GAP

After very convenient coffee and breakfast across the road from our hotel, we packed up our wet gear, loaded up on snacks and water and loaded up the minivan of the hotel manager who offered to ferry us back to the C&O to avoid the sktchy road detour. FWIW – you can get six people + gear and five bikes in / on a minivan with a 3 bike rack. Not pretty, probably not safe, but doable.

The last leg was less than 70 miles but we were all feeling pretty knackered after four days of riding. We stopped at White’s Ferry for sandwiches about half way then cruised into the suburbs of DC. The highlight was Great Falls so we stopped a few times for some sight-seeing.

Finding mile 0 of the C&O in Georgetown was a little challenging – unless you know where to look it would be difficult to find. It’s tucked away on the river bank behind the Georgetown University Boathouse.

After a few photos and celebratory fist-bumps, we then had to ride another 5 miles or so to pick up the truck and our gear we’d stashed at a friend’s house in the DC suburbs. We had a quick beer in the sun while I checked into my flight to London that same night. The other four guys we’re staying overnight so I borrowed a hotel room for a quick shower and a change of clothing. We went out for a well deserved celebratory curry and then I went straight to Dulles for my red-eye to London.

We were very lucky with the weather, had no injuries and the only mechanical issue was a blow out which sealed itself after spraying a few of use drafters with tire sealant.

Huge thanks to the gang – David, Iain and Sean and especially Bryan and ChatGPT 🙂 for managing the logistics and to Tim for letting use his house as a staging post. I’d definitely recommend the GAP C&O – it’s not just a trip through some amazing scenery but also a trip through time – from Civil War battlefields to America’s industrial revolution – there are few places in the US so steeped in it’s history.

Strava route is here.

We ate left-over pizza for breakfast as nothing else was open. Stopped in Williamsport to find a bike shop, coffee and food. Bike shop was closed but we found a decent little cafe and loaded up on carbs and caffeine.

The weather forecast wasn’t looking good and we wanted to get to Harper’s Ferry before the rain caught us so we hammered through the morning with just a few short stops. Passed pretty close to my namesake – Sharpsburg – famed for being the site of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day of American Civil War. By lunchtime the rain had caught us so we pulled off the C&O to eat a decent lunch in the little college town of Sheppardstown. For the first time – pulled on my rain jacket and we spent the next few hours getting pretty soaked. When we reached Harpers Ferry we had to do a pretty hilly and very sketchy detour in busy traffic as the bridge over the Potomac was closed for repairs.

Arrived at our funky little hotel pretty soaked and tried to get everything hung up to dry before venturing out for dinner and re-hydration. The detour added a few extra hilly miles – topping out the day at 74.2 miles.

View this segment in Strava.

Day 5 – Harpers Ferry to Georgetown to Falls Church (70.2 miles)

Did a quick recce into town to find some decent coffee (Clatter Cafe) and warm up the aching legs – it seems that every road in Frostburg us uphill in both directions. A hearty breakfast and a chat with the owner of the Allegheny Trail House about the trail ahead of us. Then re-packing, a bit of bike maintenance and we were off – at 77.3 miles – this was our longest distance but having crossed the continental divide we were mostly heading downhill or flat.

It was a pretty damp start but we managed to dodge the rain. First stop was Cumberland where the GAP and the C&O connect and there’s a well stocked bike shop right on the trail. Cumberland is a good place to stock up on snacks as there aren’t too many food options for the next 50 miles or so.

Our lunch stop was the School House Kitchen in Oldtown – very basic food but it did the job. I suspect this place only stays open due to it’s proximity to the C&O trail – like a lot of the towns you pass through on the GAP and C&O the collapse of the mining, steel, and coke industry is a big economic gap to fill. Reminds me of areas in the North of England – similar landscape, remnants of the industrial past and signs of economic distress.

The big event of the day was the Paw-paw tunnel (3,118-foot-long canal tunnel and significant feat of engineering). To ride this without lights would be very difficult – the surface is rutted and washed away in places. Stopped for coffee / break at Bills Place in Little Orleans only to find out it’s been closed for about 5 years. Hammered through to Hancock and our AirBnB for the night.

Hancock a decent sized town but it was mostly closed down (I guess it’s a seasonal town) so it was Pizza Delivery, beers from the gas station and a night of laundry and yup – you guessed it – Five Crowns.

Strava link is here.

Day 4 – Hancock to Harpers Ferry (74.2 miles)