Ride to Pittsburgh Day 3 - Hancock to Cumberland

 The day got off to a slow and bad start, but I finished in plenty of time and everything is great.

I'm in Cumberland, where the C&O Canal Towpath ends and the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail begins. I guess I could have planned that picture out better.

This morning, once my coffee was kicking in, I set out to figure out why my bike was making funny noises at the end of the ride yesterday.

It did not take long to figure out.

A broken spoke. This is not good.

And a rivet for another has broken off from the rim.

This is even worse. Now I know why the rear wheel has been feeling mushy like the tire is low on air when it has plenty of air.

Turns out there is a bike shop not a half mile away!

They can sell you a chain saw too, and repair your weed whacker. This place has the C&O Tow Path on one side of it, and the Western Maryland Rail Trail on the other. As a bike shop, it's excellent. It has everything a touring cyclist could ever want. All your sports drinks, and energy bars, as well as night crawlers if you want to drop a line in the canal.

But wait there's more! They have a bunk house in back, where you can unroll you sleeping bag and spend the night! $15! Why didn't I know about this last night?

And there are showers back there too!

They had a nice replacement wheel for me in stock. The mechanic was in at 10, and I was back on the road by 11. It would have been quicker, but I walked over to a nearby diner to get breakfast. Now my wheels don't match, but I'm not going to complain.

They are going to hold my old wheel for me, and I'll pick it up when I drive back from Pittsburgh on Sunday.

It was 60 miles today, all completely flat. 15 miles was the silky smooth WMRT, from Hancock to Little Orleans. Then there was 15 miles of double track from Little Orleans to Paw Paw. 

Then there is 30 miles of fine crushed stone which is as smooth as pavement, from Paw Paw to the end at Cumberland.

This was a pretty nice day of riding. I got going at 11 and was done before 5:30, without stopping for a meal because I had breakfast right before I left.

There is about 2 miles where the WMRT has a break and you have to ride some rough towpath. That's because they haven't run the trail through the Indigo tunnel. Bats live in there.

There are lots of places where the canal crossed a river or stream entering the Potomac. They just build a bridge to carry the canal over the stream.

But there is only one spot where they got really crazy and ran the canal through a tunnel. It's by Paw Paw, West Virginia. The Paw Paw Tunnel is amazing. Here's what it looks like in the middle of the tunnel.

At this point, I fished the headlight out of the handlebar bag. The light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming mule.

Here's the entrance to the tunnel:

That railing between the towpath and the canal goes all the way through the tunnel thank goodness. Note the cool stairs over the top of the tunnel so you can cross to the other side of the canal.

Here's the exit:

There are many paw paw trees along the towpath. Here is a paw paw patch just above Paw Paw.

There used to be a bench here. I was one of my favorite break spots. There was a sign that said the huge tree behind the bench was the largest Swamp White Oak in the state of Maryland. Now the sign is gone and the bench is gone. Maybe they found a larger Swamp White Oak so they had to take the sign away? Why couldn't they leave the bench. It's still a really great tree to sit under!

It's sad when you get near Cumberland, and you get a rude re-entry to modern times. There's not much modernity on the towpath. After this, it's sewage treatment plants and bad smells the rest of the way.

I'm staying at the Ramada, which is one of only two motels in Cumberland. The other one is a Fairfield inn, which costs $170, while the Ramada costs $75. I'm staying at the Ramada.

I remember when Ramada used to be nice, and I never stayed there because it was expensive. Based on the looks of this one, that was a very long time ago. Everyone here looks like they chose the cheapest motel, and they didn't have much choice about that. The days of a cocktail lounge, and a restaurant and nice amenities are long gone, but they will sell you cold cans of Bud Light at the front desk.

So I was pretty darn irritated when the guy at the front desk says I have to put my bike in the store room and I can't bring it into my room. I have brought my bike into my room at the Fairfield Inn when I have stayed there.

My admiration for Indian immigrants who run affordable motels reached its limit here.

Dinner was awesome. It's so nice to be in an actual city with more dining options than Subway, Sheetz, and Pizza Hut.

Electrolytes are replenished.

And this pasta with shrimp and Tasso ham should get me up the giant climb tomorrow morning.

Everything is great. I did my laundry at the Ramada, which only cost $4, including the detergent.

Here's the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/15529373875