Ride Stats:
Day 5 of 5
Ride Time: 3:01:06
Daily Distance: 31.6
Total Distance: 194.8
Daily Elevation: 671
Total Elevation: 5,759
Ride Journal:
So, today was our final day of riding. I think the guys have had a good trip, they are sooo looking forward to staying in the hotel tonight. I will say, considering that none of them had ever camped before, they did great this week...riding 184 miles PLUS camping 3 out of 4 nights on the trail.
As we were winding down last night everyone was committed to getting up at the crack of dawn so we could get started...and finished...earlier. Well...sometime between tents being zipped up and dawn beginning to, well, dawn on us...their attitude changed. While we did not get a real early start, we did manage to get started a little earlier than we have the other days.
I will say, I quite enjoyed my mornings on this ride. I typically get up around 5:00 a.m., get my coffee and oat meal, then sit in my little camp chair (my one luxury item I carry), overlooking the Potomac River while doing my morning devotional reading. It was pretty quiet and beautiful as the sun began bringing more and more color to the world.
I was expecting the scenery along the ride to be pretty much what we had seen and then get less interesting as we neared the end. Boy, I really missed that one. It was a beautiful ride. I do wish we could have stopped more often for pictures and to read some of the historical markers...not just today, but throughout the ride. But with 10 of us in this group...7 of them youth, any stop turned into a longer than anticipated/planned stop.
Talking with a trail ranger, we did take a longer break at Great Falls...absolutely beautiful. We parked our bikes across from the Tavern and walked. We got to watch some kayakers playing in the falls. Actually, we think that is what they were doing...we could see them launch, go behind this rock island across from us, and then come shooting out the end...but it was still pretty cool.
The bad thing is...my camera battery died...so I did not get many pictures after Great Falls. I was very surprised by how beautiful it was between Great Falls and the end...nothing like I was expecting.
I have been trying to keep the pace for the group at about 10-10.5 mph all week, but today we may have edged that up a bit...and everyone kept up today! I will say, I believe they could do a better job of signage as you near the end. There is a point, right at mile post 1 (I think) where you need to go up and over a bridge to your left and then pick up the canal on the other side, along a narrow path...but there is no sign telling you that. The Canal Explorer app helped.
We made it to the end with basically little problem. But we were not satisfied!!! We wanted to find the "0" marker. The problem is, they do not seem to really want you to find it. It is not near the end of the Towpath. You have to take the Rock Creek Trail for a short bit, then head over to Thompson's Boat House. In trying to do this, I did get plenty of practice doing U-turns on my fully loaded touring bike...a skill that I am sure to need sometime. Anyway, once you find the boat house ride to the end of it and when you think you see some trash dumpsters, take the little trail behind them where you will see a little bridge to this little piece of land with a lone little pillar with a "0" on it. We found it...and we took pictures with it! Our ride was now complete! Except we has to ride back to where the Towpath ended and meet our ride...
Once we found our hotel we went and got some lunch. Once we were able to get in our rooms we enjoyed hot showers...before heading into Washington, DC to the mall. Walking around the mall in the hot afternoon sun could be the perfect ending to a week long tour...or, then again, it may not be! (But I'm glad we went!)
Day 5 of 5
Ride Time: 3:01:06
Daily Distance: 31.6
Total Distance: 194.8
Daily Elevation: 671
Total Elevation: 5,759
Ride Journal:
So, today was our final day of riding. I think the guys have had a good trip, they are sooo looking forward to staying in the hotel tonight. I will say, considering that none of them had ever camped before, they did great this week...riding 184 miles PLUS camping 3 out of 4 nights on the trail.
As we were winding down last night everyone was committed to getting up at the crack of dawn so we could get started...and finished...earlier. Well...sometime between tents being zipped up and dawn beginning to, well, dawn on us...their attitude changed. While we did not get a real early start, we did manage to get started a little earlier than we have the other days.
I will say, I quite enjoyed my mornings on this ride. I typically get up around 5:00 a.m., get my coffee and oat meal, then sit in my little camp chair (my one luxury item I carry), overlooking the Potomac River while doing my morning devotional reading. It was pretty quiet and beautiful as the sun began bringing more and more color to the world.
I was expecting the scenery along the ride to be pretty much what we had seen and then get less interesting as we neared the end. Boy, I really missed that one. It was a beautiful ride. I do wish we could have stopped more often for pictures and to read some of the historical markers...not just today, but throughout the ride. But with 10 of us in this group...7 of them youth, any stop turned into a longer than anticipated/planned stop.
Talking with a trail ranger, we did take a longer break at Great Falls...absolutely beautiful. We parked our bikes across from the Tavern and walked. We got to watch some kayakers playing in the falls. Actually, we think that is what they were doing...we could see them launch, go behind this rock island across from us, and then come shooting out the end...but it was still pretty cool.
The bad thing is...my camera battery died...so I did not get many pictures after Great Falls. I was very surprised by how beautiful it was between Great Falls and the end...nothing like I was expecting.
I have been trying to keep the pace for the group at about 10-10.5 mph all week, but today we may have edged that up a bit...and everyone kept up today! I will say, I believe they could do a better job of signage as you near the end. There is a point, right at mile post 1 (I think) where you need to go up and over a bridge to your left and then pick up the canal on the other side, along a narrow path...but there is no sign telling you that. The Canal Explorer app helped.
We made it to the end with basically little problem. But we were not satisfied!!! We wanted to find the "0" marker. The problem is, they do not seem to really want you to find it. It is not near the end of the Towpath. You have to take the Rock Creek Trail for a short bit, then head over to Thompson's Boat House. In trying to do this, I did get plenty of practice doing U-turns on my fully loaded touring bike...a skill that I am sure to need sometime. Anyway, once you find the boat house ride to the end of it and when you think you see some trash dumpsters, take the little trail behind them where you will see a little bridge to this little piece of land with a lone little pillar with a "0" on it. We found it...and we took pictures with it! Our ride was now complete! Except we has to ride back to where the Towpath ended and meet our ride...
Once we found our hotel we went and got some lunch. Once we were able to get in our rooms we enjoyed hot showers...before heading into Washington, DC to the mall. Walking around the mall in the hot afternoon sun could be the perfect ending to a week long tour...or, then again, it may not be! (But I'm glad we went!)
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