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C&O Trail Day 3: Williamsport to Paw Paw -- 58 Miles (June 2020)

Day 3: Williamsport, MD to Paw Paw, WV

We got dropped off back in Williamsport for day 3 of our journey, the only day in which we were not returning to the comforts of Gary's home in Maryland.  Our destination was Canal Cabins in Paw Paw.  Again, flawless weather for the third day in a row. 

I could feel the fatigue of the first two days early on day 3.  It took me longer to get loose and I wasn't riding as strong. This is to be expected, eventually I did loosen up and the morning session was similar to the first two days except we got a late start.  

At approximately mile marker 112 the Western Maryland Rail Trail begins. This a paved alternative to the C&O that runs for 28 miles. 


This was a much needed respite from the C&O gravel.  I had never biked on gravel for this long before and my estimate is it saps 15-20% of your pedaling power.  Plus my TAINT was hurting.  You don't miss much by riding on it as you can see the C&O most of the time, though there are some older buildings you might want to check out <Gary, provide info>.  It was on this stretch Gary and I traded bikes, which I highly recommend as a way to learn about your set up and what can be improved.  What did I learn?  I'm between an XL and XXL frame, so the next bike I get will probably be an XXL.  There are ways to give yourself options with riding positions without having to swap our your handle bars. 

About this time we met up with a father and son who were on a similar trajectory as our trip.  They started at around mile 100 of the C&O intending to go all the way to Pittsburgh. We saw them off and on for most of the day. 

We decided to stop for lunch in Hancock, MD where we had our second PUSSY ALERT of the trip.  Our initial stop was right off the trail at Buddy Lou's Eats, Drinks and Antiques. Really nice atmosphere there.  Unfortunately we were there one day before it opened and had to find an alternative.

At Buddy Lou's we met a couple of women traveling in the opposite direction. When exchanging small talk it became apparent they were from Massachusetts as well.  Turns out they were nurses who were on a bike trip together from Pittsburgh to DC I believe? Not sure.  One of the women had ridden across the entire US back in 2000 (way ahead of her time). 

Once we realized Buddy Lou's was closed and we had to look around for something else was when we went into a DEFCON 3 PUSSY ALERT.  The closest known open establishment was Hardee's which was right down the street  I was not going to eat at Hardee's for lunch, because I don't trust that place.  It's a recipe for disaster.  End of the day?  Different story.  I wanted to go back to the Blue Goose Deli which was 1.8 miles back, so admittedly that would have been adding 4 miles to the day.  I went on a live excursion to look for spots while Gary went on a digital excursion.  In the end we found a Sheetz and got subs, which was a good compromise. We also went next door to the liquor store and got a 22oz beer along with a pack of cigarettes.  We had a long lunch by the trail, which was probably our best stop.  I don't know how long we were there but we needed the rest. Probably didn't need the beer and cigs though.  During the break Gary informed me on the mating habits of squirrels, which was immediately witnessed with nearly disastrous consequences. 
 
When we got going again we quickly found ourselves behind an older couple.  I passed them first and then heard a commotion behind me, but didn't think much of it as it was pretty minor.  Turns out a squirrel fell out of a tree and almost hit the woman who (understandably) panicked and almost took out Gary!  

I would say our long lunch was a demarcation point in trip in that before this point the ride was relatively easy and after this point it became a lot more work.  It was still enjoyable, but in a different way. Also, my TAINT was very uncomfortable. 

There is a weird gap in the Western Maryland Rail trail which I didn't think much about at the time but stumbled on when writing.  

Indigo Tunnel By-Pass - The Indigo Tunnel is home to eight different bat species. Due to the decline in the bat population the tunnel is closed to the public. Between Mile Markers 24 and 27, the tunnel is by-passed by using ramps to the C&O Canal Towpath. The by-pass is two miles long due to a bend in the Potomac River. The surface of the towpath is for the most part an even hard-packed dirt trail. The towpath can be very muddy following heavy rain.


At mile 140 there is a dive bar called Bill's Place in Little Orleans, MD. 


This is where we had our second DEFCON 3 PUSSY ALERT.   Between miles 140 and 150 both the Potmomac and the C&O become really curvy and you have the option of bypassing 10-15 miles of the trail using roads.  I was not aware of this at the time but evidently this was Gary's preferred option.  I didn't drive from Chicago to bike the C&O and then skip a significant section of the trail.  So we continued on the trail which I later found out was demoralizing to Gary.  I stand by this decision as we would both have been disappointed had we skipped that big of a section. We paid for it later though. 



When we got back on the C&O after the Western Maryland Rail Trail ended the going was more of a grind and my memory is not nearly as accurate.  At some point I ran over a toad and blamed Gary for scaring it into my path. I would say over the next day I was constantly in DEFCON 4 PUSSY ALERT status. 

Between mile marker 145 and 146 we stopped for a break.  Over our lunch break we smoked a few cigarettes...I forgot that when I smoke cigarettes after a long break (I smoke them maybe once a year) they act as a laxative. This is good to know for the future, but a little awkward on the trail.  I had to get off the trail and leave a TRAIL PIE. Fortunately no one came by when I was doing my business and fortunately I had brought some toilet paper.  All-in-all...not a big deal but still kind of funny.  My etiquette was proven to be better than average as the next mile maker some slob left a dump and toilet paper RIGHT NEXT TO THE GODDAMN MILE MARKER.  Oh, and on day one we saw a human turd right on the trail. Overall the trail was pretty clean sans the occasional horse dump.   

I will also note that starting late day two or day three I started having to piss every 45 minutes (at least that's what it seemed like).  I don't remember Gary taking a piss for the entire ride. I would like to think I was properly hydrated but it's more likely I have either really active kidneys (my doctors are always telling my how efficient my kidney numbers are when I have blood work done) or a really small bladder.  Perhaps a combination. Anyway, I've had my prostate checked by a professional...it's fine. 

The last 10 miles of day three delirium slowly set in for me. The milestone for the day was the Paw Paw tunnel and one of the best parts of the trail is the last mile approaching the tunnel on the DC side.  It sort of funnels you toward the entrance and is really interesting from both a geologic and scenic standpoint.

<insert pics>

We walked our bikes through the 3,200 foot tunnel. The Paw Paw tunnel is really a feat of engineering, when you think about when and how it was built it's very impressive. 

Once through the Paw Paw tunnel we were...in Paw Paw where we were spending our first and only night away from the comforts of home life.  We ended up staying at Canal Cabins in Paw Paw.  I put some links down below.  I can't say enough good things about the set up, it is perfect for bikers. They have showers, a bike wash and laundry. They have a really nice fire pit.  The cabins themselves were 

Gary was nervous about the cabins, he kept calling them sheds.  He's not wrong here in that I've stayed in places that were just pre-fab sheds bought from Home Depot and they suck.  But these were nice Cabins made of real wood (they didn't have that particle board smell) with AC, TV if you wanted it, fresh water in the form of a water cooler that had both hot and cold water so you could make coffee with the French Press they provided. They even had decent coffee there (Dunkin Donuts). 

We got into Paw Paw about six.  Gary had been to Paw Paw before so he knew the center of the town was Liberty Gas Station.  We saw the father and son team earlier in the day there. 

We had to ride around a bit to find the cabins and got lost for a second.  It doesn't take long to become immersed in the poverty of rural America and it is very sad.  The two of us stand out in a crowd and we became a bit of an attraction for the local kids (they were monitoring us on their bikes, tracking us around the town).  They were polite though and I have a soft spot for these places.  No matter what your politics are, these people have been abandoned by the US economy and no cares enough to provide meaningful help.  People also make a sport of looking and talking down on them.

We finally found the cabins, which were walking distance from the gas station so shame on me for not checking first.  The cabins were up a slight hill where we had our final PUSSY ALERT of the day.  This was not a very big hill. Now I pride myself on my climbing ability, it's seems to me it's my strongest attribute when biking.  Not this time. I fucked up when gearing and complete lost control to the point where I almost rode myself off of the road and down a grass embankment.  At that point I was thankful to get off of the bike, I had enough. 

We got access to our cabin and cleaned up both ourselves and our bikes.  The spot we were staying had two cabins and one RV.  There were a group of guys (maybe 4-5 in all) staying in the other cabin and an RV that was on-site.  These guys turned out to be part of a riding club out of North Carolina.  

Fortunately for me Gary is much more extroverted. I'm kind of a misanthropic prick, I generally avoid people, I'm not overly friendly.  In other words, I fit right in in Boston but have trouble once I'm south of Philly or west of NYC.  Gary is much more a people person and he socialized with these guys and brought me into the fold.  The were riding both the GAP and the C&O and had done these types of trips before so it was a good learning experience for Gary and I should we want to do another trip in the future, as we won't be able to drive back to his house unless we want to ride the C&O every time.  

The riding groups resident extrovert was Roger (I think that was his name) and he had a lot of knowledge about both biking and the Civil War.  We hung out by the fire pit and shot the breeze for a while.  It was a lesson in fatigue though as I felt like I was only half in the moment. Couldn't focus my thoughts or remember basic facts (names, conversational topics).  I sort of concluded that my fitness level was pushed after 2.5 days of riding, which is a good reference point for the future: Unless I have ample time to train any rides will be limited to 150 mile or I'll have to drop the daily mileage. 

<Gary has their contact info, please insert additional commentary>

Now before we met the other riders we took showers and got dinner at the local gas station.  Dare I say (and I think Gary will agree) that we had the best Steak and Cheese sandwich I've ever had. (Note to Philadelphia here, America's worst major city, your cheese steaks are garbage.  You use too much bread and the cheese whiz is disgusting.  Fuck you.).  This Steak and Cheese was perfectly constructed: steak and provolone as the base, sweet peppers and onions, a little mayo.  Gary had something similar. I'm still pissed I forgot to add mushrooms. Anyway, it was a great Steak and Cheese. 





One important note on the C&O. It gains about 1,000 feet of elevation traveling from east to west.  So it's important to note that even though we may have a PUSSY ALERT or two we did not TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT. Here's the elevation map:




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