Trip started out great. Avoided the towpath closer to DC by taking the CCT to MacArthur. There’s separated sidewalk/trail for most of the way. Got on the towpath at Old Anglers Inn, and it wasn’t too bad. A few slushy spots around Great Falls, but very manageable.
I was hoping to do around 30 miles to Chisel Branch Hiker/Biker campsite, but parts of the trail were muddy, and felt like peddling through quicksand. So I stopped at Swains Lock. It’s normally fairly crowded in fair weather, but I was the only fool there on this night.
New tent, love it, tried my hand at cooking a steak (and it came out good).
Well it got down to the low 20’s overnight, and that drastically change the conditions on the trail (duh!). The quicksand mud stiffened up and was actually pretty nice. So I decided to take the towpath all the way home.
Bad call. Even though I was treated to riding on a newly opened section, I hit some really bad ice patches. I took the first one nice and slow, and it seemed fine as long as I just kept going straight. Next one wasn’t fine, and I bit it.
Scraped my knee, bumped my chin, think I maybe sprained my thumb? Rode to the next lock and called the wife for an extraction.
A bummer of a way to close out an otherwise enjoyable trip. Lesson learned. Don’t F around with ice on a bike. I knew I should have shelled out for those studded tires…
by KingCaptHappy-LotPP
11 Comments
A wipeout with that might weight on the bike sounds like no fun at all, glad you’re ok
Glad you’re (mostly) OK! Kudos for getting out for an overnight already.
Ice is no bueno. One of my hardest crashes was 50’ from my house. Hit a patch on my fixie and went down hard.
Congrats on the great adventure. Too bad it had to end with a dust off, but it was memorable, eh?
Gorgeous pics. How long does the trail usually take from say Great Falls out to Harper’s Ferry? Do you know if it’s kid friendly?
Which bike & tent is that? Looks great.
Love the tent, I have the same one! Spent 60 nights in it last summer and it still looks like new, nemos the best!
Oh no! My wife wiped out on the C&O on some loose gravel. Busted the derailleur and was limited to 3 gears but made it work!
Thanks for sharing – glad you weren’t injured! Q:where did you get the wood for your fire from? Thanks!
The C&O can be such a rough trail. Went during the summer months and myself, my bike, and all accompanying gear were caked in mud from riding through it over the course of a few days.
Brave to take it on during the winter.
Studded tires are great. Try to get ones from Finland. They are the best. I’m in Toronto and love my studded tires. The Schwabe ones I bought were not very good. The 45nrth tires are better. I can’t find Finnish tires anymore. I first bought Nokias, then Suomi. Now I can’t find any.
Going down on ice is SO quick!