemed that the little store/gas station I visited was the only thing going on in town. But I was able to get a little sustenance, scarfing down some Gatorade and yummy "fake" meat sticks....3 for $1!
- It wasn't a fast trip, as I got there in 10 hours on day one (118 miles) and 9 hrs on day two (94 miles). But there was a lot of picture taking and stopping for food did slow me down, so who cares?? What a great experience!
2. The Memorial Day Ride or MDR (May 24-27, 2018)
This is the annual ride from Campbell to Santa Barbara, the 4 day ride that's been happening for 29 years now. (This was my 19th year.) While it was as fun as ever, I had one regret that I'll have to correct in the future. Last year, a few of us rode a fun dirt section that I did again this year (Cypress Mountain Rd.). The Moots is the perfect bike for this and the quietude and remoteness is something I really like. There was another dirt section that some folks did that I opted out of for a couple of (lame) reasons. I didn't want to miss some other good riding (Harris Grade) and one of the standard rest stops, which included the final rest stop of the whole trip at Gaviota Pass. And I felt like I wanted to be around the majority of the riders for the finish. Well...it seemed like the alternative over Refugio Rd. was a hell of a lot of fun and now I'm sorry I missed out! It goes across Foxen Canyon Road and through Los Olivos. And then after going through Solvang, you ride the tough 3 mile dirt climb, followed by a 6 mile paved descent back to Highway 101 at Refugio Beach. My "adventure gene" apparently was sleeping that day, so I missed out. Next year for sure!!
Again, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend with about 339 miles of riding in 4 days. Although it was supposed to be the last year, there are rumors that there will be another MDR. If so, I'm going up Refugio Road!
3. The Flume Trail (June 9, 2018)
While not very long, any ride on Lake Tahoe is bound to be a winner for scenery. And the Flume Trail didn't disappoint! I had cross country skied on parts of this course, but the flume section was new and had amazing views of the lake! Going up there to Tahoe with Caryn for a crew event gave me a chance to take my bike and explore. And why not give it a go on the Flume Trail!?
It was a very windy and cool day, never getting above 60 degrees at lake level. But dressing properly made it a comfy ride. As my strava ride title said: "If you don't like single track on the edge of a cliff, wind, hills and sand, you are missing out. Flume Trail Ride!!". How true! I latched onto a small cycling group and rode with them out of Incline Village. But about 10 miles down the road at Spooner Lake, I got onto the dirt and basically had the trail to myself until the end of the 15 mile trail. Climbing out from the parking lot, where we had cross country skied many times, it was a wide fore trail, but had some steep sections. Leading up to the end of the real climb (to 8200' of elevation), it was about 20% gradient! I did ride the whole thing, but in sections with many short rest stops, catching my breath and regaining some strength. Once up there, I saw a bit of remaining snow in the shade and then descended down to Martlette Lake and off into parts unknown to me. This was the Flume Trail.
The road around the lake was wide, smooth and fairly flat. In fact, I saw a worker's truck driving along, albeit slowly. Other than that, I had the place to myself. Once reaching a dam, I was at an open gap in the hills where the wind was whipping through at what seemed to me to be 50+ mph! It was one of those days where if you held out your bike into the wind, it lifted up parallel to the ground. I carried the bike for most of that short section. Soon after that, I was on the actual Flume Trail, hugging the side of the mountain and riding on a single track trail with a gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe below! The wind wasn't nearly as bad up there, but when it blew, it did so into the uphill side of the mountain. That's good, because if it blew the other way, I would have been a goner over a huge drop-off! I only saw one other cyclist up there, going fairly slow and taking pics like me. The general slope was downward along the actual Flume Trail and was narrow, but easy. Then it dropped precipitously for the last 4 miles, probably averaging 10% or more down. Here was the toughest part for me, not only due to the slope but also the trail, which had turned much more sandy. It was a real challenge for my 32c tires! Then it was back to civilization on Tunnel Creek Road not far from Ponderosa Ranch and the Diamond Peak ski area. After a few miles on Lakeshore Blvd, the solitude of the trail was shattered by having to return to Hwy 28 for the ride back to Kings Beach. Those damn trucks don't always share the road! But I did it....beautiful views, empty trails and sunny skies. Yeah!
4. A First...City Share Bikes (June 14, 2018)
I'm not certain this qualifies as an adventure, but bear with me. I'd seen city share bikes in many places, but never tried one. Leave it to an opportunity in Kona to change that! The city has only three stations with a total of about 50 bikes, spread out over only 3 miles. But we had to try one! We tried to sign up for a 5 hour membership, thinking I'd use it a few times, but the system was down. A phone call to the number posted on the kiosk brought out a nice woman, Tina. She couldn't troubleshoot the system successfully, so just comped us two bikes for the day! Wow! Nice way to get some willing customers. As it turns out, we only rode about 7 miles out and back to a beach along the waterfront. The bike was heavy (42 pounds), the gearing too low (3 of them) and the riding options limited. But it was fun anyway! And now I can say I've rented a city share bike.
What's my next adventure?? I've been adding to my bucket list, which lists the Canal du Midi and RAID Pyrennean in France and now the Altravesur trail in the south of Spain. Not to mention the Camino Santiago or maybe a U.S. cross country trip someday. But for now with a vacation looming in CT, I'm going to try and ride some dirt there with the loop called the "Meshomasic 121k Dirt Populaire" with friends Eric and Chuck. Hope we can make it work and then keep one of the more exotic ones on the not-too-distant horizon!
