and finding the "hidden" historical marker in Georgetown
Woke up at 6:10, lifted my head; I was the first one to get out of bed. Grabbed my gear, and tip-toed out of the room, headed into the breakfast area, with waffles to consume. Today's ride looks good - flat terrain; and coupled with that, the forecast is no rain. To my host at the hostel, I say, "thank you"; and to my fellow hostel guests, I bid them, "adieu." And then I was on the road.
Cycling in history "Marty - you have to get BACK to the FUTURE!" Don't worry, I didn't actually go back in time, but it was deserted at 7:45 in the morning. Great time to take selfies during the ride
Here, you can see the freight train passing by just to the south of the historic buildings. It's not traveling at any excessive speed, so I'm able to race it to the bridge. The pedestrian crossing shares the bridge with the train
I make my way to the other end of the bridge and I run into a trio of cycling tourists who just finished climbing the stairs. They camped overnight a few miles north on the trail and were headed into Harper's Ferry for breakfast. One was struggling with a flat and didn't have a pump, so I pumped up their rear tire with my pump. As I was in the middle of this repair action, I suggested they get a pump so they can continue their journey, and that's when they mentioned they already had one but couldn't use it because it didn't fit. Well, it took me all of about 2 seconds to figure out they had not reversed the head on the pump to shraeder from the presta setting, and voila! the pump could be used on the bike. "It's all in a day's work for Bicycle Repairman!"
If you make a side-detour to Brunswick, you'll find you ride through a parking lot bordered on either side by active rail lines. And they seem to be QUITE active. I had to stop at one rail line on the way into town, and the other on my way out of town
I made the detour into Brunswick because people had recommended Beans in the Belfry, an old church turned into a coffee house. I made it there about 15 minutes before they opened. I didn't want to stay and have coffee, even through the interior was wicked-funky, as I wanted to return to the trail. So what else could I do? Buy a blueberry muffin and head back onto the trail. I kept today's destination in the forefront of my mind. BTW - the blueberry muffin (consumed later at a picnic table along the Potomac) was delicious!
Beans in the Belfry - a great über-funky coffee shop created from a former church
As the trail makes its way closer to the terminus in Georgetown (Washington DC) it passes over the Monocacy River Aqueduct, the longest one on the canal towpath. This passage was completely rebuilt to its original appearance in 2005. Now it's use is no longer for canal boats but cyclists and hikers using the C&O canal path.
With a length of 438', the Monocacy Aqueduct traverses the Monocacy River
10:00, and I'm making good time. I stop at a lock keeper's house and take some pics, and then as I roll the bike away, I hear a squeaking sound. Now what on earth could that be? It take me about 3-4 seconds to realize it's my rear tire squeaking against the rim BECAUSE IT'S FLAT. Ugh. How could that happen? That make three flats, or about one every 120 miles. Sure, I understand one gets flat tires, really, I do. But these tires were "sold" with the "super tough against flats" paradigm, so I'm a little miffed. Thankfully, there's a picnic table right next to the house, so I set up my tools on the table and prepare to do surgery on the rear tire. It's a little more complicated of a tire/tube change since it's an internal hub.
As I'm changing the tire, two people come walking down the trail and ask if I stayed there the previous night. "No, I wish I had, though" I respond, "it would be really interesting with all the history. My riding colleagues all backed out on me, so since I was the only one making this journey, I decided to tent it instead of staying in the house." The woman of the pair announces she's with the group renting out the houses, and opens the door letting the man with her (a photographer) into the house for a magazine photo shoot. What luck, getting a flat right then and there. I get to go into the house and look around. I would LOVE to be able to stay in this older house!
The lock keeper's house where I get a flat, run into the manager of the houses for rent, and get to see a bit more of this house than just peering into the windows
This is the "dining" room of the house. There are 4 rooms in this one (for exterior, see picture above) - living, dining, bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 upstairs. The furniture is period and mostly authentic as possible. There is no electricity, running water, or heat, A/C. it's really historic. Next time, Paul, next time
So who gets excited about reaching the destination? ME! I'm counting down the miles as I make my way towards Wash DC. Every miles along the C&O has a mile marker informing you just how far you are away from the starting point in Georgetown (which is in Wash DC). Averaging about 10mph, that means you pass by one of these every 6 minutes or so. I'm on the lookout for Great Falls at mm14, and then the final "0" marker in Georgetown.
Here's 28. that means 28 miles to Georgetown and the end of the official ride along the GAP|C&O
To see the falls, you have to follow a boardwalk trail out over the rocky area to see the waterfalls. This is maybe a .2-mile trail out past the two falls onto Olmstead island to see the main falls. Seriously, lock the bike (I'll leave the "do you take a lock on tour with you?" question for another thread) and take the walk. It's a great view and highly unexpected (at least for me) so close to the placid Potomac in Wash DC
The Great Falls themselves just about 14 miles north of Washington DC. This is the largest of the three flumes of water heading downriver. At the bottom of these falls, there were kayakers "surfing" the waves
OK! Now only 14 miles until Georgetown. Calculating out the time with stops, traveling 10mph (I'm conservative on my time estimation), that means I'll probably get into DC around 5:00. Plenty of time to check into the hotel and get something to eat.
After Great Falls, the trail passes by some rocky areas, and more people. It seems the trail is far more heavily used here mostly because of its proximity the urban area.
Pedestrian traffic increased the closer I came to the urban area, but even felt remote less than a mile to Georgetown
By 4:30, I'm rolling into Georgetown, pass through the historic area, avoid loads of people and one wedding party, and then I make my way to the mile-0 marker. It's deserted. Noone is there. For the entire 8-10 I spend there, noone comes by. Very peaceful. If you're interested, it's just behind the Henry boathouse. It was a long day in the saddle today on the final day of the tour.
Rolling into Georgetown. Watch the signs as the canal towpath switches sides of the canal coming into town
The end of the line (or the start if you're riding north). This is the original entry point for canal boats going north along the canal. And, it's how the Watergate hotel got its name Water-Gate?
The Mile Marker 0 post is a little hard to find, so I'm including a map. If you're coming from the north, take 30th St south until you get to the river, hang a left and go in front of the boathouse, and then cross over the canal gate to the post. From the south, follow the path from Virginia Ave NW until you connect with the line from the north
From there it was a quick ride to the River Inn in Foggy Bottom where I booked a room for the night (I had a great rate). 5:15 and I'm checked in, and took the bike, trailer, and self up to the room to get cleaned up before going out in search of dinner.
Nothing better than checking into a fancy hotel with your sweaty self, a bike, and a trailer. Then spreading the gear all over the room (don't worry, I didn't leave the room a mess)
I stopped by Trader Joes for some snacks for the next day, and also a bottle of wine (they roped me in with a free tasting). Then it was some Bertuccis pizza and a walk to the National Mall in DC to see some of the monuments. I wandered into the middle of a huge motorcyclist's rally around the Vietnam Memorial and Lincoln Memorial so I shot some pictures and then headed back to the hotel for some sleep. There's still one more day in DC before I catch my train.
It's not often I'm around the National Mall at dusk and see the lights come on the monuments
