Day 95 08/25/22
Everything in me was screaming, no way! That is how the day started, but we did start. Today was all about getting there so we intentionally limited our mileage for my sake. We had to take a detour around Paw Paw Tunnel which was a steep, rocky, strenuous hike pushing our bike uphill.
But when it was time for the downhill all my mountain biking skills came into play minus the lady behind me who was excited with every turn. We made it, whew! It was challenging but also dissapointing because we didn't get to go through the tunnel. The C&O was definately rough compared to the GAP trail but it is very managable. We pulled into Hancock and stayed at the C&O Bicycle Bunkhouse. It was rustic but had showers and bunks.
Sarah and I went out to dinner to celebrate breaking the 4000 mile barrier. It definitely warranted our last chocolate malt!
Back at the bunkhouse we shared our space with a couple of other cyclists and sat around sharing stories. Bedtime rolled around, we locked the gate to the compound and fell asleep to the sounds of thunder.
Rode 34 miles today
Day 96 08/26/22
We said goodbye to our bunkmates this morning. Neil happened to live in Boulder and had his own real estate agency. Sarah says I tend to be direct but I would call it curious.
Something led me to believe he was either divorced or a widow so I asked him. As it turns out his wife passed away three years ago at the age of 44. He was left with two sons and a lot of years ahead of him. He didn't seem like the type of guy that was going quit living but rather press forward as his wife would have wanted. His cycling journey started in Kansas and he is heading to Europe to take in a few countries. Our other bunkmate failed to give us his name but he was in the Air Force. Sarah and I decided to get breakfast at a local restuarant. It was much needed. Went back to the bunkhouse and got on the road. Beautiful scenery today as we rode along the Potomac. It is crazy how many deer jump out on the road as well as turkeys. We have yet to hit one but were not done yet. It would be our luck to kill a deer near DC. We would probably get a few years for that. We stopped to get a pic of the 100 mile marker to our final destination. We are still trying to wrap our heads around how we got here.
How did I do today? Better than the day before and the day before that. We pulled into the Horseshoe Bend campsite along the potomac and took bucket baths with brutally cold water. It sure did feel good for a moment until the humidity kicked in and I am still enjoying the bath. We are still on track to be in DC on Sunday. See you at the finish line.
Rode 47 miles today.
Day 97 08/27/22
Had a couple walk into our campsite around 1:00am with lights ablazing as they set up their tent. No worries it was so humid neither one of us could sleep. We got up and rode to Harpers Ferry. I was once again soaked through and through and needed to get out of my wet clothes to explore the city. We left all of our wet clothes hanging on our bike for the whole world to see. Sarah would have never considered this before the trip but bad company corrupts good morals. As we walked over the bridge we ran into Neil again and he directed us to a place for breakfast.
So much Civil War history here unfortunately the old mind can't pull it up anymore. Both Sarah and I have also come to recognize that we are more familiar with our geography west of Colorado rather than east. Our winter project will be making a salt and flour relief map of America to channel our inner child years. My posterior is starting to recover for which we are both thankful. Our plan is to find ride to Marble Quarrey campsite, 30 miles out of DC and ride in tomorrow. We will post again when we see the face of Lincoln.
Rode 46 miles today.