One of the damn in the Potomac that fed the C&O canal system.
As Kelly mentioned, we were without wifi and posting on the blog from smart-phones is for smart people. So I do not know what Kelly's excuse is, but mine is evident.
The rain continues to fall... as if it had a choice?
You can just see the Charlie Brown comic strip now. Snoopy atop his doghouse, not shooting down the infamous Red Baron, but working the typewriter with his paws writing the Great American Dog Novel. "It was a dark and stormy night...".
Here is where the genius of Kelly comes to the fore. Weather iffy yesterday afternoon. she immediately secures a cabin (oh sorry, a Kabin) at the KOA near Williamsport, MD. At 4:30 AM, ridiculous thunder, lightning and a downpour hammers our tent-dwelling fellow cyclists as we hunker down in our airKonditioned Kabin (what is with the KOAs and the Ks... a tad disturbing if you ask me).
Yesterday we started at Brunswick Family Campground which is so far, the only camping we have done (we did it well, by the way). In 6 short miles we were in Harpers Ferry, WV. Harpers Ferry is an historic town that changed hands at least five times in the Civil War. Most of the town was either destroyed or seriously damaged except the Irish Catholic church that flew the Union Jack which was supposed to signal neutrality or insanity... either way, it worked. Lots or Irish laborers involved in the building of the railroads and Harpers Ferry was a big railway town. But the really important thing about Harpers Ferry was that Kelly and I had our second breakfast there after a scant 30 minutes on the bike! Living the life!
Our gluttony did not go unpunished. On a steep incline, not a half mile back on the trail, our drive chain broke! Aside from the additional time (we had already blown an hour and a half eating breakfast number two), this was no big deal. I broke out the chain tool and promptly repaired the chain by fixing the link that popped.
I still cannot believe we took a racing tandem on this trail! Most of it looks like the fire roads in Western NC without the big hills.
As Kelly mentioned, we were without wifi and posting on the blog from smart-phones is for smart people. So I do not know what Kelly's excuse is, but mine is evident.
The rain continues to fall... as if it had a choice?
You can just see the Charlie Brown comic strip now. Snoopy atop his doghouse, not shooting down the infamous Red Baron, but working the typewriter with his paws writing the Great American Dog Novel. "It was a dark and stormy night...".
Well it was last night and it is again. Here is the view of the campground. Can't see our tent? There is a reason.
Here is where the genius of Kelly comes to the fore. Weather iffy yesterday afternoon. she immediately secures a cabin (oh sorry, a Kabin) at the KOA near Williamsport, MD. At 4:30 AM, ridiculous thunder, lightning and a downpour hammers our tent-dwelling fellow cyclists as we hunker down in our airKonditioned Kabin (what is with the KOAs and the Ks... a tad disturbing if you ask me).Today we roll into the campground at Little Orleans and the bugs start to eat one of the bicycles. After fendng off the swarm, we notice the sky darkening once again. In a flash, Kelly is on the horn arranging a room in what is almost certainly a haunted bed and breakfast.
Wimps, you say? Well go ahead and say it! At least our luggage and tent are not being washed away by the torrential downpour we left behind as we rode up the hill in the friendly B&B van. Putting "torrential" in perspective, we are from Florida and have not seen this kind of rain in a long long time. Bring on the ghosts!
But enough about us, let me tell you about the rides... and us.
Wimps, you say? Well go ahead and say it! At least our luggage and tent are not being washed away by the torrential downpour we left behind as we rode up the hill in the friendly B&B van. Putting "torrential" in perspective, we are from Florida and have not seen this kind of rain in a long long time. Bring on the ghosts!
But enough about us, let me tell you about the rides... and us.
Yesterday we started at Brunswick Family Campground which is so far, the only camping we have done (we did it well, by the way). In 6 short miles we were in Harpers Ferry, WV. Harpers Ferry is an historic town that changed hands at least five times in the Civil War. Most of the town was either destroyed or seriously damaged except the Irish Catholic church that flew the Union Jack which was supposed to signal neutrality or insanity... either way, it worked. Lots or Irish laborers involved in the building of the railroads and Harpers Ferry was a big railway town. But the really important thing about Harpers Ferry was that Kelly and I had our second breakfast there after a scant 30 minutes on the bike! Living the life!Our gluttony did not go unpunished. On a steep incline, not a half mile back on the trail, our drive chain broke! Aside from the additional time (we had already blown an hour and a half eating breakfast number two), this was no big deal. I broke out the chain tool and promptly repaired the chain by fixing the link that popped.
The serious bike guys are probably already shaking their heads knowing what is going to happen next. Yes, on the next seriously steep incline, pop goes the weasel again! Luckily I realized that repairing a damaged link is stupid and removed the link, fixed the chain, again and off we went.
Now we are way behind our normal pace and you know what? That was just fine by me. I was enjoying another day riding with Kelly, not worrying about anything and having a great time, mechanical issues notwithstanding. And all that mud, rain and nasty puddles with God-knows-what hiding in the murk that plagued us on Sunday? Well they were still in full force, but like I said, we had fun anyway.
Today, we headed out In the misty morning mess and trucked on over to Fort Frederick. Once there, we finally got a respite from the C&O Towpath trail and its muddy thrill ride. The Western Maryland Rails to Trails allowed us to cruise along 22 miles of paved bike path. On the big Tandem, we really put the hammer down and smoked that section. The rain hardly bothered us.
Alas, we had another tem miles or so on Old Muddy (C&O). The path ended in Little Orleans where a proper dive called Bills awaited us. A couple of brewskis (Kelly did a hard lemonade), we rode straight up to the campground. By straght up, I mean a short but nasty-steep hill in the lowest gear we could find. About halfway up, I cunningly asked Kelly if she wanted us to walk the rest of the climb... whoosh! The engine in the back kicked in and up we went. She is a trooper... pretty strong too.
Tomorrow (by the time we have internet and post, it will be today) we finish our sentence on the C&O towpath in Cumberland, MD and begin the Great Allegheny Passage trail to Pittsburgh. That trail is suppose to be 100 times better than the C&O, so we are really looking forward to it.
Now we are way behind our normal pace and you know what? That was just fine by me. I was enjoying another day riding with Kelly, not worrying about anything and having a great time, mechanical issues notwithstanding. And all that mud, rain and nasty puddles with God-knows-what hiding in the murk that plagued us on Sunday? Well they were still in full force, but like I said, we had fun anyway.
Today, we headed out In the misty morning mess and trucked on over to Fort Frederick. Once there, we finally got a respite from the C&O Towpath trail and its muddy thrill ride. The Western Maryland Rails to Trails allowed us to cruise along 22 miles of paved bike path. On the big Tandem, we really put the hammer down and smoked that section. The rain hardly bothered us.
Alas, we had another tem miles or so on Old Muddy (C&O). The path ended in Little Orleans where a proper dive called Bills awaited us. A couple of brewskis (Kelly did a hard lemonade), we rode straight up to the campground. By straght up, I mean a short but nasty-steep hill in the lowest gear we could find. About halfway up, I cunningly asked Kelly if she wanted us to walk the rest of the climb... whoosh! The engine in the back kicked in and up we went. She is a trooper... pretty strong too.
Tomorrow (by the time we have internet and post, it will be today) we finish our sentence on the C&O towpath in Cumberland, MD and begin the Great Allegheny Passage trail to Pittsburgh. That trail is suppose to be 100 times better than the C&O, so we are really looking forward to it.
I still cannot believe we took a racing tandem on this trail! Most of it looks like the fire roads in Western NC without the big hills. Imagine a road bike zooming through that crap after weeks of rain... now double down - tandem, remember?
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