C & O "cannot"

Since we moved to DC, Jake has had an obsession with the C&O canal (http://www.nps.gov/choh).  We've walked/hiked along parts of it in Georgetown and Great Falls Park.  I did a good four-mile walk just after my due date in an attempt to induce labor.

He planned an adventure with his dad and family friend, Bob Scanlon: to bike all 184 miles of it over three days this past weekend.  After one day and night on their own, Jake's brother Patrick, mom, Janet Scanlon, Sophia and I would be the support vehicles.  We would head out Saturday morning to explore the countryside around the canal and meet up with the guys Saturday night in Hancock, MD and Sunday afternoon in Cumberland, MD.

Well, it rained the week before the trip.  Jake had surgery on his neck and hand and still had stitches. Papa John has bad carpel tunnel.  None of the guys were able to get much training for the trip in.

Friday dawned clear and sunny.  Bob took the metro to our house in time for a feast of bacon, eggs, muffins, and fruit.  I left for work as the guys were setting off in good spirits and biking through rush hour traffic to the start of the canal in Georgetown.

The ride that started clear and sunny soon became much different.  First, they started slogging through saturated gravel and mud and tree roots.  Gear, bikes, and men became covered with mud and water.  Right when they decided to take a break at a store in White's Ferry, the skies opened. Thunder. Lightening. Gigantic, fat raindrops.  In could have been worse; they later met three guys who got stuck in this downpour and took shelter in two port a potties (do the math), which a tree then fell on.

This was when the tired, wet group decided to bail on the canal and ride to get Bob's car. They made it to Poolesville, before Papa John decided to sit with their gear and wait for the return car ride.  Bob and Jake had ridden about 16 or 17 miles from White's Ferry when they pulled over and waited for a ride from Bob's daughter, Kelly.  They left Montgomery County for the first time on the drive to Harper's Ferry, arriving there tired and hungry at about 8:30.  Luckily, the hotel clerk called so the "late restaurant" in town could keep the kitchen open so they could eat dinner.  Over dinner, they decided there would be no more bike riding for the weekend.

The rest of us drove up to Harper's Ferry Saturday and had a great time exploring the park.  Instead of going to Hancock and Cumberland, we returned to Olney and hung out at the Scanlon’s.  Beer was drunk, games were played, and a good time was had by all!