Riding The C&O Canal - Everything You Need To Plan Your Ride

[@marklawrence4596]

Looking forward to seeing them!

[@richardsatriale9388]

Thank you for this great video of the C&O. I'm planning to do the same and found your video very informative.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

I'm glad you liked it. My goal with the videos is to document our adventures, and to help others get out and do the same. Thanks for letting me know its working. I look forward to hearing about your ride.

[@BICEPUNX]

Thank you for the info! I will be attempting this trail next week.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

@@BICEPUNX Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Let me know how your ride goes.

[@thepwright]

Great, video and narration of trip! I did the C&O bikepacking back in 2008 and I remember that section from Hancock to Cumberland being really rough and a lot of potholes. It had rained so it was extremely muddy also. The rest was excellent. Harper's Ferry had lots of views and history and I was fortunate to bike through the Paw-Paw tunnel. Hope to return soon.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

@@thepwright Thanks for watching, and commenting. We really enjoyed the ride, even though we couldn’t go through the Paw Paw, the climb over top of it made for an interesting adventure.

[@marklawrence4596]

Great video thanks! In April my wife and I are traveling up and down the I-81 corridor from New England to Brevard NC. We'll definitely be riding some on the C&O Canal Trail and I made quite a few notes from your narrative on the trail and stops for food and B&Bs. I very much appreciate all the information you included!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

I'm glad it will be helpful to you. We'll be doing a lot more exploring of East Coast R2T rides this next summer, more videos to come. Let me know how your C&O ride goes this spring.

[@robertjackson2069]

thank you for making this video. I am a bike packer and always looking for places to ride and explore. Very well done. Thanks⚓

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Glad you liked it, and thanks for letting me know. The C&O is a beautiful trail, you'll love it.

[@slu4154]

Any Pasadena content on the way? Love the channel!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Planning to do a video of the San Gabriel River Trail from Azusa Canyon to Seal Beach. 35 miles of bike trial, no roads, with only 1 street crossing.

[@andrewhyde8427]

I love this! Looks like you guys had great fun. Jim’s tour narrative is excellent and Jack flys on that bike. 🚴‍♂️

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Glad you liked it. You need to join us on a ride.

[@FollowThomas]

C&O Canal Trail and GAP trails are such a iconic trails. Thanks for sharing your ride. It reminds me my own this year. I used the Amtrak to get back to DC. Great video. 👍

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks Thomas, I appreciate you watching my channel. I'm a follower of yours, really enjoy watching your travels.

[@benp3055]

What a great ride and adventure.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks watching it Ben, It was a lot of fun.

[@PatrickHolland-p6i]

Great video. Looks like you all had a great time and the scenery was fantastic. Jill and I probably won't be joining you on the next trip but we will be with you in spirit!!!!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

It was fun. Thanks for watching.

[@benp3055]

Looks like another great adventure.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

It was. We have another ride planned for a couple of weeks from now, doing the Empire State Trail from Albany NY to lower Manhattan. Three days, 210 miles. Should be a blast. Stay tuned for that video somewhere down the road. Thanks for watching, and commenting.

[@ebikeengineer]

What a great adventure! I've been wanting to bike the C&O for years and due to this excellent video I have a blueprint of how to get it done! Thank you! Great idea on Amtrack from DC, I could get off at BWI and bike home from there.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks for your comment. The ride was great fun, glad I'm able to help you plan your ride. I look forward to hearing back from you after your ride.

[@ebikeengineer]

@@beyondthedriveway1839 Your video was really inspirational. I had not considered B&Bs and was trying to figure out the logistics for camping, your idea is so much better.

[@sanaallbikers7209]

I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing this for us! And I hope you are doing well! Working hard makes you stronger! That's what you are! And Never give up! Keep going because you are great! And you got my full support!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks so much, have a great bunch of friends ride with, makes it so much more enjoyable.

[@bikebob66]

looks like you guys had a great time! a buddy and I are hoping to do the GAP and C&O trail next year,,,bike camping through it. We did the Katy Trail this year and we are hooked on this type of adventures! thanks for sharing your!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

It was a fun trip, you'll love it. If you start in PGH, its a little uninspiring until you get past McKeesport, good to get that out of the way first. Have fun, let me know how it goes for you, and reach out if you have any questions.

[@simonwoolley2122]

Great video guys thanks for sharing,best wishes for all your future rides,from Birmingham England.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks for reaching out, and glad you liked the video. Do you have any plans to come over and ride the trail?

[@simonwoolley2122]

I would love to ride the trail some day in the future, it’s one to keep on my list for when the time is right, thanks for the reply and the great videos best wishes to you all.

[@RIKPANKIEWICZ]

Looked like a great time…….🚴‍♂️

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

It certainly was. I hope you have an equally good ride when you do it. Thanks for watching, and commenting.

[@MedvedActual]

C&O canal is great!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

@@MedvedActual thanks for watching, glad you liked it

[@Mike-vd2qt]

The GAP and C&O are great, really nice trails, 2016. If you guys head west the Katy Trail in MO rolls through farmland and is a nice trail, ride west to east for 2-3% downhill grade. And the Mickelson in South Dakota travels through woods, but is shorter, not many people ride that one. You can make it longer by looping east through Grasslands National Park near Custer, SD, then head north back to Deadwood for a longer trip. Happy trails!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks for the comments Mike. The Katy is definitely on my ride list. Hadn't heard of the Mickelson in SD, I'll look into it. We make a couple of XC drives each year, always looking for good rides along the way. Happy Trials to you as well.

[@thegreatexaggerator9077]

Very well done, thank you for sharing. Some good ideas for my ride next May.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks for watching, there are a lot of links in the description that should help with your planning. Please consider subscribing. There is a ride from the GAP on my channel from last year. I'll check out your channel as well.

[@thegreatexaggerator9077]

@@beyondthedriveway1839 thank you, it is on my watch list

[@IndieCityFilmsNewYork]

great video!!!

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks, I love doing this.

[@rivnuts7398]

Looks like you were blessed with dry weather leaving Cumberland. Your experience would have been somewhat different under wet conditions. If you rode up the Paw Paw Tunnel bypass, I’m duly impressed. Did you get the tomato pie at the Town Hill B&B? If you are going to upstate NY and liked the C&O, consider the Erie Canal Trail from Buffalo to Albany.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

We did have great weather. I'm have a mountain biking background, so the the Paw Paw detour was not an issue on my gravel bike. Although I've never did that type of ride with panniers before. The tomato pie was fantastic indeed. The Erie Canal Trail is on our to-ride list. Thanks for watching the video and reaching out.

[@OutdoorsWithJohnUSA]

Nice videos Jim. I see we have a lot in common. I have similar videos and experiences on my channel.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

We definitely do. I started checking out (subscribed) your channel as well. Thanks for watching and subscribing to mine. Maybe see you on the trail someday.

[@savedbygodsgrace995]

Did you each carry everything you needed for the whole trip? It looked like one rider had very little gear

[@FORKorBIKE]

Great boys Club guys 💪. Where's the girls club 😅

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Great question, and perfect timing. Karen decided she wants to have these adventures too. To that end, we ordered a gravel tandem (CoMotion Java) that is designed to handle multi-day rides. We will be receiving it just 2-days from now. I'll have a video of assembly and our first ride in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to do these rides with her, and we have other couples interested in joining us. So we'll be back and forth between a Boys & Girls Club and a Boys Club on future rides. Stay Tuned.

[@FORKorBIKE]

@@beyondthedriveway1839 oh fun. Ya I'll definitely stay tuned . I'll subscribe so I don't lose you 🤠

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Great, Thanks. I just subscribed to your channel as well. @@FORKorBIKE

[@margaretsmith2032]

Any plans for an Erie Canal trip?

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Definitely on the list of must do rides. We may do all or part of it next year. Have you done it?

[@princepage632]

Y'all did motels. Dats da easy way. Wish I had da money for that, but I will have to camp.

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Did more than my fair share of camping in the past. Too old to enjoy sleeping on the ground any more. Love a hot shower, good dinner, and a comfortable bed.

[@princepage632]

oh yeah, i herd that. i like a hot shower too. and i like a warm bed as well. i am old to, but i will have to rough it just like have been doing for years.. i really like your video. thanks for sharing. @@beyondthedriveway1839

[@FORKorBIKE]

What , if any predators would there be ...im in Colorado and we have just about every predator in the U.S even wolves again.. Lol..

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

Thanks for watching, and reaching out. We've encountered a few snakes (black and rattle) enjoying the sun along the trial, but they scurry off pretty quick at the sound of the tires. Although we did run over one snake, a surprise to us and it. There are bears in the area, but we didn't encounter any. I've mountain biked many miles in Colorado over the years, pre-dating this channel, many encounters, but none, other than shakes, that worried me.

[@FORKorBIKE]

@@beyondthedriveway1839 ok nice..the turtle looked pretty vicious though 😅

[@webmenacee]

I've seen HUGE snapping turtles in the water! I recommend not taking a dip unless you know the water

[@beyondthedriveway1839]

We saw lots of turtles, but nothing too big. We did take a swim in the Potomac, though no snaps there. Thanks for watching the video.