 |
| Lock and lockhouse near Rowser's Ford. |
Another fine forecast suggested another fine bike trip and
an opportunity to close the loop, so to speak, on the unridden (by us) portions
of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) and the C&O Canal Towpath. The entire loop from home is about 80 miles,
which is doable, if a tad more than my specified comfort zone (as in pain vs
gain), although Kris was willing to give it a try. Since we had already biked the W&OD as
far as Herndon, and the C&O as far as Great Falls, I concocted a
Metro-assisted plan that entailed the unridden parts, but required spotting a
car at Great Falls for the return. The
plan chopped the total biking distance in half and allowed for some time to
linger in Leesburg—or so we thought.
It must have been mid-morning before we got out of the
house. Kris in the Toyota and me in
truck, we headed for Great Falls, only to get stuck in a long line-up at the
entrance (don’t go to the park on Memorial Day). Then it was back to the house to hop on the
bikes for the downhill glide to Foggy Bottom.
We wheeled our bikes onto the train, but then got booted off at
Ballston, along with everyone else. Track
work was underway and shuttle busses were taking us all to the stations
beyond. We racked our bikes on the bus
and shuttled out to West Falls Church, where a local bus took us on to Herndon. It doesn’t sound like much, but by the time
we were helmeted and ready to ride on the W&OD, it was already three
o’clock. With stops, we typically
average about 10 MPH, so there wasn’t much cushion here for a 40-mile ride that
also depended on a ferry ride across the Potomac.
But first things first. A block into the ride, a strange magnetic
force drew Kris to the bike shop/slash/coffee shop (where she’d purchased a new
saddle last time we were in town), so since she was already inside, she grabbed
a coffee. I snatched an Italian soda. Once we ascertained that we were sufficiently
rested, caffeined and sugared up, we boarded our bikes and pedaled past the
Herndon caboose where some carnival rides were seemingly being assembled on top
of the trail. Not our problem; we headed
for Leesburg. Later, a baby opossum padding
across the trail threatened to chew me to pieces if I got any closer with my
phone camera.
All the day’s delays meant no time to dawdle in Leesburg, so
we continued on to White’s Ferry, by way of a mile or two of busy-busy highway,
somewhat enerving despite a decent shoulder.
Our timing at the ferry landing was perfect and we rolled up behind a
load of 20-something cars and were motored across the river. By the time we could pay our three bucks each
to the guy onboard, the ferry was already tying up to the Maryland shore. The C&O intersects just a few yards up
the road and at 5:45 pm we started our 21-mile downriver cruise to Great Falls.
Historical sites abound along the C&O, but I was perhaps
most intrigued by the story of 5,000 Confederate cavalry crossing the Potomac
River at Rowser’s Ford at night in June 1863.
The surprise move by General Stuart cut off Union soldiers and supplies
from Washington DC. The Southerners
breached the canal and burned nine boats before turning north for Gettysburg and more monumental events
several days later.
Dusk set in during the final few miles of the
ride as wildlife encounters increased, including deer swimming and hopping across
a channel and Canadian geese ambling with their babes along the towpath. The last of the ride was so serene, I nearly had
to pry Kris from her handlebars when we finally reached the truck.
No comments:
Post a Comment