PC_DryRun4

Dry Run 2: Day 2

9 May 2004
Harpers Ferry, WV to Glenelg, MD
59.8 miles, 4h59m, 12.0 mph
Elapsed Time: 7h05m, Max speed: 42.7mph
Total Climbing: 2972ft, Max elevation: 864ft

The campground was quiet at about 6:45am when I got up. Soon JT was also stirring and we broke camp. We ate whatever we left over from yesterday, for me that was a couple of low-carb energy bars and some "fitness water." By about 8:30 we were on the road.

I remembered riding up the National Park's shuttle road in the past and thought that we could ride down that way and avoid the traffic, so we rode over to the visitor center and paid the $4 park entry fee. We rode through the parking lot to where I thought the secret road was and found the Park Service maintenance shed. Puzzled, we rode back to the entrance booth and asked the ranger. She said we had to ride down the public road--we were only allowed to ride the shuttle road if we were going uphill. So we just rode down US340 and turned off before crossing the Shenandoah River and back into downtown Harpers Ferry.

Looking down the Potomac from Harpers Ferry

We hung around for a little while and then pedaled back across the bridge and humped our bikes back down the stairs and onto the C&O Canal towpath.

The path was mostly dry and there were few people about early on a Sunday morning. We stayed on the towpath through Brunswick and on to Point of Rocks--about 15 miles. I relived some of the intense boredom I'd experienced on previous towpath rides. But it was better than climbing over Catoctin Mountain.

The C&O Canal Towpath

In Point of Rocks we stopped to have a snack and pick up some sandwiches to eat later. We talked to the guy who runs the little store. He said that business was very good, but he was worried about the inevitable floods, which would certainly drown his business someday. The last major floods were in 1996, when the area flooded twice--once from a quick melt after a winter storm, and again after a hurricane.

After our snacks, we climbed away from the river and onto the plains south of Frederick. Then we had to face the Sugarloaf Mountin ridge. Rather than climb on MD80, which would be a long hill with heavy traffic, I figured we could climb on Flint Hill Road, which had almost no traffic. The climb ended up being very long and very steep--reaching 16% at the steepest part. We wheezed for a while at the top and moved on to Urbana, where we sat on the ground between a 7-11 and a cemetery and ate our lunches.

The day was hot, with temperatures reaching the high 80s, and there was very little breeze at first. Later the wind picked up and was usually in our faces. We chose a different route from Urbana to Damascus in order to avid the dirt roads, so instead we were constantly climbing and descending small ridges. By the time we reached the Burger King, we were hot and tired. After a couple of large iced teas, we began the last leg.

The rolling country of northern Montgomery County

I had called my wife from Damascus and Linda was supposed to meet us in Glenelg with the car. We were still several miles away (in the middle of a climb) when she called to tell us that she was waiting. There was plenty of time so she went out to a store and bought some water. She called again when she got back to Glenelg (once again during a climb), but we were still a few miles out. Finally, we rolled into the parking lot and loaded up.

I think we learned a lot on this trip, but I can't remember what. There was something to do with sleeping and something about getting compression bag for my sleeping bag. It's all about putting bags in bags in bags. Yup.

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