Pedaling the C & O Canal for PanCAN
Mission Accomplished
Cycling from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC- 184.5 miles
June 24th- 25th 2006
Mike Thron, Brian Bartell, and Chuck Franklin would like to thank everyone who has supported us throughout the planning and implementation of our slightly epic journey. Along the way, or friends and relatives and complete strangers contributed $5,735 to PanCAN, shattering our goal of $3,000 and helping to make it even more difficult to back out at the last minute.
With the help of everyone who provided us with mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial assistance, we did it. Last Friday we had 184 grueling miles ahead of us, and we knew it would be a fun and interesting challenge. And we were not let down.
Despite the fact that the weather men were unleashing forecasts with words like "heavy rain", "torrential downpours", and "widespread flooding", we still managed to talk Jane Irwin, John Kessler, Scott McGill, Tim Morris, and Tom Hiel (who decided to join us the day before we set out) into joining us. From the moment we boarded the shuttle for our jumping off point in Cumberland on Friday evening, we knew we were committed. Like many people who have traveled through western Maryland, I had never left the overpass that looms over Cumberland and stopped in the town before last Friday. I had always viewed it as a little piece of Baltimore scooped out and dumped on the banks of the Potomac River and left to rot. What a surprise to see a downtown full of people, live music on the streets and an Italian restaurant right out of the old country where we loaded up on carbs for the big ride. The fun atmosphere and some really interesting people made the night in Cumberland a time to remember.
Saturday morning we awoke to rain. By the time we left the hotel lobby at 6:30 AM, however, it had stopped. Anxious, and with crossed fingers, we loaded up on donuts at the only open shop in the downtown area and headed for the trail. The towpath, or trail, runs 184.5 miles from Georgetown, DC to Cumberland along the remains of the C&O Canal. On the Cumberland end where we started, the trail begins as a brick path in a mall type place called Canal Place. The brick path quickly gave way to a well-graded gravel path, which in turn became a seemingly never-ending series of muddy puddles from the previous night’s rain. Less than an hour into the ride, everyone who was not savvy enough to put fenders on his or her bike was caked with an even layer of gray mud. Shortly before we stopped for a lunch of Steak Salad (a garden salad with shoe leather steak strips and french fries) at Bill's Place in Little Orleans, the mud ended for the day. The rest of the day was spent on a fairly dry path and against all odds - no rain. The view of the trail - canal on the left river on the right - was altered only by sightings of western Maryland's infamous supersize squirrels, extremely fertile turkeys, and other odd sightings that made our little adventure more like an unpublished Narnia adventure.
Paul Thorson was kind enough to be our official trip Sherpa, meeting us at the slightly scary McMahon's Mill Campground. Warm showers, cold tasty beverages, and a meal fit for kings (graciously prepared and packaged specially for the trip by Steve Logan) helped make the made for B-grade horror movie setting fade to the background. We said farewell to Jane, who was smart enough to plan to make only half the journey with us and had a warm muggy night of sleep.
Sunday morning also greeted us with rain, although very light. By the time we bid farewell to Paul and his fearless accomplice (and son) Evan, the rain had ended and we foolishly headed back to the trail with high hopes of another dry day. Besides an hour or so of light to moderate rain, the horrendous rains never fell on us. They fell the night before. And they turned the trail into an obstacle course of puddles and potholes. By the time we rolled into Point Of Rocks for lunch, even those with fenders were covered head to toe in mud of varying colors, each of us a walking Pollack masterpiece. And then it got worse. The trail section between White's Ferry and Violets Lock has no gravel and was a constant slug through two to six inch deep mud the consistency of peanut butter. As we neared Washington and more people passed us on the trail, the sight of seven stinking men covered in mud caused mixed reactions. Most people avoided us at all cost, some laughed, and some scoffed. A young mother shielded her children's eyes to avoid painful emotional scarring. After a quick rinse with the hose at Fletcher's boathouse, we rolled into Georgetown at 5:30 and staked out a group of tables outside at Nick's Riverside Grille. Just as we began to eat our post ride victory meal, mother nature showed us what we had avoided all weekend. And we sat and ate in the driving rain, huddled together under umbrellas, a stinking mass of muddy, tired, bombed out humanity.
We would like to give special thanks to a bunch of people. First and foremost, our wives for putting up with us throughout the planning stages and retrieving us at the end of the ride. The good people at PanCAN who worked with us along the way and helped drum up more sponsors. Beverly Barth for post ride beers. Our waitress Sunday evening at Nick’s for serving us food and many beers in the downpour. Cheryl Kaiser for her support and hooking us up with Mrs. O’Leary’s (who also raised $1,400). Everyone who contributed to our fundraiser - too many to list - you know who you are and we really appreciate it. Paul and Evan Thorson for making the trip much more enjoyable by coordinating our camping Saturday night and preparing our meals, and Steve Logan for preparing and packaging the best chicken chili and rice meal we could ask for. And most of all, we want to thank our fathers for helping make us the people we are today.
Here is a link to some good photos of the trip:
Photos
Before
After
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