The Ride Story (part 2 of 6?) - Day 2
Thursday night's sleep wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't the worst my life either. The rain was heavy but peaceful, and the ground was soft (no thanks to my improperly inflated bed roll). I woke up with the sun, and was out of the tent before 7. Kirk wasn't making a sound, so I took some time to carefully repack my gear as tightly as I could. I knew I didn't want my backpack on my shoulders, so I worked to rig it to the bike.
I also inspected the damage from Rocky Racoon. It appeared as though he had just chewed through the ziplock bag that held my spare bike parts and tools - IDIOT! I switched the contents to a back up bag I had.
Jack passed us as we packed up (he stayed at a hotel in Leesburg), and we headed out by about 9:30 or so. We had 18 miles to do to meet Robbe (and Kirk's pickup) in Harper's Ferry at "10," which I knew from experience was Robbe's "11." So I wasn't worried about that. After Harper's Ferry though, I'd have another 40 to do. Was gonna be a long day.
I'm like Matthew McConaughey, how you can call me MUD
It was immediately clear that the riding was going to be tough. The rain had caused the trail to have giant pockets of mud its entire width, very frequently. By the time we reached Point of Rocks (mi 48.2), I'd resolved to remove my front (and only) brake, in an attempt to stop the mud from getting stuck against the tire. It only somewhat helped. Kirk and I commiserated over a power bar, and I mentioned that Brunswick, at mile 55, would be just as easy as Harper's Ferry for his wife, Devon, to get to for the pick up. Around this time, Robbe texted me with an "11:00 ETA" - nailed it! I told Kirk that I had to get moving, and we bumped fists in case this was the last time we were together on the trip, which it would be.
I had 12 more miles to go to Harper's Ferry, and as far as I can remember, I did it without stopping. The riding was absolutely brutal, and I was covered in mud and dirt, but there were bursts of "eff you trail, I'm doing this!" There's also a stretch of the trail that doubles as a road to a campground in Brunswick. As I got close, an approaching rider said "watch out for the pot holes." It was like a minefield! So much for a "nice paved stretch." Right there at Brunswick I passed a turtle, and Jack, who appeared to be getting moving after a rest. Maybe on his hammock, which I'd later find out he pronounced "Ham-mock."
Harper's Ferry
I got to Harper's Ferry right at 11. I put my bike in the rack on the trail side of the bridge, and took my front tire off since I didn't have a lock. I chatted with some Boy Scouts, and a bearded fellow named Phil, who we'd see a bunch later. Jack arrived too, and we all shared some stories of the morning's mud ride.
I went into town and met Robbe, his wife Kimi, and our friend Rachel at Coach House. I had a beer and a turkey panini. I was already pretty exhausted and thus a bit nervous about the next 40 miles, but the food, and Robbe's company, revived my energy. We took a few pics then headed off around 12:30 or so. Kirk texted me that he did go ahead and hop off at Brunswick.
The key incident
Robbe and I had a solid early pace, the trail was drying up, and the weather was great. We'd gone about 7.5 miles when I looked down at my phone (mounted to my top bar), and I saw I had a missed call. Before I could take a closer look, a text message popped up that simply read "Robbe has the keys." It was 1:17.
Robbe briefly lamented forgetting to return the car keys so that Kimi and Rachel could get home. We considered moving forward until we saw riders heading that direction that might take the keys, but we hadn't seen many thus far, so we just conceded that he'd have to ride back. I told him he might as well get to it, and he agreed. We took his 2 saddle bags, bike lock and fishing rod off his bike to make the 15 mile round trip as easy as possible.
The spot he left me at was random, in the middle of the trail with no place to sit or relax. I estimated an hour and a half for Robbe's trip, so I checked a map and saw that the Antietam Creek Aqueduct was less than 2 miles up. I strapped his gear to my bike and started to walk it. I realized quickly that this would take forever, so I redid the gear in a way that I could still ride. I will say, I was pretty proud of my both my handiwork as well as my ability to ride with 2x as much gear. Robbe would be impressed as well when he saw what I did.
I got to the aqueduct, smoked a backwoods cigar and relaxed. It was nice. Robbe did the trek in about 1:15, which was pretty damn good.
Moving on
We kept trucking, stopping occasionally to check stuff out and / or snack. As we approached Big Slackwater, we both rejoiced for the long stretch of mudless pavement and the beautiful view. We considered making use of an awesome looking rope swing into the river, but agreed that we only had so much daylight left, so we kept going.
Shortly after Slackwater, we ran into Phil and Jack, who now appeared to be riding together. We chatted shortly, but they were talkative fellows, so as soon as I recognized an opportunity, I told them we had to get going.
Around mile 90, Robbe had mentioned he wasn't feeling too hot, and that he'd catch up to me. I believe his exact words were "I'm gonna throw up." I left him to it and rode on. A few miles up I stopped at a historic sign and gave Brittany a quick call. Just as I was telling her "we'll probably do a hotel in Williamsport," Robbe, now riding alongside Phil, came barreling towards me, and without stopping said "I'm going for it!" Apparently the conversation took his mind off the grind, and he felt perfectly fine the rest of the way! We'd use this trick of conversation several times before the trip was over.
Williamsport
We got into Williamsport around 7 or so, which made the decision to get a hotel even easier, since we had little light remaining to do another mile pus and pitch camp. Also, with Brittany's reminder to use our AAA card, the room was fairly cheap. We rode to the Red Roof Inn, just about a half mile from the trail. I had to ride incredibly slowly downhill, as added weight + no brakes can quickly = disaster. We hosed off our bikes, got room 109, cranked the AC, and took showers. I put together the best public outfit I could: socks and crocs, very old, tapered-leg grey sweatpants, and a cleanish tee shirt. Phil was staying at the hotel as well, and we carefully avoided picking him up for dinner. Not because we didn't like him, but because he was such an energetic talker that I don't think Robbe nor myself were up for the challenge of keeping up with him. He was EXTREMELY nice though, and even asked "how much are you short?" when I took several moments to give the clerk my credit card (I was just trying to determine if this was a business expense; I decided "yes."). Again, I'm not used to that type of kindness! Here a complete stranger was potentially offering to help me pay for a hotel room!? I hope one day to be that generous.
Speaking of generosity, Robbe treated me to pizza at a local shop, which appeared to be the hot spot of the town. I also had a beer and 3 Dr. Peppers. The pie was delicious. Then we went to Ed's Third Base Tavern, which was a big plan of ours all along. The place is famous for a "Rocket Fuel" shot for riders, who then sign their name on the ceiling. Robbe got the first round, and I got the 2nd: a Keystone Light for him, a Bass for me, and a Natural Light for Tom, a friendly, but visibly drunk local who'd made himself at home at our high top. He was from the town since birth, and I asked questions about the history and industry of it. It was interesting to hear about the tannery and the effects of its closure on the town.
We headed back to the hotel, and as I left, Ed (the bar's proprietor) handed us some souvenir koozies. Upon getting back into room 109, we realized the AC hadn't worked a lick, so we were moved upstairs to room 200. It was hilarious to leave the room and see the giant mess we'd made in only an hour or so; despite our efforts, the shower and floor had dirt everywhere!
In the new room, we cranked the AC and drifted off to sleep watching ancient aliens. We both agreed we'd made the right call, and didn't fuss much with setting alarms since we knew what weather was coming in the morning.
A precursor of whats to come
3 hours or so before bed, as we headed out for dinner, I thought to myself to put on my lightweight jacket, but must not have pursued looking for it. I wish I had tried to dig it out, because then I'd have had a heads up that it was missing...
