Andy_K 

The good news is it won't rust, in spite of the mess I made of it.

I enjoyed the trail longer than Neal did today, as in he finished three or four hours ahead of me. How do people live in this kind of humidity?

A few more pics...


@nlerner in Georgetown discovering that he's on the wrong side of the canal and doesn't know how to fix that.
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A restored canal boat at Great Falls

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In spite of what the sign says, the store at White's Ferry was not open. The "no bikes" information was also incorrect.


One of several nice aqueducts along the trail


This aqueduct wasn't so nice and required a detour. The state of this structure had me questioning the safety of the previous 50 miles.


Much of the "canal" is more like a swamp these days


Though forecasts called for afternoon thunderstorms, I didn't see any rain until I pulled into our destination town of Brunswick.

Martinibike

I just happened to buy an old racing bike, probably in the 70s and 80s, on the frame it says Martini Super, using the Campagnolo nuovo gran sport kit. I bought it just because it was very beautiful, I tried to find out without seeing any pictures or information about this bike brand. Is it a homemade assembled bike, is there anyone knowledgeable about this bike who can give me information about the bike. Thank you very much!

Spaghetti Legs 

You might not get much traction in this thread as this is mostly ride reports. Start a new thread in the general "Classic and Vintage" section - look at upper left corner and click. When you have 10 posts you can add a pic.

Spaghetti Legs 

Andy_K and nlerner have fun! Keep the pics coming, I was giving serious thought to coming up to meet you guys yesterday to ride a little but the threat of pre July 4th DC traffic and riding by myself in afternoon thunderstorms dissuaded me.

Today was Stars and Stripes day with a short ride though Mr Jefferson's University. the ride was 11.04 miles with a little American math fudging converts out to 17.76 km. Happy Independence Day everyone!



Mr Jefferson on his big day (on more than one occasion)

bikemig 

36 miles and 1300 ft of climbing on July 4. It was a fine, sunny day but I wanted to wrap the ride up by noon as it is going to be a hot one today. I was sorely tempted to do a half century but I talked myself out of it as it is going to hit the low 90s today.

I took my drop bar Stumpy conversion. I've really been enjoying how this bike rides and handles. The ride had its share of gravel and dirt sections so a 26 x 1.95 tire was perfect. There is some fine non-technical single track not too far from where I live that I plan on exploring on this bike soon.

DQRider 

Yeah, not so independent, I guess. Life in these Dis-United States tends to be less careless and fancy-free than riders of my generation are used to. But that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice Quality of Life. For me, that starts with a Quality Bike. I rode out early this morning on my best bike for a nice cruise around the best parts of my neighborhood. It only seemed fitting, after all...

First stop was Thompson Park, and the new construction which includes chess/checkers tables. It looks like they were serious, as they have space for a chronograph to one side of the board, and a chair for a spectator or referee. Um... this is West Saint Paul, in Minnesota? Not Central Pahk in New Yawk! Let's put it this way: there won't be a line (queue). Maybe I'll try it next winter, if I can find a hearty enough adversary.



Best shot of the day, from an artistic perspective, but not so much from a conservation standpoint.



Some of you may recall that this was a nice dual-track dirt path through the forest. Well, now they have paved it and rerouted it to provide a shortcut to a more widely travelled path through Simon's Ravine. Here's what it looked like last time I photographed one of my bikes here:


...a similar composition, but entirely different effect. I guess they have made it more urban-friendly now. As the old Rush song "Tom Sawyer" put it - "Change isn't permanent, but CHANGE is."

We had a good time here last night. A few shots of the embers:







While I was shooting these photos, a couple of disc golfers happened by, complimented me on the Pashley and we chatted awhile. Then I asked them if they thought one of them could handle my old-school Leica well enough to shoot a portrait of me with my bike. One of them obliged, and he did a great job:



I only wish I had thought to photograph them as well. But my mind was on another track, so maybe next time.

Anyway, I rode away from there and headed for Robert Street, our local thoroughfare. But this morning, with most of the businesses closed for the holiday, the only thing I could find to shoot was this odd juxtaposition of one dinosaur with another:



Situational awareness returned with the sound of thunder off in the distance.



I guess Nature decided to pre-empt our puny human fireworks with with a righteous pyrotechnic session of her own. Time to head back to the barn. Happy Fourth of July to everyone, whatever it means to you anymore...
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curbtender

Happy 4th!

nlerner

I didn’t take many pics on day 2 on the C&O canal path. I started in Brunswick, MD, and ended in Hancock, MD, about 72 miles of unpaved and often muddy path that pretty much looked the same the whole way. I saw lots of squirrels, several deer, a couple of small varmints I couldn’t identify, and quite a few cyclists on MTBs and gravel rigs. I think I only saw one other cyclist donning fenders! I was glad to have them considering the mud and light rain that fell this afternoon. I still need to clean off my bike before heading out tomorrow.

At one point, the path goes right along some cliffs on the Potomac, and for whatever reason that’s a prime area for jet skis, speed boats, and water skiing. I suppose the July 4 holiday made it even more of a thing to do, but the juxtaposition between the 19th century path I was following and the modern hellion machinery was quite jarring. I did try to capture some of that old technology, still standing some 200 years later:




I spotted this grass path that ran alongside the canal at one of the locks. I didn’t follow it, but it looks like something out of a Victorian-era children’s story.

Wildwood 

Good weather continues.
Low traffic on July 4th late morning.
I like my local roads. Mostly. Ban the 16 wheelers and I won't ¿demand? the (impossible) bike lanes.


Even the ‘Slow Guys’ are patriotic. Another old timer, this fella on a Cervélo.


Calfee Tetra I took delivery of in '00 (that's CF from ought ought). Titanium dropouts and BB & head tube sleeves. Couple of upgrades + 1 factory repaint. 3.0 pound frame, in 60cm.


Looky over yonder, that little Red House on the hill. My key won’t work.

Decorated mailboxes.

Then when I get home = a young buck on my turf.

zookster 

Second time out on my 81 Miyata 1000 this evening, after putting on new tires, brakes and bar tape last week. Also first ride with the front Acorn bag I bought from a fellow C&V member a few months ago. I liked using the bag, but will need to do something different for my headlight. Perhaps some cubes on the forks. Not sure yet.



Artistic table and chairs on the Rotary Trail.


In front of the "It's Awesome to Have You in Avondale" mural.


The lights under I-59 were red/white/blue this evening.

bironi

I'd like to jump on that for a flattish spin.

bironi

Today's Independence Day ride of 25 miles with good eats and libations post-ride.
I don't get why we can't set our bikes down, take our helmets off, remove our sun glasses, and put an arm over the shoulder of our cycling friends.
I've been baffled with this for some time.
We are dressed like bike geeks, that should be enough to explain the pic, no?

Andy_K 

Between some steadily worsening saddle sores, general failure to tolerate the heat and humidity, and just plain worse fitness than I realized, I had to make the decision to bail on Neal after part of today's ride.

​​​​​On the plus side, having made that decision freed me to spend a lot of time in Harper's Ferry listening to a park ranger give a talk on Harper's Ferry's role in the latter part of the Civil War. Here he is next to John Brown's fort with Maryland Heights in the background.



One of the things that happened at Harper's Ferry quite a bit was having bridges across the river to Maryland blown up. I'm not sure if this is one of those or just a later bridge that was abandoned (I think the latter), but I really like it.


I stopped to eat some lunch at the Antietam Creek campground.


Despite being really sore and exhausted, I pushed myself to reach Big Slackwater, the riverside area Neal mentioned, because in spite of the aquatic hooligans it's my favorite part of the trail.


Adding to the jarring juxtaposition of technologies is that tucked in a cove along this segment is McMahon's Mill.

bikemig 

You post all these great travel pics from your ride on the C&O canal and this is the best you can do when it comes to your bike? Did you confuse BF with Travel and Leisure magazine?

RB1-luvr

early Saturday morning I rode the RB-1 to the h.s. track on the other side of town to do a 4x 1 mile workout with the running club. I'm not a morning person, but it was nice to be done with my exercising and home by 9 AM.




also, I noticed the bike is in need of a deep clean.

Andy_K 

Sorry, what was I thinking?

Schweinhund

A sign of a loved bike. They don't get dirty if they aren't

JacekM

Two hours on the Gianni Motta bike with my dog and finally some cool water

rustystrings61 

I took my teenagers down to the other end of Edisto Beach for the parade yesterday -




- and among all the golf carts and festooned bikes as this guy, who should have been playing a George Jones song.

This morning I took restored to fixed-gear Raleigh around the island twice. A stop at the 35th beach entrance revealed a deer grazing on the dunes -




- and I got a bike glamour shot while I was at it.




On my second circuit I encountered a herd of SIX deer, including a buck with a serious rack, crossing over from the marsh into a quiet neighborhood. All in all a good ride!

jamesdak 

This morning was only the second time out on the Gianni Motta and I have a bit of an issue with a slipping seatpost to deal with. Otherwise it was a spectacular morning out. Did a little over 22 miles but somehow all the pics I took were of the pink beauty, not the landscape. I would have stayed out longer but I had an "appt" with a guy in town to pick up some old HED wheels for the Softride.

djkashuba 

Amazing wild flower season on the left coast.


7-5-23 by djk762, on Flickr


7-5-23 by djk762, on Flickr


7-5-23 by djk762, on Flickr

nlerner

My third day on the C&O Canal towpath went from Hancock, MD, to Cumberland, MD, @Andy_K’s ancestral home. As Andy pointed out the canal itself is filled in at many points, but the spots still filled with water were often my favorite. Right as I left this morning, I encountered this colorful spectacle:



A little bit further down the path, I made a new friend:


Many of the original lock keepers’ houses are still standing, some of which are available for lodging:


A good deal of the trail the last two days looked like this, and very frequently those dirt paths were filled with mud and water, which made for slow going. Twice I had to stop, remove a wheel, and remove the caked-on mud from my fenders. Andy reminded me that I wouldn’t have had to do that if I rode sans fenders.


Today’s big challenge was the hike-a-bike required to deal with the Paw Paw tunnel detour. It was hot and steep, not ideal conditions for pushing a well-laden bike.


I did get to peer into the Paw Paw tunnel, but through access was blocked:


I did find some paw paw berries as I hiked the trail. Delicious!


And the views of West Virginia and the Potomac were pretty awesome:


At long last, I approached Cumberland, where I’d meet up with Andy:


Pic to prove I rode the length of the canal path!


Tomorrow I start on the Great Allegheny Passage trail, heading to Confluence, PA, then on to Pittsburgh on Friday.

JacekM

Today was also nice

Portlandjim

I have not been riding lately, 25 mile out and back today. Jim Merz

Andy_K 

I didn't ride much yesterday -- just five or six miles along National Highway, which was enough to convince me that I need more time off the bike -- but then I drove in to Canal Place in Cumberland, where the C&O Canal Towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage meet, to greet @nlerner as he finished day three of his trip.

I think my hometown shows its best side here.