C&O ITT

[Veetack]

For those of you that don't know, the C&O towpath is a trail that runs 184 miles from Georgetown, Washington DC to Cumberland, MD along the route of the C&O Canal. It's pretty well traveled and is almost entirely dirt road and double track. There are plenty of established campsites and towns for repair/resupply. I am aware that there are "unofficial" records for a thru-bike of that trail, but I'm wondering if there's ever been an ITT set up on it. If not, I'd be really interested in trying to get one going. I biked the entire thing when I was a kid and lived in the DC metro area, but I'm planning to make it in one trip sometime in late spring or early summer.
     I'd be really interested to learn how one goes about setting up the stuff to track and all if enough interest could be garnered. There's also an extension on the trail now that runs almost all the way to Pittsburgh and makes the total distance somewhere around 350 miles. At the very least, I think it'd be pretty good prep for the TD (I'm planning a `14 start there). I just really want to se ewhat people can do on this trail at a race pace. 

[febikes]

I road the length of the trail last year in a ride from Reston, VA to Kent, OH.

The trail is soooooooooooooo flat that it numbs the mind.

[Mike K.]

If you start in Georgetown, I'll ride it with you out to Cumberland and back to Georgetown. I'd race it, but would prefer not to, as I'd probably bring one or both of my sons (eleven and nine) and/or a friend. We've done it many times and do move along pretty well, between 100 and 150 miles per day, depending on the mud situation. It's a fun comradery trip mostly because it's an easy, flat ride with nice scenery of the Potomac River and Chesapeak and Ohio canal system.  It has awesome, free camping, water, and bathroom facilities. The paid services are ok but not great. Depending on the weather/wind, the mosquitoes would most likely be annoying that time of year.

Not Spring Break or Memorial weekend.  If my kids don't want in, my schedule would be flexible. If either of my kids wants in it would have to be after Standard of Learning testing, coordinated around baseball, and before swim team starts. We'd need a four day allowance, ideally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  So the first or second week of June, depending on the baseball schedule, which comes out in March.

If we did all out race, I'd most likely not bother with Spot service.  For verification, each racer could record/share GPS track/stats.

At some point, I'm going to chart out a mostly dirt road route from Georgetown to Blacksburg, Virginia and back.  Racing it would be seven to ten days with tons of climbing and big miles.

mkerley at comcast dot net

[Mike K.]

http://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/upload/parkmap.pdf

[JEF]

I road the length of the trail last year in a ride from Reston, VA to Kent, OH.

The trail is soooooooooooooo flat that it numbs the mind.

Were you able to ride all towpath/bike path to Kent Oh, or did you have to do some road riding?  I have family that lives south of Kent that I would like to ride to, I'm in Frederick MD which is right on the C&O. 

[novarider]

The C&O canal is my backyard when it comes to bikepacking. I did a thru trip of the GAP/C&O last year (video attached). If you plan on making a race out of it I would recommend keeping it on the down low. Its a state park and they do not allow racing of any kind with a "speed limit" of 15mph. I've helped organize large charity rides on the canal and they are sticklers when it comes to permits even. One year they had a D&R agent at great-falls with a radar gun! So, in a word, caution, but it sounds like a blast 

http://youtu.be/5lO90aiEXZs

[JEF]

The other thing to remember with regards to racing is that some areas are quite congested and it's not fair to the kids, horseback riders, or any one using the canal that some person goes blasting by them trying to set a record.  The C&O is a different animal compared to some of the trails that are "Ultra Raced" because of the amount of people that use it for recreation.

[Mike K.]

I see both sides:

Pro - It would be fun to race from Georgetown to Cumberland and back with a "grand depart" from Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, June 7th.  372 miles round trip. Equestrians and pedestrians have the right of way - dismount for horses and slow down for people, always with a generous warning.  I usually see one horse each way.  Pedestrians, though, can be heavy the first 15 miles from Georgetown to Great Falls and for a few miles near Harpers Ferry.  The rest is nearly all wide open, and, so long as riders follow the trail rules, the the U.S. Park Service can't do anything about 10 through riders starting out about the same time.  The trick would be to keep things on the down low and be outside the DC area during weekend daylight hours.

Con - It would be an easy, boring race but a great fast tour.  Plus the U.S. Park Service would not allow any sort of organized bike race on their prized trail.

[al_maxey]

Ditto on the words of caution. 15mph speed limit is enforced and cyclists are bottom of the pecking order. It is a great place to ride and train and test out camping gear, but heavily patrolled especially around great falls and on weekends and holidays.

I like the sound of that dirt route from Georgetown to Blacksburg!  I would also like to get the gpx for the Virginia mountain bike trail, that looks sweet.

[Veetack]

I was entirely unaware of a speed limit on the towpath. Guess that throws anything out the window.

[Mike K.]

Not sure why the big fuss about the speed limit. Yes it's technically 15 mph. I've never seen a speed trap on the C&O in 42 years.  It's flat, so it's not like you're bombing downhill. I often ride an 80 mile loop with about 35 C&O miles. If I maintain a 15 mph average on the gravel/dirt, I'm thrilled. I've not once in my life gotten grief from a park ranger. The key is to be cool to the other park users, which are very few except for two relatively small sections.

[febikes]

Were you able to ride all towpath/bike path to Kent Oh, or did you have to do some road riding?  I have family that lives south of Kent that I would like to ride to, I'm in Frederick MD which is right on the C&O.  

I spent some time on roads but most of my route was various greenways.  For the road sections I don't remember much traffic.  I remember that some of the roads were dirt and hilly.  It was a great trip with lots of night riding.  In particular I enjoyed the Allegheny Passage at night with freezing rain.

[Veetack]

Not sure why the big fuss about the speed limit. Yes it's technically 15 mph. I've never seen a speed trap on the C&O in 42 years.  It's flat, so it's not like you're bombing downhill. I often ride an 80 mile loop with about 35 C&O miles. If I maintain a 15 mph average on the gravel/dirt, I'm thrilled. I've not once in my life gotten grief from a park ranger. The key is to be cool to the other park users, which are very few except for two relatively small sections.

I think the issue is with marketing an ITT there as it is a race, and assumed that the speed limit will be easily broken. However, I do know the "unofficial" supported record is in the ballpark of 11 hours, which means that rider averaged close to 17 MPH. I think it's really a pipe dream.