Riding the C&O Canal Bike Trail

[97CSI]

Making plans to meet some folks in Washington, DC this spring. After some museum hopping and food our plan is to take a day to ride the C&O bike trail to Harper's Ferry. My friend will be using his X-bike with 32c tires, which should be fine. Am wondering if my road bike with 28c Conti Top Contact tires and my climbing gearing (50/40/26 front & 13-29 rear) will be adequate? Can always take the MTB, if need be. Thanks.

[xjoex]

You could ride 28c's on your road bike, but really you are going to get beat up. My buddy rode 28cs on his road bike:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Jz4f840sc_c/SFcOb32i23I/AAAAAAAAAqg/KUwqRU7yidA/s400/100_1865.JPG

But he was hurting. Once you get past great falls about 10 miles outside of DC it gets a bumpier. Its not rocky, its just bumpier and has the occasional roots.

I rode a cross bike and it was fine.

Gearing does not matter at all, there are no hills, literally its totally flat.

Pics from the rest of the ride (http://robonza.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html)

-Joe

[rwsaunders]

My friend took his Scout Troop from Ohiopyle to DC on the Canal last year for a five day trip. They had a mix of cross bikes, mtb's and hybrids. They loved every mile of the trip, as they had a support crew prepare the meals and set up camp every night.

He did suggest fenders, as the dust can be pretty heavy and the mud can be a pain, depending upon the weather conditions.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . who does a week long ride on the C&O with some DC buddies of his every spring. He and his wife generally ride their MTB's and pull BOB trailers. I've got an e-mail in to him on your behalf and if I hear back I'll post his advice. If the weather is nice they have a great time. If it rains they still do the trip, but I never hear the end of it for the rest of the summer! :rolleyes: ;)

And xjoex . . . really nice write-up and pics of your trip! But I'm pretty sure that my buddy and his friends take 5 or so days to do the same distance you did in 2, so it's a much more leisurely pace. They camp at night and haul everything in the BOB's.

BBD

[97CSI]

Thanks to all for the responses thus far. I did the 'rails-to-trails' ride on Bike VA last summer on a set of 25c 4-Season tires and thought they were excellent. The 28c Top Contact touring tire should be much better. Any one else have any additional insight, please don't hesitate to comment.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and seeing the condition that some of that trail is in, I don't think I'd do it on anything less than an MTB with big fat semi-slicks, especially if I had to carry panniers or tow a trailer.

BBD

[PaMtbRider]

I think you will be fine with the 28's. I have ridden the trail from cumberland to D.C. a few times on different bikes. A cyclocross bike or mountain bike with 1.5 tires works really well. For an afternoon ride with no extra gear I have used a road bike with Michelin Pro2 25c tires. I found the road bike gave me more hand positions then the mountain bike and actually prefered it for overall comfort.

[Lifelover]

I would suggest searching the Mid-Atlantic (http://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=64) forum over at RBR.

If you don't find what you need, send a PM to MB1. He is a Mod at RBR and lives and rides daily in and around DC.

[Dustin]

I lived in DC for 5 years and used to ride C&O quite a bit.

You can ride it with 28s, but it won't be that fun after a while, especially once you get a bit out of DC. Your hands and wrists will take a beating. I always used to ride it with 35s, and those were about right for longish stretches. I'd run 38-40s if I were riding the whole thing.

[palincss]

Making plans to meet some folks in Washington, DC this spring. After some museum hopping and food our plan is to take a day to ride the C&O bike trail to Harper's Ferry. My friend will be using his X-bike with 32c tires, which should be fine. Am wondering if my road bike with 28c Conti Top Contact tires and my climbing gearing (50/40/26 front & 13-29 rear) will be adequate? Can always take the MTB, if need be. Thanks.

You ceretainly don't need climbing gears on the C&O towpath. You don't need an MTB either, although 28mm may or may not be wide enough. For sure, you'd be much happier with 32mm or even 35mm.

Of course, if you plan to ride in the countryside around Harpers Ferry, you most definitely WILL need your climbing gears. I owned my first tandem for 8 years, and in all that time we had to get off and walk maybe 8 times. Five or six of them were on Harpers Ferry Road, just upstream of the railroad bridge that connects the area by the Towpath with Harpers Ferry.

[SamIAm]

I actually did this trip as part of a Pittsburgh to Williamsburg ride a couple of years ago. I used 32's and found them to be adequate, if a bit sketchy in certain muddy sections. Fenders were an absolute must for me. Mud flaps on the front fender kept the drive train reasonably clean.

My take aways from the trip were that I would never get on the C&O again, nor would I ever go to the dreadful town of Harper's Ferry again. Your mileage may vary.

[BumbleBeeDave]

"I would tell this person that they are in for a very bumpy ride on either a cross bike or a road bike. Although the trail is nice and flat from DC for about 20 miles from 20 miles to Harper's Ferry it can be quite rutted, rooty and uneven. Furthermore if it is wet the trail gets very soft in this area. I would recommend a hard-tail mountain bike with semi-slicks. Unless this person wants to suffer for 50 miles, then I would say go for it on a road or cross bike."

He's ridden it multiple times, so I'd go with his advice.

BBD

[xjoex]

.
And xjoex . . . really nice write-up and pics of your trip!


Thanks Dave.

-Joe

[97CSI]

Sounding more and more like the MTB is the correct bike if one doesn't know exactly how dry, etc., the trail will be.

[billrick]

You can ride it with 28s, but it won't be that fun after a while, especially once you get a bit out of DC. Your hands and wrists will take a beating. I always used to ride it with 35s, and those were about right for longish stretches. I'd run 38-40s if I were riding the whole thing.

I ride the C&O almost weekly and Dustin sums it up nicely. I can do short stretches on my road bike, but hand numbness gets to be an issue on long rides due to vibration and static hand position. Also, you will totally zone out due to the beauty and monotony, and that is always when I hit the unexpected bumps/ruts. Bigger tires do help.

My all time fave C&O bike is a fixed gear with 650B x 2.3 tires. The canal is FANTASTIC for fixed gear bikes, if you have one.

:)

[markie]

I kived in DC for seven years and rode along the canal quite often.

I rode the the whole thing (over 3 days) on an MTB, but I did a lot of 100 mile or so trips on my fixed cross bike with the 32mm Ritchey Speedmaxes. The cross bike was a much better choice for going faster and lighter. The MTB was fun for goofing around.

DC-Harpers Ferry-DC is a long trip for a day ride. I remember it almost killing me. (It rained heavily as I was pulling out of Harpers Ferry to return to D.C. I got almost 135 miles that day....)

We also did DC along W&OD-Whites Ferry-C&O canal-DC. That was a fun 70+ miler.

[97CSI]

Only doing a one-way trip.

My take aways from the trip were that I would never get on the C&O again, nor would I ever go to the dreadful town of Harper's Ferry again.What's wrong with Harper's Ferry. No food or drink? Thought it was a bit of a tourist town.

[rwsaunders]

Only doing a one-way trip.

What's wrong with Harper's Ferry. No food or drink? Thought it was a bit of a tourist town.

http://harpersferry.roedeo.com/harpersferry/?page_id=368

[palincss]

http://harpersferry.roedeo.com/harpersferry/?page_id=368

It's bad because there are many places to eat? Not sure I understand that.

You don't have to go to Harpers Ferry. You could go to the Cindy Dee Restaurant on the Maryland side. If you like classic diner food, it's as good there as anywhere in the country. (Or, you could go to the store at Sandy Hook and buy fixings: buns, live bait, probably cocktail weiners in little cans.)

[SamIAm]

Only doing a one-way trip.

What's wrong with Harper's Ferry. No food or drink? Thought it was a bit of a tourist town.

I went through Harper's Ferry with a group of 8 or so 2 summers ago. We arrived around 6:00 and by the time we had checked into the dilapidated Hilltop Hotel (Outstanding views though), we went in search of a place to eat and grab a beer. The entire town was essentially closed and we ended up being directed to a 7-11 for dinner and a six-pack. Ended up at a dive of a tavern with horrid food.

Woke up the next morning and went out in search of a good cup of coffee. Streets were deserted, nothing open. Ran into a few others that were in search of the same. A local directed us to, you guessed it, the 7-11 again.

Did have a wonderful breakfast at a diner, located near the 7-11. As I said, your mileage may vary.

[zap]

Shepherdstown is not far away and has some pretty good restaurants with great beer and perfectly acceptable wine.

Great roads around there too.

[rwsaunders]

Shepherdstown is not far away and has some pretty good restaurants with great beer and perfectly acceptable wine.

Great roads around there too.

+1 on Shepherdstown.

[billrick]

+2 on Shepherdstown. Maybe 4 or 5 miles further up the canal (a beautiful section, too) and it is a different world. Good bakery and restaurants. And it is a university town so you will find places stay open past 8 pm.

:)