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@hozn 77499 wrote:

That is an awesome bike. What tires are those (and size)?

They’re On-One Chunky Monkeys – 26×2.4.

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I really really wanted to highlight that my bike is purple. PURPLE!

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W&OD west of EFC station is a bit of an adventure. (Admittedly this is just the stretch from the station to Lee Highway)

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I started out trying to be a silly person again, but realized soon enough that my bike had more common sense than me. So I took a picture instead:

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From Falls Church to Tysons: I didn’t even bother pretending that the W&OD was passable, and what little I saw of it (Virginia Ln climb) was under at least 4 inches. Heck, even my surface street commute wasn’t entirely clear.

The Gallows Road bike lane has ceased to exist, for the most part. Traffic was low, but boy, that’s going to be terrifying if the snow hangs around until Tuesday.

All of that said, good golly gumshoes it is a gorgeous day to be on a bicycle.

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Took me a whole two minutes to get the balance just right. And then 15 seconds after the photo for the bike to then fall down.

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I tried to go on the W&OD.

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Made it a whole two feet, even.

Then I decided to ride around on surface streets, and be a silly person. (Which involves thinking “what if I biked right into this big mound of ploughed packed snow?”, and actually following through)

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Oo me me me!

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I’ve come to the inevitable conclusion that all my bikes are just variations of my Fargo. My Pompino is my Fargo-lite, for pootling about and randomly going off-road; my Troll is my Fargo for the apocalypse, and my Fargo is my Fargo for Fargoing.

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@culimerc 76912 wrote:

My thoughts on stretching the mileage up front is that the GAP trail is more well maintained with a crushed limestone surface vs the dirt/mud double track of the C&O. I thought the lower rolling resistance might be where I should put the longer days, even if they were “uphill”.

A valid point.

But!

The GAP’s prettier, so you should totally stop and look at things.

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@Mikey 76884 wrote:

Consider elevation change. I know that the GAP is a relativelly gradual incline, but you do gain some feet from Connelsville going up to Ohio Pyle (crossing Chestnut Ridge). I would error on the side of going under milage (I think there is more in Connelsville/Uniontown area) and then start up the hills toward the devide.
Now, I’ve never done this ride, and I’m only working off of what I’ve seen on maps and blogs, so take it for what it’s worth.

Seconded. My second day from Pitt to DC was from the Roundbottom campground (just shy of Connelsville) to Myersdale (70 miles, maybe?), and even though the trail’s a 1.5% grade uphill, it’s still uphill, and the elevation change feels like a slow bleed on your energy. On the plus side, once you cross the Eastern Continental Divide, the 25 miles down to Cumberland will go by crazy fast (relatively speaking, natch).

@culimerc 76890 wrote:

I’m trying to keep it down to a 5 day tour rather than a six day.

This is reasonably doable. One note: Don’t do big mile days until you hit the continental divide – even though the downhill from Cumberland to DC is hilariously tiny, it’s still downhill. The added bonus of this is that you can take the first two days to get into the rhythm of being out on the trail. (I camped, and I’d not been camping outside of my special ladyperson’s supervision before this; maybe getting into the rhythm doesn’t apply to you)

Another challenge is that the C&O, with maybe 5 miles of exception, is bloody boring. I stopped after 60 miles on day 4 because I’d just had it with the same foetid swampy sameness with identical lockhouses everywhere. You have company; make sure you like them :p

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It’s a wonderful day to ride, even if you did hobble your usual commuter and had to ride the studly-tired bike on the decidedly non-icy W&OD.

That is all. Carry on.

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@dkel 76621 wrote:

Replying here, as this is the older thread…

My trip on the W&OD from Falls Church to Vienna between 10:00 and 11:00 this morning was variable. There are plenty of segments that were damp, but not slick; there are many extended areas, particularly west of Gallows, that were slick. This part just past Gallows had obviously seen a bike other than mine:
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I had no trouble staying upright on the bike at the slow speed I was going (7 mph average over 7+ mi), but when I stopped to take that picture, my feet almost went out from under me. Same thing happened when I stopped for this pic, just past Idylwood Park:
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Unless we get some warming all afternoon, I’m going to be concerned about riding back after 9:00 tonight. If anyone has an update on that part of the trail later today, I’d appreciate hearing it. Also, if anyone can explain why it was easier to stay on my bike than on my feet in all this, I’d like to know that, too!

Just did Gallows to Falls Church. All’s well, judging by the uninterrupted chatter of my studly tires on the pavement.

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@dkel 76621 wrote:

Also, if anyone can explain why it was easier to stay on my bike than on my feet in all this, I’d like to know that, too!

Speaking from my vast experience as a category 3 talk-out-of-my-behind-er, my guess is that your bike tires can cut through the slush to contact pavement, but your feetses can’t, because they’re wider than 32mm (or whatever you have on your bike).

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Some dodgy spots on the W&OD between Falls Church and Gallows, but no glare ice, and it felt like most of it’s turning into slush anyway. The Gallows intersection was still a bit icy when I reached.

All of this is good news, because you can look at all the stuff covered in ice without wiping out. It’s quite pretty.

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