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 Bridge across the Potomac This will be my last day!
Leaving the Teahorse Hostel after a waffle breakfast , I rode up then down into Harper’s Ferry. Again I had to squash the urge to immediately leave town across the bridge and get riding again. So I rode around the part of town right near the river. The History Channel crew was setting up again for another shoot. There was certainly a lot of history in Harper’s Ferry with the Revolutionary War and Civil War and the founding of the country. Right now there is only one railroad bridge out of town, but previously there had been at least three. The two unused ones are slowly falling apart. Now nothing is left but their stone piers. Continue reading Day 81: Harper’s Ferry, WV to Arlington, VA (November 18)
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 The C&O Trail next to the Potomac River The rain was coming down as I rode through the gate marking the beginning of the C&O towpath in downtown Cumberland by the park service visitor center. Cumberland is a CSX town and the train horns could be heard at all hours with trains coming and going. The rail lines paralleled the towpath for about half the day. Even when the trains could not be seen they were present with the low throb of the locomotive diesel engines, the clatter of cars on the rails or the screech of wheels going around bends. Continue reading Day 79: Cumberland to Hancock, MD (November 16)
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 The Eastern Continental Divide Waking up to a hard drizzle or maybe rain, I went to eat breakfast at the Sweetie Bakery next to the pizza place I got dinner with the night before. Buying some donuts and a bagel with cream cheese I checked my email and hoped the rain would stop. The rain eased up and was only something between a mist and a drizzle when I headed back out.
Before Meyersdale, was one of the big things on the trail today: the 1908 foot long Salisbury Viaduct. So not to lose elevation, the railroad made a big bridge to cross over a valley. The bridge is narrow — one track wide — which makes it seem even higher than it is. It looks too be about 100 feet off the ground (but probably only 60 or so) and only about 10 feet wide. Continue reading Day 78: Confluence, PA to Cumberland, MD (November 15)
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 Campground near West Newton, PA on the GAP Trail There was a light drizzle leaving in the morning. Not cold but a little chill to start.
The surface of the trail is compacted chip stone. Due to the rain last night it seems a couple miles an hour slower than yesterday when dry. Still able to go about 10 mph. There are also a lot of wet leaves on the trail but they seem pretty stable and I haven’t felt any slipping.
There are little towns every five to ten miles along the route. Most have a look they were started 100 years or so ago when this corridor was heavily used judging by the style of houses. Continue reading Day 77: West Newton to Confluence, PA (November 14)
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 Kansas fields Leaving Hesston, I turned on my audiobook on how the brain works. The only thing I can remember is that he said the average retention of new material is minutes. Seems about right. I remember laughing a few times at his jokes, but not what they were.
It was mostly cloudy or overcast and somewhat warm getting up to about 75 F. The wind in the morning was nearly calm. The day started out with rolling farmland surrounded with trees separating the fields. As the day went on the rolling hills got more rolling, the trees became fewer, and the cows became more. Continue reading Day 54: Hesston to Eureka, KS (October 22)
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