Leah, You did it the hard way -- uphill to Pittsburgh! That climb out of Cumberland in rain must have been tough. Going the other way in good weather is a hoot -- 15+ miles of glorious downhill with some wonderful views. Delighted you've caught the bike touring bug -- in my experience it never goes away (thank goodness!).
In good weather the C&O is great, IMHO -- alongside the Potomac river, with lots of biker and hiker only camping/water stops (drinkable but iron-heavy), and neat little towns (sometimes a mile or two away, but easy to explore) and lots of history. the surface of the C&O is rougher in places, but in the dry would be a doddle on a Platypus -- we did it on a loaded tandem with 35c tires 20 years ago -- marginal but ok. Ive ridden it several times on bikes with narrower tires -- but wider works better! Combining the GAP and C&O is a really fun trip -- again, in good weather. Julian Westerhout Bloomington, IL On Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 5:57:08 AM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > Jason, I laughed when I read this. Yes, I changed my mind right quick. > Honestly the showers were the game-changer. Pam showed me some of her > photos from camping and there was a shower house and a shelter in case of > storms and I just thought that didn’t seem so bad. > > My new standard became that I would camp if we could plug in our phones > and take a shower and go to bed clean. But then I did the Ann Arbor dirt > ride, and the host told me, well, there are no showers but there is a lake > you can shower off in! And I thought, well, I guess that could work. The > lake actually turned out to be the scummiest pond. After 52 miles of dirt > road riding, I was filthy so I went home after the ride and showered. I > stayed the first night, though, and they called me Camps A Lot Barbie. > > All this to say, any remote place you’re taking me - if it has clean water > for me to bathe in, I’m good. > > Formerly a princess, now a dirt bag, > Leah > > On Oct 1, 2025, at 11:08 PM, Jason Fuller <[email protected]> wrote: > > I remember when you were absolutely not a camper. I mean, it's not hard > to remember - it was very recent. I knew that you'd enjoy the adventure, > but understood why you wouldn't want to sleep on the ground. I'm absolutely > loving the fact that you've not only accepted it but embraced it. Now if > you ever visit my neck of the woods, I'll have to take you to the best camp > spots - and I think I could even get away with taking you to the ones that > trade creature comforts for maximum beauty. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/sbMBKREG6jM/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/636c561d-12b5-43f9-a7d0-cf303451213fn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/636c561d-12b5-43f9-a7d0-cf303451213fn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3e6e8332-5f96-4caf-b482-7c5c8dc077a7n%40googlegroups.com.
