C&O Canal ride near Frederick, Sun 7/1

[Kalidurga]

ZenC and I are planning to hit the C&O this Sunday for a ride to Harper's Ferry. We're going to meet at The Bike Doctor in Frederick around 11am. The plan then is to head over to either Brunswick or Shepherdstown (Point of Rocks would also be a good option) to begin the ride.

- Point of Rocks to Harper's Ferry = approx 10 miles each way

- Brunswick to Harper's Ferry = approx 5 miles each way, so we could continue on to Dam No.3 or Dargan's Bend boat launch to add some miles, then turn around and cross the river to Harper's Ferry on the way back

- Shepherdstown to Harper's Ferry = approx 12 miles each way

Anyone interested in hoofing it up to Frederick and joining us?

[Zen]

Looks like you're stuck with me

[Velobambina]

Ladies--I think the heat/humidity is supposed to be gone by the weekend, so you should have some good riding weather!
I need to get extra wheels w/'cross tires so I can join you. LOL. Of course, I need a kick in the butt to get me to venture outside the beltway, too.

[dingster1]

Tossing it about.......thinking....thinking.......

Can I get directions to the shop just in case? I only know ValueCity in Frederick cause I'm usually driving right thru to the mountains

[Kalidurga]

dingster, the Bike Doctor is less than a mile from Value City. If you get off 270 at exit 31A and head north on 85, the Bike Doctor is in the Evergreen shopping center on the left. It's the same shopping center as Gold's Gym, Common Market and Burger King, right before you get to Wal-Mart. Here's a map. Very easy to get to, which is why I've been going there so much lately.

Velobambina, this would be way outside the Beltway, but it's oh, so pretty out by Harper's Ferry. The river and mountains are just gorgeous. It could be a terrific day trip!

[HillSlugger]

I'd love to join you but I will be out of town.

See you at Rosaryville on the 4th.

[Zen]

There's gonna be ice cream....ice creeeeeeaaaaaaam

[7rider]

There's gonna be ice cream....ice creeeeeeaaaaaaam

Well, that's almost tempting...
But alas, at 11 a.m., I plan to be done with my ride and back in the air conditioned bike shop - perhaps gnoshing on a hamantashen from the deli next door and sipping a cup o' joe.
Tam and her darned late starts!
Have fun!

[divingbiker]

Oh, I didn't notice the start time. I plan to be on the road by about 8...I've got to get a couple of longish road rides in this weekend if I have any chance of doing a century in two weeks.

hijack--Tam, I did the fitting with Tom last night. I'm getting smaller, narrower handlebars (Salsa Poco 38s) and a shorter, slightly higher stem. He has to order the parts so I won't make the changes till after Cycle Across Maryland. I also got a new pair of shoes, which are noticeably stiffer. And I got some Rock and Roll lube.

[Kalidurga]

Yes, I am glad I've found someone who doesn't seem to mind starting a ride at a time of morning when I'm fully coherent

Well, Zen, it might be just you and me, after all.

[Whip]

Hi,

Sounds like fun. Here are some questions --- sorry to be so anal.

1. Is the C&O Canal paved?

2. What's the total mileage of the ride? (I know you've put some mileage, but I was unclear if the first one was driving distance to the ride start) - Can you tell I don't ride out there much.

3. Is it possible to meet at the ride start instead of Bike Doctor?

4. What approx. speed are you ladies riding?

THANKS! 11am is the perfecto start time - I have puppy duty in the morning.

[HillSlugger]

I'll have to let Kali or Zen answer your questions, but I wanted to welcome you to Team Estrogen and to the DC-TE group. When you get the chance, please go to the "Getting to know you" thread in the Open Topic (cycling related) forum and tell us a bit about yourself.

Where are you from?

Nicole

[Whip]

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for the welcome - I will go to the Open Forum and do that now. In the meantime, I'm from Westminster - so very close to Frederick but still not all that familiar with the area. I mostly ride from home or from Oregon Ridge.

I'm looking forward to participating in this group and maybe finding some new women to ride with.

Susan O.

[Kalidurga]

Hi,

Sounds like fun. Here are some questions --- sorry to be so anal.

1. Is the C&O Canal paved?

2. What's the total mileage of the ride? (I know you've put some mileage, but I was unclear if the first one was driving distance to the ride start) - Can you tell I don't ride out there much.

3. Is it possible to meet at the ride start instead of Bike Doctor?

4. What approx. speed are you ladies riding?

THANKS! 11am is the perfecto start time - I have puppy duty in the morning.

Whip, it'd be great to have you along! In answer to your questions:

1) The C&O Canal towpath is dirt/crushed gravel/rock with the occassional tree root or mud puddle. If you find dingster's "Lordy Lordy" thread in the main forum, there are some links to various sites about the C&O Canal.

2 & 3) ZenC and I haven't nailed down exactly where we're starting and how far we're going to ride. Since it's a rough surface, it can get a little tiring (just ask dingster!) so I'd guess we'll do approx 20-25 miles. Zen, did you have any preference? And, once we decide where we're starting you could certainly meet us there. If you private message your phone # to one of us, we could call you when we leave Bike Dr. The reason we're meeting there is that I'm having my brakes adjusted before the ride.

4) I ride the towpath at approx 13mph when I ride alone. With others, I've done rides with an 11mph and a 9.5mph average, and they were both fun. The faster you go, the less you can chat, so that definitely influences speed. I'd guess this will be a pretty leisurely ride, since one of the main goals is ice cream

If you've got any more questions, just let us know!

[Zen]

My preference is for the longest mileage since it's all flat.
Speed will probably be at the low end of the range since the towpath is likely to be more populated on a Sunday afternoon.
I'm very flexible, though.

Ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream