Robin Garnet, Rick Hagen, Alan Kurzweil, Denny Miller, Lisa Petersen, Janet Shipko, Thomas Short, Catherine Ade, Ron Altemus, Linda Bankerd, Sue Gunter, all Oxon Hill Bike and Trail Club (OHBTC) members joined me, Sherwood Byers, Sr., Ride Leader on a great ride to Great Falls.
The weather was gorgeous. It was the perfect day for a tour. Once on the pedals after the briefing of the ride and a group photo, the ride went at a touring pace with regrouping stops along the route. Regrouping at Washington Harbor a photo was taken before our next regrouping at Fletcher's Cove. this is the point where we exited the Capital Crescent Trail to ride the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O). The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called "The Grand Old Ditch", operated from 1831 to 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, DC and Cumberland Maryland.
Trail is 184.5 miles with 74 locks and a maximum depth 6.004'. Our ride was only 11 miles or roughly 5% of the trails maximum distance.
Great Falls is a series of rapids and waterfalls on the Potomac River 14 miles upstream from Washington, DC., on the border of Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virginia.
The ride was not without its share of challenges. Besides the trail being what some trails are "Bumpy" a major undertaking of a repair at mile 11 there was a three quarter mile detour to make a major repair to the trail structure. The detour was soft to very muddy surface in some spots of mulch. For some of the riders this was not an easy undertaking. But, this was good. It allowed those who have not gone on fully unsupported tours to get the knowledge and feel of the unknown.
Once we arrived at Great falls and the visiting the views of the falls and rapids, there were requests of another route back (Many did not want to revisit the detour) and a possible visit to Glen Echo Park, a once very popular Washington, DC area amusement park.
One rider decided to turn around at the falls overlook and return via the canal path while the rest of the group continued after the overlook visit to the visitors center. While at the visitors center some got food from the vendors before the return. Most of the group decided to return via MacArthur Boulevard. There were some that returned via the path due to not wanting to climb the very long hill out of Great Falls to MacArthur Boulevard. Later during the return the group did reunite where we all made a rest stop at Glen Echo. From there the group split only to come together again and all returned together. There were no mishaps reported to me. The AMS was a modest touring pace.
Thank you to all who toured with me . It was a truly great day of riding.
Sherwood, Ride Leader
