Greg & Camille Go Bike

It was foggy, and Greg felt groggy. When are we showering? He wondered. Maybe never. The hiker-biker campsites were free: free of charge and free of shower facilities. Camille thought Greg was the old one until she woke up with back pain today. These unpaved roads were rough on her skinny tires and poor posture. There was no cell service, so we decided on a diner listed on OSMAnd about 25 miles out. Before we hit the road, we explored the campsite a little more and found a breathtaking view just through the woods. The terrain sloped down and became sandy, turning into a beach overlooking the Potomac River. Much to our surprise, chunks of ice were floating downstream. Combined with the misty morning covering the mountains in the background, it was quite the serene scene.

Onward to coffee and eggs in Hancock, MD, we switched over to the Western Maryland Rail Trail when we could. Camille was so excited for some paved road!! We cruised at around 18 mph until we got to town where we picked up inner tubes and got breakfast at Park-n-Dine. Luckily they had a table right on the patio, so we didn’t have to take bags in and lock up. We re-humanized with access to running water and enjoyed our go-to diner breakfast: veggie omelets and French toast. After restocking on water and snacks at a gas station up the road, we were back on the trail which to our surprise and delight was being well-used by several other bikers.

We enjoyed ample greenery and great views of the water along the way. When couscous started leaking out of the bag, we certainly appreciated the many picnic tables available on the trail and ate an early dinner. Another construction detour sent us up some hilly (but thankfully paved) neighborhoods in rural Maryland. We figured this might be our last chance for clean water and stopped at the local general store for supplies. The owner seemed very impressed with our tour and amused by our choice of Frosted Flakes.

As we got back on the path, the sun began to set. Rain started, and if that wasn’t enough, the terrain turned into sandy gavel approaching Killiansburg Cave Campsite, slowing us down even more. We put up the tent as quickly as we could there and tried to stay dry through the night.