I left little Orleans at around 9:30. It was a beautiful day. I saw a few cyclists and hikers but not a lot. When I finished the Paw Paw runner there was a group fo 5 or 6 getting ready to enter. They were doing Pittsburgh to Georgetown. They told me that they met a large group going to the Oregon coast yesterday.
I have been through the Paw Paw tunnel twice before and rode my bike through. This time I didn’t feel comfortable riding. I walked my bike the half mile or so through it. It felt kind of good to walk for a bit. It is very dark and damp inside the tunnel. It has an interesting history. If you turn off the bike light I can’t see your hand in front of your face. The lyrics that came to my mind were “… dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew. The dangers is double pleasures are few…”.
At one point, a tree was across the trail. A not so petite WV gal who was fishing offered to help me lift my bike and gear over it. That saved my unloading everything. She told me they helped a woman do the same thing about an hour earlier. By the way they described her, it sounded like Karen from Ireland who I met a couple of days ago. I figured she would be farther ahead of me. We should have exchanged contact info and maybe we could have ridden together some.
In Old Town MD I stopped at place called the School house kitchen and had a burger. It is a school that was closed due to consolidation in 2000. It is a nice building. So now the cafeteria is a small grocery and cafe. There is also an AirBnB in part of it. The owners also uses part of it to restore cars.
When I first walked I saw this old geezer with a long beard who looked like a homeless guy. It turned out he is the owner of the building. He also runs cattle so we discussed the cattle business and how he needs rain. When I left I told we should pray for no rain during the day while ride and a good storm for his pasture in the evening.
Cumberland is covered with cyclists. There are a lot here. It is interesting that there are so many in town but I don’t see them on the trail.
I went past locks 64 ⅓ and 64 ⅔. There is an interesting history to the numbering.
Tomorrow I leave the C&O Tow path and start on the GAP trail. Based on my experience in 2018 I think I prefer the GAP to the C&O. I thought the scenery was more varied. The surface is crushed limestone so if it rains it is not as bad as the C&O.
Good luck Kim 🚴♀️🚴🏻♂️
I think I remember the paw paw tunnel when we did the C &O canal path. I remember a very long dark tunnel anyway.
I thought about that trip as I was riding along the C&O.
Sounds like everything is on track. Amazing you find time to write each night, i think i would be dead to the world by 6 PM. Lewis and clark always impressed me in that way!
Good luck and reach out if you need anything. I’ll figure out a way to drone it in like a modern home teacher. The entries will make a good book one day.
As I am cycling and facing some minor difficulties like, detours and trees that have fallen across my path, I think about Lewis and Clark and the challenges that they faced. I figure mine are nothing.
You’re doing awesome!