Month: July 2014 (Page 1 of 3)

Wildlife Observations

Here is a list of wildlife we saw on the GAPCO trip:

  • deer (adults and babies)
  • cardinals
  • large butterflies
  • bunnies
  • beavers
  • caterpillars
  • massive worm on Ellen’s rain fly
  • multiple bugs that we accidentally ate on the ride (it is advisable to breathe through the nose while riding, if possible)
  • 2 snakes (small)
  • hawks
  • chipmunks
  • squirrels
  • 1 grasshopper that hitched a ride on Annie’s shoe for a few miles
  • spiders (large)
  • frogs
  • dragon flies
  • mystery animal at Husky Haven camp ground, possibly a cat
  • blue birds of some sort
  • ducks
  • 1 goose walking across the trail
  • wild turkeys
  • fireflies
  • mosquitoes
  • a stray yellow dog

We took precautions for black bear sightings – such as tying our food up at night with a food wire and carrying a bear can – but we didn’t encounter any.

Reflections and Lessons

We are driving back to Chicago today, from DC.  Speaking of which, during our ride, many people asked how we were getting to and from the trail. Well, we did one-way van rentals:

Van Home

We managed to fit the 3 of us, our 3 bikes, and all of our panniers and gear in this van. I believe it was a Ford Expedition, and everything I’ve mentioned was about the limit of what would fit in it, I’d say.

On our drive home, we’re now talking about lessons learns and things we might re-consider on a subsequent bike trip:

1.  We would pay more attention to where hotels and attractions were off the trail.  Several times, we showed up to our destination towns without knowing where or how far exactly our hotel was.

In Harper’s Ferry, for instance, we had to bike up an incredibly long and steep hill on a highway for about 2 miles to get to our hotel.  We always managed to figure things out, but we were often exhausted while doing so.  In several instances, the bike ride from the trail to our  hotel or sight-seeing destination were on roads that were pretty unsafe for bikers to be on.

2.  We would be smarter about nutrition.  The first several days, we really just ate 2 meals per day – breakfast and dinner- while eating just nuts and energy bars during the day.  This amount of food wasn’t really enough to keep our energy levels high, especially as the week wore on and our mileage increased.

When we did eat a real lunch on our 74 mile day, we all felt really strong the whole day.

3.  I think we were all pretty happy with the gear we brought, which included clothes, camping gear, bike tools, and first aid supplies.  Given some of the water situations we were in, we would bring iodine tablets and/or a water filter next time.

During our first night at Roundbottom Campground, the only available water was from a pump that had brown water, and we opted to shower with it but not drink it.  That threw a wrench in our dinner plans, and necessitated preserving what little drinking water we did have until the next morning.

I would have also brought my weather radio, since we often didn’t have phone service but wanted to know what the weather was going to do. Having some flip-flops to wear while weren’t cycling would have been nice too!

4.  For a self-supported bike trip of this length, we thought 3-4 people was a good group size.  We all have similar cycling styles and abilities, and the more people who are added, the more variation we would likely get which could add a challenge – although it could certainly work with more people.

We also seemed to have a similar mindset in terms of being adaptable to unexpected circumstances or things outside of our control, like not having sufficient drinking water our first night, not getting the rental van we had reserved, and not knowing where the start of the GAP was in Pittsburgh.  You know, the little things, like that.

5.  We also think we set our daily mileage itinerary well, especially with elevation changes in mind. When we had heavy climbing days, we did less mileage.  We could have done the ride in 1-2 fewer days, but it probably wouldn’t have been as enjoyable for us.  It’s nice to get to a destination and be able to enjoy dinner and the campsite without being completely exhausted.

6. We learned that it takes a couple days to adjust to our bikes and loads. We were all carrying about 50 pounds (a very rough estimate) of gear on our bikes, which was mostly distributed in rear panniers.  It can be awkward to figure out how to lean the bike up against things and, even, stopping and slowing on hills.

Rear Panniers

We all have bruises and scratches from our bikes flailing around and hitting us in the calves and shins.

In all, it was a great trip, and I think we all would do a similar trip in the future.  People we met along the way were generous, friendly, and helpful. And, while we met many people riding the trails, only a few groups were also riding the entire GAP and CO.

We are proud of this accomplishment and are glad to have the great memories and photos. Truly a trip of  a lifetime!

This is Annie:

 

And Ellen:

wpid-20140706_180847.jpg

 

And Lauren:

wpid-img_20140706_175046025_hdr.jpg

 

Signing off!

Day 7: The Final Push

After a great night of sleep in Harper’s Ferry, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel with Ellen’s cousin Peter.  We three bikers ate the equivalent of about 9 breakfasts, as we all chatted for about 45 minutes before setting out on the trail for the final push to DC!

We made our way back to the bridge over the Potomac, leading to the trail, having to this time carry our bikes down the twisting metal staircase of doom.  There were less tourists this time.  For part of the way out of Harper’s Ferry, we were also on the Appalachian Trail:

wpid-img_20140706_092422068_alt.jpg

Seeing this sign made me really appreciate just how massive and impressive a trip an Appalachian Trail thru-hike would be.  It is definitely something on my bucket list, if I could ever manage to get away from my current obligations for at least 6 months.  Although, I also just genuinely enjoy biking much more than hiking.

Anyone know of any interesting Appalachian Trail blogs accounts?  Even if it’s something I may never do, I love reading about other people’s adventures.

Anyway, as we started Day 7, I think we were all feeling various aches and pains from the previous 6 days of riding: sore butts, stiff shoulders, tired wrists, and random bruises from flailing our bikes and packs around.  We mostly have written about the cool stuff we’ve seen and done, but much of the trip takes place in the saddle, logging mile after mile.

My usual view on different days was:

wpid-img_20140630_112016361.jpg

And:

wpid-img_20140705_144600104.jpg

Riding with a group, it’s nice when you all become adept at calling out various obstacles: “Branch!” “Hole!” “Section of the C&O that’s entirely missing and is now a cliff into the Potomac!”

Mentally, I try to think of a long riding day in terms of sections.  For instance, today we were looking forward to Mile Marker 36 (out of 62), where White’s Ferry was located.  We thought we would have a nice lunch there but it turns out the town was recovering from a flood so the restaurant off the trail was not open.  We ended up having a lunch of chips and ice cream, basically.  There are few occasions when a meal like that is acceptable, but biking 62 miles in a day is surely one of them.

wpid-img_20140706_122910721_alt.jpg

 

The next milestone was Great Falls, where we stopped for a quick peak:

wpid-img_20140706_160808312_hdr.jpg

From here to DC the trail was quite crowded with tourists.  Near Great Falls especially, the trail was loaded with families and couples walking 2-5 people abreast. We tried to stay patient as we biked slowly around people as we called out, “Passing on your left!”  People largely seemed unaware that they were walking on a major bike trail.  But, living in Chicago and being accustomed to our Lakefront Path, that’s the nature of a popular, multi-use trail.

Once we reached DC, we just followed the path and the old-timey mile markers.  I was surprised that we were actually in the middle of DC, as the path was uninterrupted and seemed kind of below all the city’s action.  We didn’t have to ride in traffic until we made our way to our hotel!  It was really an amazing way to experience the city.

We finally reached Mile Marker 1:

wpid-img_20140706_173619591.jpg

A piece of litter, specifically a fast food cup, was just to the right, just out of frame.  That’s why the mile marker is off center here.  Welcome back to city life!

From Mile 1, the route got a little more complicated, and we had to maneuver a couple of blocks over to get to Lock 1. At this point, we were all out of water, it was hot, and we were quite thirsty.  But. we of course had to celebrate and take pictures:

wpid-img_20140706_175248762_alt.jpg

And, welp, it turns out the trip wasn’t over!

A man from Brazil had just finished the C&O as well and his wife was there taking pictures.  When we said goodbye and started to head toward our hotel, he asked, “Don’t you want to go see Mile 0?”  We didn’t even know that was a thing, so we were glad to have run into him!

wpid-img_20140706_175022006.jpg

So, we hopped back on our bikes, followed the couple to a boat house behind Watergate, and saw the very first lock at the Potomac River AND Mile Marker 0!

wpid-img_20140706_180155830_alt.jpg

Woo-hoo, we did it! (Now where can we get some water?)

Today’s Mileage: 62

Total Trip Mileage: 365

Day 6: A Long Ride

This morning, we woke up at Happy Hills to a completely quiet campground.  Things seemed so serene while the hundreds of people up late partying were still sleeping.

Ellen was up first and started the coffee.  Just FYI, the biker guys next to us had their guide/helper drive them to breakfast and then the guide/helper assisted with taking down their camp and cushy air mattresses.

Not that we were judging.

Although…. we did decide to ask a nice fella named George, a Happy Hills employee, if he would drive us to the start of the trail in his truck.  The road back to the trail was extremely hilly and precarious.  So, George kindly took us!

 

He dropped us off at the Western Maryland Trail (WMT), where we rode a glorious 15 miles on heavenly pavement:

wpid-wp-1404614057288.jpeg

It was a great start to the day and set the tone for the remaining 60 miles.  It was also very easy to find the C&O again once the WMT ended.

On the WMT, we averaged about 16 mph, and I think we all felt that today was our strongest riding day!  We mostly rode at around 11-12 mph once we picked up the C&O again, which may not sound fast, but here’s what our bikes looked like:

wpid-wp-1404615725333.jpeg

During today’s ride, we rode along the Potomac, and heard people boating and skiing all day.  It was a cool way to spend July 4th.  We saw lots of locks and dams, too:

wpid-wp-1404614025084.jpeg

There was a cool stretch along the river, where we basically rode along a paved cliff:

wpid-wp-1404614175092.jpeg

It was also very tempting to stop and take a dip in the water.  About halfway through the ride, we ate a great lunch at Desert Rose Cafe, to fuel the other half of the day’s ride:

wpid-wp-1404614235151.jpeg

Afterwards, we ran into our new trail friends Rob and Dorothy, again.  They are the couple who gave us the nice bike pump. We saw them several times along the trail, and it was always fun to see what they were up to for the day.

We passed a significant milestone today, as we now have fewer than 100 miles to ride!

wpid-wp-1404614600997.jpeg

We were very excited to get to Harper’s Ferry, after having ridden for 7 hours today.  We had to cross a bridge, however, that required us to carry our bikes up a metal, winding staircase:

wpid-wp-1404614738257.jpeg

This bridge was full of tourists barging their way down the stairs while we were coming up, which I think made us all have less-than-civil thoughts toward them.  We then had to ride/walk our bikes 2 miles to our hotel on a scary, hilly highway.

However, Ellen’s brother and family surprised us by being at our hotel with delicious baked goods in hand.  And, they bought us dinner! Just what we all needed after the day!

Tomorrow, DC. Let’s finish this!

Today’s Mileage: 74

Tommorrow’s Itinerary: Harper’s Ferry to DC

« Older posts