Stef and I played games and chatted on the train ride back. I really love riding the train, as long add you are not in a hurry to get somewhere. A tip to remember though, if you want a full meal selection, don’t take the last dinner reservation. The views are nice up until it gets dark. It will be so nice to sleep in my own bed again!
Had a delicious dinner at Nando’s Peri Peri with the awesome Jeff Kress who then took us to tour the botanical garden to see the famous corpse flower. Interesting. Off to get a good nights sleep before the train ride home. We couldn’t have had a successful trip with out support on the home front, thanks Dan, Kellie and everyone!
Got an early start today, which was a good thing because the trail was busy. Mile marker zero was way too tough to find! We did finally locate the little white marker right behind Thompson Boats. We then went and suited our bikes at the hotel and used their bathrooms to get the worst of the trail grime washed off. We are now having brunch at Bus Boys and Poets. Sweet potato pancakes, yum!
Yesterday was a pretty long day. We started off slow trying as best we could to avoid mud. After a really slow 15 miles or so the pace was able to pickup. We did have beautiful scenery again which has been a constant on this trip. We have seen deer every day on the trail usually multiple times. Lots of squirrels, a big girls and more than our share of midges. We got to Horsepen Branch where we were supposed to camp and didn’t like how close to the trail it was so we pressed on to Swains Lock which was much nicer and only leaves us 17 miles to D.C. Ate delicious IndianVegetable Korma we brought with us.
After such a promising start and a few delicious smoothies at Desert Rose, about five miles out a thunderstorm hit. Twenty miles in a down pour, through mud and silt was not a good time. I made an executive decision (since more storms are predicted) and got us a hotel in Shepardstown. There was no shelter for that span of the trail and it was really slow going because of the ruts in this section. Fortunately the hotel had a hose and we were able to clean us and our gear up. Most everything is wet and we have things strewn all over our room in an attempt to dry out. We did do a full load of laundry which was sorely needed. The storms should be done tomorrow by around 9am, so we may get a late start. We did about 53 miles today, only 72 more trail miles to go! Off to play some games…
Our Wednesday night stay at the C&O Cycle Bunk House. Met a young girl traveling North solo here. There was a Sheetz a few blocks away so I got several large waters and two large chocolate milks for our late night snack.
A nice ride from Hancock to Williamsport about half done for the day. Having lunch and smoothies at the Desert Rose Cafe.
Lil Ben’s Milk Stout at Buddy Lou’s. Waiting on my Crabcake Sandwich and Brussels sprouts. Yum!
58 miles in to our longest ride and I’m spent and ready to keel over when up ahead I hear Stefani…. singing. :-)
Another rough day complete. We ate our lunch by the Paw Paw tunnel after we were chased away from our fist stop by little flying bugs. The tunnel was not fun, muggy, narrow and bumpy. We had to walk the whole thing and we were both dripping wet by the end. Nothing like the previous tunnels. 210 down.
We had a great night’s sleep at The Bruce House Inn and we can smell something delicious in the air while finish packing. We played a few games last night and then hit the sack early as we were both very tired.
We had Pad Thai from Good To Go meals on our first camping night which was very good and easy to make. Tonight we are having our Mountain House Raspberry Crumble with some fresh bananas we picked up at a Save A Lot for dessert. The crumble was good, just a little too sweet for me. We are both looking forward to a good nights sleep in air conditioning.
We made it to the Divide!
Woke up early and rode to Meyersdale. Having breakfast at the G.I. Dayroom. We have about 8 miles to go to the Divide. Overcast and humid but much cooler ride!
Lots of beautiful bridges and scenic views. Today was much better weather wise but the millage was still very difficult. We stopped at the Lucky Dog Cafe in Confluence for lunch which was delicious. Staying the night in Rockwood and thankful to get a shower. I really thought I was in better shape! Riding with all that weight is very tiring. Stef is awesome, no complaints, and keeps the pace consistent.
Yesterday was brutal. Hot, humid headwind in the sun. By the time we got to Roundbottom camp we were both exhausted. I had cramps in my legs while riding, mostly from the heat. Beautiful scenery though, absolutely gorgeous along the river. We got a late start with a little confusion on which trail we were on so we did about 55 miles for the day. The camp was very primitive but we got there just before a brief thunderstorm and the three sided shelter kept us dry. We setup the tent without the fly to keep the bugs off. The late start did let us vs have s delicious lunch at the Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe.
On our way.
