I went a few years ago. My road bike with fat-ish Panasonic tires wasn’t really robust enough for the muddy puddles on the double track, especially farther up the route. I recommend a hardtail 29er with a locking fork and a light tread to the tires. I usually enjoy road bike on gravel and dry double track, but the regular summer thunderstorms leave the trail a little too muddy for that.
Camping was plentiful, I found space at the sites along the way. Met up with a friend and did the Gap trail.
The mud puddles and constant unclipping led to some IT band troubles and so I came off the trail for a few days, and skipped about 30 miles unfortunately. I will be back!
Dont miss the falls north of DC.
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The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley