Day 6: 100 Miles to go! 42 Miles from Little Orleans to Williamsport

Our lovely hosts at the Town Hill B&B put out such an awesome breakfast spread this morning that I didn’t think I’d burn it off before dinner! Have you ever had tomato pie? It’s their signature dish that’s actually from the south. I usually don’t do dairy, but I had to try it and it was amazing! There was also a great Amish baked oatmeal that was really tasty and fresh fruit and about 5 other dishes to pass between the 5 guests. It’s hard to find fresh fruit when you’re only eating along the trail. I doubt I’ll find any at the Waffle House next to our hotel in the morning. After we had all had our fill, our host loaded our bikes up on his special built bike trailer and took us back to the trail head.

About 5 miles from there, we had the chance to switch over to the Western Maryland Scenic Railway for about 20 miles of paved trail.  A purist wouldn’t do that, of course, but my aching joints aren’t too proud to pass that up. It runs parallel to the C&O and is the same mileage.  In Hancock we stopped at the trail bike shop and got some chain lube, a C&O jersey for me (it’s so hard to find women’s jerseys!) and some new gloves for  Brian –  the fingers of one of his had nearly ripped away from the palm shortly into this trip.   We still weren’t hungry, but knew there were really no services from here to our stop tonight, so we went down the street to the Subway and grabbed some sandwiches to go. Brian  took the opportunity to wipe down and oil our chains while I was getting our sandwiches. Someone had to stay with the bikes anyway since there  really wasn’t a place to chain them up. It’s amazing how much difference that makes when the bikes have been in so much dust!

After we met back up with the C&O, the scenery was really pretty.   The Potomac was on our right and the remains of the canal on our left.   As we approached Dam 5, the Potomac widened out and there were boats docked on the far side and homes on the bank. Dam 5 was really amazing, another amazing feat for its time.  

Even before we went on the paved path, I felt better on the trail than yesterday. I was also more confidenent in maneuvering around the obstacles, doing  a better job of standing up and using the right muscles. The last 17 miles or so weren’t as tough as I expected, having just come off the paved trail.   It would be even better if Brian would quit throwing rocks and sticks at me! Somehow, he manages to frequently hit them just right, so they “spit” out from under his tire and fly over and hit me or my bike! Yesterday he even threw a sharp, pointy stick right across my front bag. If we ever end up needing our first aid kit, that will be why 😉

Today marks the total number of days we rode last year on the Katy Trail, so tomorrow will be telling.   We’ve met people along the way that are doing the full trip in fewer days, but so far this has felt about right. We don’t have to make sure we get on the trail at first light to beat the shortening daylight, and we can stop and admire the wildlife and scenery without feeling rushed.  Maybe if we were 25, stringing 75 mile days together would seem reasonable.