jacob, I'll second your endorsement. just rode my atlantis back to maryland from colorado and when people ask best part of the route, I have to say it was the GAP! C&O not shabby either, and is being increasingly upgraded for bikes vs its original footpath intent. and yeah, colorado was kinda spectacular. I believe amtrak will now take you and your fully assembled bike from d.c. to pittsburgh or vice versa; also will drop off in cumberland, where GAP meets C&O. It is a spectacular passage, not viewable by car; also flattish and shady enough I never used sunblock.
On Monday, November 18, 2019 at 1:42:26 PM UTC-5, Jacob P wrote: > > Hey all, > I know it's a well traversed route, but for those of you on the east coast > within spitting distance to DC or Pittsburgh, please do consider riding the > GAP and C&O. I have a few cross country tours in my quiver, but for a > couple specific reasons, this one stood out as an exceptional micro tour. > First being, NO CARS! I am a distance lover (not much for speed unless it's > a screaming downhill!), and these consecutive trails provide 335 miles of > exceptional riding. The conditions on the GAP are near pristine, and > although the C&O is a bit more rough and tumble, it's also an incredible > ride. I've heard a lot of people say that the C&O is a complete mudbath. I > will advocate for November riding -- the leaves cover most the path and the > ground was slightly frozen. Zero mud. > > Secondly, it's a micro tour-able route! I live in Charlottesville and my > buddy in DC. I parked my car in a quiet neighborhood of Arlington, then > pedaled over to a rental car company where we quickly hauled our bikes and > gear to downtown Pittsburgh. Rental minivan dropped off, one night in a > hotel, and we were off. Four and a half days later, we were on the National > Mall in DC. Here are a few pictures along the way. He's riding a Surly > Bridgeclub and and I'm on a 63cm AHH. Notice the goosenecked stem -- I had > to get creative to get this bike to fit me correctly :) > > We camped along the Potomac, spotted Bald Eagles and Red Tailed Hawks, > encountered a few trash pandas who attempted to bust into our panniers. I > rode the entire route in Crocs and second hand wool/reflective clothing. We > are here. And finally, as it should be noted, a good time was had by all. > > Happy riding everyone, > > Jacob > Charlottesville, VA > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/bf3c2c71-9463-4b8c-aff2-8a396ffe8e2b%40googlegroups.com.
