Day 69 - Harpers Ferry WV to Gaithersburg MD

Wednesday May 1, Biked 44 miles. Total mileage by end of day: 4020.

Cool and cloudy all day.

Started the day with breakfast at Fuel Your Adventure in Harpers Ferry.

I got to talk about Zero Waste with this motley crew :-)

Then off I went.

A little bit of history about Harpers Ferry.

Stopped at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy -- this is the center of the universe for this trail :-)

Walked a bit of the Appalachian Trail on this railroad bridge to get back to the C&O Canal Trail.

It was a steep descent down a spiral staircase. Had to carry my panniers down first then my bike.

Here is my bike all loaded up again.

Then down the trail I went.

The Potomac just east of Harpers Ferry has some rapids.

This is the smoothest / easiest to ride section of the C&O Canal Trail I had yet seen. Up to this point I had encountered lots of mud pits, rocks, roots, and other challenges.

This is the more normal trail. Not too bad but must be vigilant to rocks, mud, and branches.

A bit further and ran into a section where the trail was closed -- the bridge was out -- and there was no easy detour. The options were to go up and down some steep slopes and walk on an active rail line or go down a graveled area to the creek, wade knee deep through the creek, then go up a muddy bank on the other side.

I waded the creek, carrying my bike first, then my panniers.

Back on the trail again.

Where I met Jan and Antje, a couple from Germany, who were biking from New York City to Los Angeles.

Further on I encountered the Monocacy Aqueduct -- the largest of the C&O canal aqueducts.

This is the river it crosses.

And here is some history about it.

Another view of the aqueduct.

Then I left the C&O to head to Gathersburg by road. It was quite bumpy at first.

Saw quite a few cows.

And horses.

Here is a camera to catch speeders.

Passed some nice houses with porches.

Always glad to remind motorists to share the road.

Went by one of the entrances to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This location provided an interesting challenge. After this intersection, the 2 right lanes merged onto an interstate highway while the left most one continued straight which was where I needed to go. It took a bit but I successfully controlled my lane and got motorists to allow me to go left across 2 traffic lanes to the through lane.

Another NIST entrance.

Past some condos near NIST.

It was nice to enter a road closed to cars with a bike/ped pass through.

Nice flowers along it.

And no cars.

Here is an interesting house.

It says no outlet, but I trust there is a path for bikes but not cars.

And yes at the very end there is a pathway out for a cyclist.

Here is my friend Karen at her treadmill workstation in her home.

 Her husband Shane cooked an awesome gourmet dinner for us! Delicious!

Shane also pointed me at a journal I should start reading. It focuses on how to make lasting improvements to societies.