# Anyone ever ride the C&O tow trail in MD?



## CBar (Oct 26, 2004)

Starts in Georgetown DC and goes to Cumberland MD, about 180 miles. Might try it on the 'crosser this spring. Or the MTB. Seems pretty tame and flat. Anyone here been there done that?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*All the time, what do you want to know?*



CBar said:


> Starts in Georgetown DC and goes to Cumberland MD, about 180 miles. Might try it on the 'crosser this spring. Ot the MTB. Seems pretty tame and flat. Anyone here been there done that?


The best website for info on riding the tow path is bikewashington.org


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## CBar (Oct 26, 2004)

*Trying to figure out which bike to take....*



MB1 said:


> The best website for info on riding the tow path is bikewashington.org


If I go in the spring I'm thinking of taking my MTB. Summertime the 'crosser. What do you ride on it?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*We ride it on all our bikes.*



CBar said:


> If I go in the spring I'm thinking on taking my MTB. Summertime the 'crosser. What do you ride on it?


Lil ol skinny tire road bikes, ATB dirted out, 'crosser with whatever. Now days my favorite setup for long rides on the tow path is my SS 'Crosser set up with really wide tires and 39x16 gearing. Long rides on the tow path when it is wet are a bad thing, all the poop on the path is likely to splash up onto you and make you sick a few days later.

BTW Spring is ok but the Summer or Fall are better as the path is likely to be drier. If you ride from Cumberland to DC all those locks will be 8' drops instead of 8' climbs and you will likely ride a mile faster per hour for the length of the thing.


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## rpiontek (Feb 10, 2005)

I did it last summer over July 4th weekend. It was a great trip, my second tour on a bike. We did it in 3 days, which is pretty typical. We started in Cumberland to get the feeling of going downhill. It makes it fun to get to the locks this way.

We did have some rain and wet trails on the last stretch into DC which made the trail slow going with our fat tire mountain bikes. Would have been a pain with skinny tires. If you have any more specific questions, ask away!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Check out the touring forum*

I posted a bunch of C&O Tow Path photos.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

*Where did you stay*



rpiontek said:


> I did it last summer over July 4th weekend. It was a great trip, my second tour on a bike. We did it in 3 days, which is pretty typical. We started in Cumberland to get the feeling of going downhill. It makes it fun to get to the locks this way.
> 
> 
> > Did you camp or stay in motels on your trip? I would like to do some overnights on the C&O.
> > Thanks


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## Dream Plus (Feb 4, 2004)

*I know some people who did it last year...*



zeytin said:


> rpiontek said:
> 
> 
> > I did it last summer over July 4th weekend. It was a great trip, my second tour on a bike. We did it in 3 days, which is pretty typical. We started in Cumberland to get the feeling of going downhill. It makes it fun to get to the locks this way.
> ...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Paw Paw WV, Hancock MD & Harpers Ferry WV*



zeytin said:


> rpiontek said:
> 
> 
> > I did it last summer over July 4th weekend. It was a great trip, my second tour on a bike. We did it in 3 days, which is pretty typical. We started in Cumberland to get the feeling of going downhill. It makes it fun to get to the locks this way.
> ...


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## rpiontek (Feb 10, 2005)

We camped. Camping is very easy if you have the gear and the means to haul it. There are established camp sites with water and a john every five or ten miles. We used one BOB trailer for two people, plus an extra bag.

Lodging would be easy, too, assuming you've planned in advance your stops. And it would be nice to not have to carry the extra weight. We are always on a budget, though, so camping is right for us.


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

We always motel it for a 3-day ride from Cumberland to Georgetown. The first overnight is in Hancock, Maryland where you can ride across the state of Maryland in minutes. There are a few motels in Hancock. We stay at the Hancock Motel (301)678-6108 where they have a bike wash area and you can lock your bike up right outside your door.

The second night is in Harpers Ferry at the Hilltop House (304)535-6955. If you stay in the annex and not the main building you can lock your bike up on the balcony next to your room. Nothing better than stopping in Harpers Ferry for a beer before climbing that big hill after riding 60 miles on the often muddy, rutted towpath.

Around lunchtime the first day you will arrive at the Paw Paw tunnel. Most of the time we have ridden through the tunnel with lights - you REALLY need lights - but one year I rode over the hill it goes through. A nice off-road change of pace. My equipment of choice was a Bridgestone MB2 with lowriders and running Avocet 1.75 Cross-K's.

Another good source of C&O Canal information is Kathy Biltons site: www.fred.net/kathy/canal.html

K


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## jdavidhobbs (Mar 3, 2005)

*32 cross tires no problem*



CBar said:


> Starts in Georgetown DC and goes to Cumberland MD, about 180 miles. Might try it on the 'crosser this spring. Or the MTB. Seems pretty tame and flat. Anyone here been there done that?


I've done the length of the trail a couple times on 32 'cross tires on a Bianchi Volpe, even one year when the trail was muddy.


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