Cycle Tour: W & OD Trail to the C & O Canal Trail
DAY TWO: Leesburg, VA to Harpers Ferry, WV (28.09 miles)
We were graced with another day of gorgeous weather and left the W & OD Trail to ride north and connect with the C & O Canal Trail. The road out of Leesburg was HILLYYYYYYYYYY, but we were rewarded with a ride through beautiful towns and a morning break at Backstreet Brews in Lovettsville, VA.
Following our nice little rest, we continued on our way north to connect with the C & O Canal Trail, which would take us to Harpers Ferry - I was so excited to finally be able to visit Harpers Ferry because of my long-standing obsession with the Appalachian Trail (AT; the Appalachian Trail Visitor Center is located here). We had a beautiful ride on the C & O, which runs parallel to the Potomac River, and even came across a father and son bike camping on the same trail!
After a few miles on the trail, we just had the Potomac river standing between us and Harpers Ferry. Unfortunately, to actually get to the other side of the river, we would have to climb up approximately four flights of stairs to the bridge, all with our loaded bikes (I am convinced the bruises on my right leg, which will be depicted later, are a result of this). Fortunately, the views and potential on the other side made all this exertion worth it.
Harpers Ferry is an adorable, historic little town, and Polly and I took our time riding around it in the afternoon. It turned out to be incredibly hot this day, so we found refuge in the shade of the Harpers Ferry General Store, where I enjoyed a delicious snow cone and discovered the dangers awaiting for us farther up the trail.
After a relaxing afternoon in town, we rode to the hotel, showered, washed our clothes, and then made the HILLY, HOT walk into town for some dinner. We ate at the Rabbit Hole, where we had a great view of the mountains and where I ate a cobb salad that really hit the spot. After that, we each took our time, exploring the town and then eventually rejoined to walk up the stone steps comprising the portion of the AT that runs through the town. We were met with the St. Peter’s Church and some great views at the top of this climb.
I was appreciative of our furry, little companion we had on the hilly walk back to the hotel.
