C&O Canal Towpath and Western Maryland Rail Trail

The day started nicely yesterday. We traveled from our campground to the C&O Canal Towpath in Williamsport, Maryland. When we arrived there was a bus load of children awaiting their tour of the Towpath. The museum there is closed on Mondays & Tuesdays so that school children can visit. A super friendly ranger offered to give us a tour of the museum before the youngsters were ready.

Our friendly guide, Frank, was also a retired school teacher. He showed us a model of the boats that were used on the Towpath, chatted with us about life on the canal, and showed us how freight was moved. A lovely time.

Then it was off to get to the correct side of the towpath. Our current location had us climbing a huge set of stairs, that would have been darn near impossible with the trikes. A short drive away was a parking area at Lock 44 with a rideable bridge to allow us to cross the canal to access the towpath.  After navigating through a sea of children we were on our way. The trees were a riot of fall colors, and the trail was covered in leaf litter. One of the interesting features that has been restored at Williamsport is an aqueduct built across a creek, literally a water bridge over water.

The C&O is another rail trail that is crushed rock rather than paved. This combined with the leaves of fall made it difficult going, because we couldn’t see the potholes. Plus after having completed the Katy Trail, we wanted to indulge ourselves with paved trails. We went a bit less than five miles, and decided to return to the van to find the paved Western Maryland Rail Trail. It runs parallel to the C&O between Big Pool and Little Orleans.

After a brief exploration of Fort Frederick State Park and with helpful information from a park ranger, we found the trailhead. The Western Maryland Rail Trail was indeed paved, and a lovely ride. We did about a 18 mile round trip on this trail. It too had the lovely colors of autumn, but underneath the paving was delightful. We went between 13 and 20 miles per hour the whole time. Paula was testing out her new shoes and pedals; she had a bit of a hot-foot issue after the Katy Trail, so hopefully this is the answer.

We returned to the campsite hungry and ready for dinner and rest. A lovely day.

Our campsite is quite lovely. Here is its view. We spent quite a bit of time yesterday in our lawn chairs staring...

Katy Trail Day 7 — Augusta to St. Charles, Missouri

After breakfast at the Augusta Swan Haven Inn Bed & Breakfast, we headed out. The weather was similar to how we started the ride — cold, overcast, with a chance of rain. Ugh! 45 degrees and a chilly breeze! We had on as many clothes as we had.

As we headed down the hill to the trail, we came upon our California group we’d been leapfrogging. They must have stayed at another B&B in town. They looked colder than we were!

Part way down the trail I noticed a detour sign that our California group missed. We hope they didn’t have to double back too far. We were lucky enough to see a couple walking down the detour road, and they confirmed that there was a bridge out and that we needed to climb the hill, go through the park, and then descend back to the boat dock to rejoin the trail. It was worth it though, as I got my first photos of the day.

Then it was on to more depots. 

As the day proceeded we got into St. Charles just as the rain started. We were glad we didn’t have to ride too long in the rain. We got the trikes into the van and went in to the hotel. Our luggage hadn’t arrived yet, so we went out for lunch next door.

After lunch we gratefully accepted our luggage and all headed for warm showers.

A grand week of cycling. If my trike hadn’t had its hiccup, all would have gone smoothly. Have to have some spice along the way, right?!?

Katy Trail Day 6 — Herman to Augusta

And the day began. We had another fabulous breakfast — baked oatmeal with fruit, and then an omelet with pineapple brats made by the local German butcher shop.

We then rescued our trikes from their storage spot and got them loaded. I was amazed that somehow my dead battery actually accepted a charge, and I ran it today for the first 22.5 miles. I ran at a slightly higher power level to help with my knee, but all seemed to go well thankfully.

 

On the recommendation of some other trail riders, we stopped for lunch at the Dutzow Diner. Hamburgs were great. Boy were we hungry. And then it was on to Augusta.

Once we arrived in Augusta our tour sheet said we had a 1/2 mile hill climb to the Swan B&B. The first pitch was a doozy. Even with e-assist, Paula got stuck and had to turn sideways to the slope to restart. And then there were two more. Thank goodness Paula & I had our e-assist. Poor Sally wasn’t so lucky. I think we have an e-assist convert. She was a trooper though.

Katy Trail Day 5 — Jefferson City to Hermann

Today we leapfrogged the Senior Cyclists again, but also a group of riders from California. It was a long day — 48 miles. And I was down a battery. Don’t know why, but I had one battery that I ran down to nothing yesterday, and was unable to reset it or charge it. Ugh!! So I limped along at level one and was able to eke out the 48 miles. But it was tough with such a heavy trike. It netted me pulled knee ligaments.

Not many photos today, because I was concentrating so hard on make the single battery last.

We finally arrived in Hermann. Here is our B&B, the Captain Wohlt Inn, a lovely historic place built in the mid to late 19th century that has been heavily renovated. We stored our trikes in one of the buildings that is in mid-remodel. I don’t envy the owner — what a lot of work. Grand results though... Paula enjoyed a long hot soak in the jetted tub.

 

Katy Trail Day 4 — Rocheport to Jefferson City with a Columbia Side Trip

Day 4 on the Katy Trail finds us in Rocheport having breakfast at The Yates House B&B. What a lovely place with Conrad and Dixie as our hosts. What a character Conrad is — a great storyteller, and a visionary for being one of the primary catalysts in saving this small Midwest town of 240 and setting it on a path to survive.

Our breakfast consisted of a baked stuffed croissant French toast for the first course and a lovely frittata with goat cheese for the second course. The second course included a peppered bacon, and a sweet potato mango hash with fresh oregano. Dixie is a master in the kitchen. We left this lovely inn well-sated and ready to start our ride.

 

Turns out Paula and I have been to Rocheport last year as we were scoping out the Katy Trail. We never went into the center of town. As we returned to the trail this morning, we recognized the depot and the coffee shop/bike shop building that we stopped at last year.

 

Once on the trail we resumed our eastward setting. Along most of this area is a tall set of cliffs on the left hand side of the trail. At times there are falling rocks signs, at other times we see fairly good sized trees growing out of the rock cracks. On the right is the Missouri River, sometimes large, sometimes small tributaries but ever present.

 

 

 

 

To get to Columbia, we had to take a spur off the Katy Trail. This trail was well maintained and easy to ride on. It was still the crushed limestone surface, but slightly better maintained than the Katy Trail. Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College. 

After a very abbreviated exploration of downtown Columbia, Conrad picked us up and drove us to the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, capital of Missouri. There is an extensive trail washout between Rocheport and Jefferson City from the floods of spring 2019, hence the shuttle ride.

We had a good ride into Jefferson City and got set up in the Capitol Plaza Hotel. This took us a bit, as our trikes wouldn’t fit in the elevator. Thankfully they were able to spend the night in an unused ballroom. 

For dinner we went to the Theo’s Mid-Town Greek Pizza Parlor where they had Dragon’s Milk on draft. As this is one of my favorites, I had to partake. After getting way too full, we walked over to The Red Wheel Bicycle shop to check them out. Paula was able to get a set of replacement pedals that have pins on them. These don’t require a shoe cleat, so Paula is hoping they will be kinder to her feet. The Red Wheel staff was super helpful, and as an added treat, they serve $3 beer. Sally & Paula each had one.

Back at the hotel we relaxed for a bit, but unfortunately sleep was hard to come by. The rooms were too warm, and the AC had been shut off in rooms for the winter. Crazy! Ah well, we’re in another B&B tomorrow...