I just completed a bicycle trip this weekend with my daughter along the trail from Silver Spring to Brunswick, MD. In the spirit, hopefully, of constructive criticism, here are my experiences and thoughts...

The idea was to cycle from our home in Silver Spring, MD to Harper's Ferry, WV. It didn't quite work out that way in the end. We nearly got there, but the trail conditions made it more of a chore than I was willing to accept.

We cycled 18 miles along the Capital Crescent Trail, then along the C&O and camped at Swain's Lock on June 2nd. There are water pumps at every campground, but the one at Swain's Lock wasn't working. Fortunately I had a day's supply on the bike, so water was not a pressing need - yet. We saw very few campers on the trail. We only saw one other tent in the campgrounds between DC & Brunswick. Lovely weather and we saw lots of nice scenery and wildlife. Not a big fan of the trail itself though - gravel, pebbles, pot-holes and the occasional mud patch made cycling very uncomfortable, slow and dangerous. I understand the trail is an historical towpath, and clearly part of its appeal lies in its preservation as such, but it would, I feel, take some imagination to honestly describe this as a trail fit for a bicycle. The first day was just 18 miles, and would normally take 2 hours tops, but it took me over 3 hours.

The second day, with the state of the trail getting worse, I almost gave up and headed onto the road to Point of Rocks via Darnestown and Dickerson. But not having brought detailed road maps I decided to stick it out for one more day until we reached Brunswick. I reckon the state of the trail made cycling about twice as difficult and twice as slow as cycling on asphalt. The trip to Brunswick was 38 miles and we averaged about 5mph - about what a cyclist would expect over a poor dirt track (which is what the C&O Trail really is). That, and the lack of any nearby food and water supplies from Great Falls Tavern until Point of Rocks made it a bit of an endurance test. The supposedly potable water from pumps along the trail looked very suspicious - so much so that my daughter pleaded with me not to drink it. I think it was Chisel Branch where I found a dead deer in the canal within about ten yards of the water pump. This didn't exactly fill me with confidence about the water. Shortly thereafter we met a park ranger whom I notified about the deer - she was kind enough to offer us a couple of bottles of water. At Brunswick I cut the trip short and met my wife and we drove the final six miles to Harper's Ferry.

I must admit, I'll not be trying this again until the surface is better-suited to bicycle travel - although I'm not sure that will ever happen. My back just can't take all that jarring, and to be honest I was worried about the bike, since it was carrying/dragging about 350lbs-worth of humans, trailer-bike and equipment. I suppose it proved my bike's ability to withstand abuse, but still, not something I'd ever think of repeating unless I was forced.

It will be a lovely trail - fit even for bicycles - when it's finished, LOL. Hopefully in the meantime, hikers and can get more out of it than I did.

After logging my first 28 miles (Cumberland to Paw Paw) on the C&O in April 04 on a Next brand bike I started into the historical aspects of the canal. This trail defines America in its infancy from the surveys of George Washington through the industrial revolution. I often ride along and imagine the workers digging the trench coupled with illness, feuds and floods. No; this trail needs to be rough to remind the riders of the hard work that went into building and running the canal. Definitely not for road bikes (mine is a full suspension)

On the biking side; the canal is good for biking the total length or just some great day rides for beginners and serious riders. But by all means be prepared to fix things that come up on the trail or depend on the other courteous riders or find yourself walking out. Some sections during week days you may not see any one for 15 to 20 miles other week end days you may trip over bikers and hikers. Since my first ride I have logged many miles on the C&O (some with scout troops) and have enjoyed every one of them.

We did the trail from DC to Cumberland and on to Pittsburgh early this summer. Lucked out in that it was unseasonably hot before and after our trip. The scenery was spectacular. Wish I could say the same for the trail surface. Something I heard repeatedly was the suggestion that the C&O assign sections to various outside groups to maintain, much the same as the GAP. I found myself longing for a full suspension the further we rode from DC. One cyclist claimed the bird watchers didn't want any more bicycles on the trail so they discouraged maintenance. I found that hard to believe. The biggest issue was not being able to enjoy the scenery as much as I would have liked because I was too busy dodging pot-holes. I was quite thankful we didn't encounter any rain while we were touring. Campsites are frequent and nice and over all it was enjoyable and quite the adventure, but the second leg of the trip on the GAP shed a bad light on the first leg. If you need any help on the trail, please shoot me an email!