My girl Low Brow is riding from PIT-DCA this week. 340ish miles. I am super proud of her.
Her most recent Facebook post:
Now leaving Williamsport, Maryland. Its pouring rain. Two more days till we reach DC.
WOOOOOWOOOOO! You go girl. See ya soon. XO.
Kark, I have intimate knowledge of accomodations and points of interest along the western half of the C&O, as I am native to the area. If I can be of service, by all means give me a shout.
Go to Weavers for pie. The most important part of the whole route. The apple caramel pie is so good I’d do the ride all over again just for that. Joe would back me up on this, I’m sure!
Low Brow; Cheers and thanks. Looking forward to it!
Joe, Thanks for the offer, and I may indeed ping you on that. It’s not in immediate plans but I’m looking to make it an option for a quick punch of the ‘reset’ button. Pittsburg being 9-10hrs away from me it could be done without much notice or prep and I assume it’s credit-card-tourable which makes it even easier and permits it being done in early or late season too.
Low Brow, negative in Weaver’s. Them pies comes in frozen on a truck and the restaurant in general is a clip joint. Lots of the cyclistsd who eat there fall victim to the “this is where the truckers eat so the food must be good” syndrome.
Not saying eating there will kill you. If all you want is replenish your carbs it’s better than Hardee’s, but what isn’t. Next time through though, you might want to trade your adequate dining experience for a truly memorable one. Try The Lockhouse, about a block farther, also an Main Street. When you see the iron bridge across the canal you will have reached your destination.
Try the onion soup. Damned near a meal right there, as are the appetizers. My favorite is a tossup between the loaded fries and the drunken mushrooms, which simply must be seen to be believed. ‘Shrooms in wine sauce, served on toasted ciabatta bread. Enough to share with a friend.
The prime rib is amazing; you could cut it with a spoon. The seafood sampler is more than a sample. Carb imperial, enormous scallops and shrimp and I can’t even remember what else. Simply stupendous. Three or four pasta dishes, daily specials, ribs that fall off the bone. If you’re not up for all that, the burgers and wraps are excellent. We’ve tried ’em all and we keep coming back, so there ya go. Did I mention there’s a full-service bar that always has a couple tasty microbreews on tap, plus the most generous whiskey pour in town?
Oh yeah, you like dessert? They got dessert. Try the Chocolate Confusion. The deepfried cheesecake ain’t bad neither.
*crab imperial, not “carb imperial”* Your witness, Dr. Freud.
Oh damn, we missed out! We were so hungry (and had so much horrible food at other stops) that Weaver’s seemed good at the time. I’m into anything with sugar (since I don’t get to drink anymore, I have to replace it with sugar addiction) and we were STARVING. It was that big glass case with a million and one frosted items that did me in…
Ok, report coming in a few…
Don’t get me wrong, Low Brow. I’m not saying Weaver’s is bad. Just that The Lockhouse is the best damned restaurant I’ve ever tried. I love turning my friends on to it. Next time you gotta try it for sure.
Ok, Kark, here ya go…
Initial calculation on milage and lodgings didn’t take into account for a few detours, miles off route to go into towns, miles to lodging, lunch, etc. What can I say, my first tour. All in all it was around 358 miles. Below are the stops made, and the info gathered ahead of time on lodgings and pricing.
Stops:
Pittsburgh to Ohiopyle
Ohiopyle to Frostburg
Frostburg to Paw Paw
Paw Paw to Williamsport
Williamsport to Leesburg, VA
Leesburg, VA to DC
Lodging:
Ohiopyle
http://www.ohiopylelodge.com/g2a.htm
$130
http://www.youghplaza.com/rooms/standard-rooms.php
$125
Frostburg
http://www.trailinnatfrostburg.com/rates.aspx
$80-100
http://www.frostburginn.com/page3.html
$60
Paw Paw
Grandma’s Country Inn $60
Williamsport
http://redroof.com/
$65
Leesburg
Hampton Inn ~ $100
It sounds like Joe has good info on the C&O portion, so I’ll let him give you the highlights on that portion. Know that the first part(Allegheny) is much easier terrain, so get the long miles outta the way there, because parts of the C&O get rough, esp. with rain.
Hope this is helpful to you.
LB
Very cool. Thanks LowBrow. Good stuff. fwiw, the extra miles are normal in my limited experience. Did you actually plan each days distance and hold yourself to it or just wing it and stop when it felt right?
Personally, I’ve never done the planning thing beyond maybe a key day or destination here or there. I usually just let the legs tell me what they’ve got in them for the day and only once have i ended up flamed out, far from a bed and suffering.
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We had to plan our stops to a certain extent, because if you pass a town, you may not see another one (or any food, etc.) for 60 or so miles in some cases. Adequate camping sites are more freuquent though, so if you set yourself up for a hybrid of camping and credit card camping, you will have more options (and fewer expenses). Depends on how much stuff you feel like hauling.
Like I said, easier to get big miles out of the way on the first day or two (if you are travelling in the direction from Pburgh to DC). Nicer terrain, faster/smoother miles. We never did more than 72 miles in a day though.
“because if you pass a town, you may not see another one (or any food, etc.) for 60 or so miles in some cases”
Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks LowBrow.
You’re very welcome. Hope you get to check it out. Have fun.
Running PBG to DC, if you manage to hid Cumberland at the end of the day there are accomodations aplenty. Hancock is only about 60 miles from there. Three motels, two or three B&Bs and a bunkhouse at the LBS. And I guarantee you will not leave hungry. From there it’s another day to Shepherdstown. Two words-Bavarian Inn. Another day will get you to Georgetown.
At least that’s one way to split ’em up.