73 mile ride on the C&O

Ramping up for this fall's 184.5 mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath ride, I rode the 1998 Porsche Bike S nearly 73 miles from "Mile 0" in downtown Washington DC to White's Ferry and back. The beginning of the C&O at mile 0 is the closest parking lot to my house, but the Rock Creek parking lot is three hours maximum, so I drove a little further up the Potomac River to the Fletcher's Cove Boathouse parking lot.

My target was 70 miles, so from the parking lot I could access the C&O and I rode the upstream direction from Fletcher's to mile marker 35.5 at White's Ferry. Then I turned around and rode back, not stopping at my Cayenne S and continued to mile 0 right at the Potomac River in DC.

My legs and seat did well for the 70 miles, but my hands and wrists are sore from holding on to the handlebar grips over the bumpy dirt trail. This was a bit of a surprise. The C&O is really a flat trail, but the dirt surface is constant and controlling the bike with the bumps, rocks and mud was a lot of squeezing the handlebars. Good to know and more practice on this trail will strengthen my hands ... I hope!

Riding the C&O is amazing. The best way I can describe it is like riding a dirt path alongside the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Since the towpath is all dirt, you don't feel like you're in a city. And the locks, which there are so many, and the lock houses are historic and look old, you feel like you're in another place and time, not riding in 2020. Off the towpath, everything is green with the Potomac River on one side and the C&O Canal on the other. The canal is overgrown with trees, plants and flowers and with deer, birds and turtles everywhere the canal doesn't look manmade anymore. A couple long stretches the canal turned into lakes. One lake had a lot of granite around it and even granite islands. This lake looked more like a high alpine lake than a towpath. The trees provided plenty of shade and the dirt path didn't collect heat like asphalt. I just kept riding and looking at all the sights.

I am glad I got an early start. Some areas got very busy with people walking and sightseeing near the more popular parking lots. I had most of the trail to myself until I got back closer to DC and then my average speed took a hit.

Couple observations: It was easier to ride the "downhill" direction from White's Ferry to DC. Even though the trail is mostly flat, there is a slight net downhill. When I do the entire C&O I think I'll ride from Cumberland to DC to make it a little bit easier. And the before mentioned bumpy trail wiped out my wrists. So I'll need to find a solution to reduce that fatigue. 

Overall, the 70 miles was a great ride. But I have a long way to go yet!