C&O

If you were so inclined, as many people are in the summertime, you could ride a bicycle 330 miles from Pittsburg, PA to Washington, D.C., all on designated bicycle/pedestrian trails. This combination of The Great Allegheny Passage, a rails to trails from Pittsburg to Cumberland, MD; and the C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal Towpath, a canal to trails from Cumberland to D.C., makes the perfect practice route for any aspiring long range cycle tourist.

Leaving Snowshoe, WV we opted to add a few miles and cut north to Cumberland to enjoy the 184 miles offered by the C&O Canal. Along this stretch, there are 30 campsites, most of them free, and plenty of drinking wells to enjoy the local water table. For us this route offered three days of somewhat relaxed riding before reaching the east coast confusion of population. Along the way, we also had the opportunity to visit the Antietam Battlefield and see a few civil war relics.

The C&O Canal, as is obvious in its namesake, was suppose to connect the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio river, creating a shipping lane from the east coast inland. Unfortunately, the construction took too long, and before the canal crossed the eastern continental divide, it was obsolete. The railroads were much easier to build, and more efficient to operate. Riding along the Towpath, it's easy to imagine how close the canal was to it's more efficient sibling; it follows the slow grade of a river, requires relatively little land to operate, and it took a significant amount of imported Chinese labor to build.

The most amazing part of riding the C&O Canal is the end in D.C. For those headed into D.C., the days of isolated sanctuary end abruptly no more than two miles from the White House and the Washington Mall, in Georgetown. Our arrival ended three days of riding on the gravel Towpath sans modern amenities. Needless to say we were dirty and smelly; the storm on the final evening was mere icing on the cake of our hygiene troubles. So, what better way to immerse three travelers into Capitol life than to occupy window space in a corner of the small Subway in Georgetown?

More on D.C. soon.