Gap and C & O

[Psycler]

I am hoping to ride the Gap and C & O in Sept. This will be my first self-supported ride. I am planning on camping the whole trip. I have a lot of the equipment, I just haven't carried it all myself yet.
For touring I have a Jamis Aurora. I have done a couple of day rides on the Gap before with it, but I have read over and over again that the C & O is much rougher.
I am hoping someone can give me some good advice as to whether I can put 700 x 35's on the Aurora or if I have to borrow my daughters hybrid. I would really like to stick with my bike. It was bought for the purpose of touring and it seems a shame if I have to borrow a bike for my first self-supported tour. But at the same time I want to enjoy the ride and not regret it afterwards.

So, does anyone have an opinion on which bike to use?

[ny biker]

I don't know the answer to your question; I've only ridden the towpath on my mountain bike.

But I wanted to mention the towpath yahoo group, if you haven't found it already. You can get lots of information from the folks there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coTowpath/

Good luck!

[owlice]

+1 on the towpath yahoo group; lots of good info there. Also read here: http://bikewashington.org/canal/ I found both resources valuable when planning my C&O tour a few years ago.

The C&O is much rougher than the GAP; you'll want wide tires for it.

[Psycler]

Thanks.
I have spent the last few hours reading posts from others who have had similar questions. I have also checked out some videos on Youtube.
From the looks of it, it will depend on the kind of summer we have.
If it is dry and I have my heart set on my bike, I can do it with the wider tires.
However, if it is a wet summer, I should seriously consider using my daughters.

[AnnieBikes]

My husband did the whole thing in May 2009 and he was riding 700 x 32. You will not have any problem on 35's. Go for your favorite Jamis!! He has a journal on crazyguyonabike. Here is the address...
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/2009Retirementride

Good luck and use the bike you are comfortable on!

[Psycler]

Thanks Annie,

I read your husbands journal. It was very enjoyable. Seeing how much rain he had to ride in, I am definately more encouraged to ride my Jamis.