C&O Canal Bike Adventure- Day 3 of 3

When we awoke in the morning we had a few choices to make.

Choice #1: Keep our original plan to bike 60 miles that day and camp 15 miles outside of D.C. and continue on home on Friday the following day.
Choice #2: Complete all the remaining miles that day and hope that it didn't start raining until 9 pm per the weather forecast.
Choice #3: Cut across the river on a White's Ferry, which is about 20 miles north-west of our home town and cut down another trail that goes directly by our house (the W&OD).

Looking at radar maps we saw the storm the attendent at the reception desk had mentioned the night before and there was a thick, heavy line of severe storms from south of the Carolina's to north of Pennsylvania. This storm was expected to dump between 2 to 5 inches of rain starting sometime between 4pm and 9pm. Camping and cycling the day before with a half inch of rain had not been exactly fun, 2 to 5 inches was unimaginable (and dangerous due to flooding of the river we were riding next too). With that in mind we decided that we would keep our options open and decide when we arrived at White's Ferry.

I wish we'd had more time at this great hotel as the views were breathtaking and ambience was so relaxing. We re-packed our supplies and left around 10 am after a delicious breakfast.

The jacuzzi was used as a washing machine

The large room was used to spread out our wet belongings to dry

View to the left of the balcony

View to the right of the balcony

Balcony was used to store Rob's bike (I never even sat in one of the chairs provided)

Beautiful infinity pool we never swam in

We stayed in a room in the center building.

Ready to head off for another day of adventure!

Can you tell from my comments above that I have a lot of regrets about not staying longer at this hotel????? I REALLY wish we'd had more time here to enjoy all the various amenities. It's only an hour and five away by car so maybe we'll have to come back someday.

Okay, so enough of complaining and regrets for a little while. I really did enjoy much of the third day. By this point Rob and I were starting to pace each other and our muscles were starting to adjust to the sudden punishment of biking miles every day.

Proof that I enjoyed the trip at times

A beautiful, flat and dry part of the trail.

Cave entrance 

View from cave entrance towards the trail

Just another bend in the road

Taking a break

Full view panorama

Harper's Ferry train tunnel

Another Lock

Another view. Interestingly, a beautiful heron accompanied us for awhile.

Around 4 o'clock we arrived at White's Ferry. The sign posted in the following picture says that only cash was accepted. That was a problem, we didn't have any. I had tried to find an ATM along the path but had assumed that I could get some cash at White's Ferry since the guidebook we had listed White's Ferry as a place where you could buy food (but that portion of it was closed so we couldn't even get cash back after a purchase on a credit card). Just as we pulled up it started to rain and a man comes walking towards us and mentions that there is a huge storm and was wondering what our plans are. Rob and I briefly chat and decide that the wisest thing to do would be to quickly make our way home since the storm was already here. I asked the man if he knew where an ATM was. He looks at me incredulously and asks if I really don't have any cash, to which I replied no. He upbraided me and said that we should always carry cash and retreats to a building and we take shelter under the awning of an empty building since the rain increased substaintially in intensity. At this point we are trying to call my in-laws to ask them to come pick us up but are not able to get through to either of their phones (we found out later that their phones were turned off). The same man we had talked to earlier approaches us in the rain and hands us 4 dollars and asks each of us to do two good deeds in return when we offered to repay him later. Miracle! We found out later that he was the owner of the ferry who just happened to be walking about when we arrived.

 Just as the cars start loading on the ferry it stopped raining for a little while. Notice the break in the ominous clouds.

Loading on the ferry

Riding the ferry across the river. I'm distracted trying to figure out via radar how much time we have before the main deluge starts.

View from one ferry loading dock to the other (VA side on the left & MD side on the right).

Once we crossed the river I tried adjusting the back brake on my bike again. At this point I noticed that the wheel was definitely no longer true (straight) and wobbled back and forth rubbing every half a turn. My efforts did not work and it continued to rub. After traveling a mile or so on a busy road (Route 15) we made it into the city of Leesburg just as the rain started again intensifying by the minute. Rob found a gas station and we took shelter for 25 minutes or so.

Rain intense enough that it turned the streets into small streams.

It again stopped raining for a bit and we decided to try and make it home along the W&OD trail since we still couldn't get ahold of Rob's parents. It ended up raining lightly half the time with a few flashes of lightning but after what we had been through the last few days it didn't seem that bad.

With only 3 miles left I was almost done physically and mentally. The brake rubbing had become worse and it was a constant struggle to keep pedaling. The thought that something might be wrong with the kids (since we couldn't get ahold of Rob's parents) and the fact that we would be done soon were my motivators. We arrived home at 7 o'clock Thursday night. Rob wanted to take pictures to commemorate but I just wanted to see my kids, shower and wear something dry.

My demeanor at the end.

Rob's demeanor at the end.

I think Rob could have ridden to the moon and back.

The kids were very happy to see us. Jacqueline ran the fastest I have ever seen her move and Asher immediately wanted to tell me about swimming, but didn't want a hug because I was wet. :)

It rained a total of 3.9 inches that day and night and caused severe flooding. Weather alerts mentioned that the C&O Canal trail was indeed flooded in many areas and was impassable. Although it was a huge letdown not to finish at that time, neither of us regret the choice we made for safety's sake.

I want to mention another miracle that we didn't know about until the next day. When I took my bike into a shop to have the wheel trued the mechanic pointed out that I had a broken spoke I hadn't noticed. When the shop guy took off the tire to replace the spoke he ended up accidentally popping the tube because the spoke had rubbed through the rim tape and was poking the tube. If I had continued our ride that day I would have popped a tube and had a broken spoke on my hand in the middle of nowhere in the deluge. I could have fixed the tube but don't know anything about replacing spokes.

Was it difficult? YES! Was it an adventure? Yes. Would I do it again????? YES!!!!! It is probably the toughest thing I have ever done physically but I grew in so many ways, including resolve. Also, I now know what to expect.

At some point we are going to have someone watch the kids so Rob and I can finish the C&O canal trail. We only have 35.5 miles left so it will take us less than a day. A few things that will make it easier are 1) We won't be carrying 30 to 40 pounds worth of gear, 2) My back brake won't be rubbing, 3) We know how to pace ourselves, and 4) we are physically stronger.

We're looking forward to finishing it!