How'd the C&O Canal ride go, ladies? Pictures?

[7rider]

Wow. Done.
What an awesome trip!
All went well. Only a few minor mishaps...nothing major.
We all survived...and to quote DivingBiker "And I didn't even get annoyed!"
Great time, fer shure.
Pix and details will come soon. Much unloading, unpacking, and cleaning to do now.

[Zen]

Only a few minor mishaps...nothing major.

I fell standing still at the corner of Connecticut and L street

to quote DivingBiker "And I didn't even get annoyed!"

I did.

I got annoyed at myself for not riding on that Brooks enough to know it would NOT work for me. And for not training fully loaded. And for not packing sooner.

Here.
View this as a slideshow.
I spent an hour cropping and fixing these and it doesn't show here. Extra bonus annoyance points for them being all out of order and i've already wiped my memory card.
Now I'm annoyed again.
I'm tired.
http://picasaweb.google.com/zencentu...76538211055906

[redrhodie]

Wow, gorgeous pics.

[divingbiker]

Thought I'd quickly post a few pictures before my internet goes out again.

The four of us at the a$$ before Zen and Deb take off to camp the night before the ride started.



Deb and 7rider on the trail



Lock gates near Great Falls



Another lock gate



We made it!

[Zen]

Condensed trip-

[7rider]

Well, shoot. Looks like we all took pictures of the same things!
I'll try to add some new shots here.
Here's a link to a few more: http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z...analTrip_2008/

Here's our trip chariot. My DH got pressed into driver duties. We took my Escape to Cumberland: 5 people, 4 bikes, and all our gear.


The road west:


Early morning mist over farmland:


Entering the Paw Paw tunnel:


In case you wonder what a paw paw is...it's an edible fruit found on local trees of the same name, and it looks like this. They are very good, too.


Here are DebW., DB, and myself at Harper's Ferry:


DB saying hello to the locals on the road-detour:


And, well, you'll have to go look at the first link to see the rest.
I'll likely add more as I get around to it, so check back every so often.

[amithereyet]

Those pictures were incredible! I wish I could have been there with you to see the sights in person via bicycle.

I can't wait to hear stories of the trip. Despite Zen's statement about not training enough, she looked none the worse for wear at the end. In fact, are you sure that you rode the whole way on bicycles?

It is great that DB went almost a week without being annoyed. I'll have to try that some time.

[DebW]

I made it home about 7 pm (for you mother hens). Great pictures, guys. Why didn't someone tell me to pull my arm warmers all the way up at MP0? DB if you could tell me that I had a big pink a$$, you could have told me that. You guys were great. I had a fantastic time. Haven't looked at my pictures yet, but I weighed my gear and it was about 32 lb total.

[Zen]

Despite Zen's statement about not training enough, she looked none the worse for wear at the end.

That's because I pooped out at mile 80 and took two recovery days.

They left me here for the buzzards-

I joined them refreshed and re-saddled for the last 22 miles.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought a Bontrager saddle could feel so good.