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

[DebW]

As I enter the 3rd week of the cold from hell inbetween coughing fits I think of so many questions about this trip I don't know where to start....

In one of the pix of 2 tents, it looks like one is just a rain fly, not a full tent? Did you carry a full tent but just decide to put up the fly or is that what you depended on for the whole tent?

Zen carried a full tent. I used a Silshelter, which is a rain fly shaped like a tent, or a floorless single-walled tent. I figured I didn't need bug protection in October (would have carried a bug screen to cover my face while sleeping if I did). The Silshelter weighs 14 oz, my poles about 2 oz, and a ground cloth of about 2 oz. The shelter worked quite well. I had lots of condensation inside it the first night, but awoke to fog so that was unavoidable. The 2nd night I had no condensation.

Did you camp alone when Zen took her break? Was it OK - (well I guess it was since you got back to tell about it) but how was it?

I camped alone one night. It was fine. No bears trying to get my food - I hung it well. There was something splashing in the river nearby after dark. I'm used to camping alone.

What kinds of things did you bring and never use? Would you stil bring them again for a 2nd trip?

I didn't get to use my new warm but lightweight Primaloft jacket because it was pretty warm the beginning of the week when I was camping. Would have used it later in the week if I had been camping then. I never used one of the 4 pairs of socks I brought. Otherwise I think I used everything except the 2nd alcohol stove and my comb which I never could find until I got home, and my rain pants. I came home with 3 1-person dinners due to less camping than planned. Ate almost all of my lunch food.

What was the best/most useful thing you brought along? Funniest? Biggest waste of space?

A small 8-9-10 open end wrench. I almost didn't bring this because it doesn't fit anything on my bike (4&5 mm allens cover everything on my bike) but it got used several times on Zen's bike and DB's bike for fender adjustments. The chain tool and fiberfix spokes didn't get used.

Bugs?

Mosquitoes bothered me at the 2nd campsite. They didn't bother me inside my tent, just while fixing dinner and the next morning.

How crowded was it? Were you always in sight of other riders or a couple miles apart? Were the campsites crowded? Did you ever have to go on the the next camp because the 1st choice was full up?

The 2nd night I avoided the campsite before town because it had no water and was already occupied by one person. The next campsite after town had water and was unoccupied, so I stayed there.

Flat tires? Mechanical problems? Did your bikes get totally filthy and need to be hosed down before riding again?

7rider's flat was a leaking patch and not a puncture. My bike came home filthy, but not nearly as bad as my canal ride in May when I was sloshing through mud puddles. We had dry trail all week, so only dust this time.