Monday, January 9, 2012

Post #2

I know I already posted this morning, and I know it was long, but I would just like to say 2 things given the change in weather: biking in the snow is fun until you realize that your gloves aren't waterproof and you have lost your outer mitten shells, and biking down a hill with snow flying at your face just feels downright dangerous.  In winter weather, I find that climbs are preferable to descents. Also, to Melanie Suzanne, I am very sorry if my idiotic "I like to earn spring!" comment cursed the weather for this area (if only I had that kind of power).

Speaking of climbs and descents, I have become slightly obsessed with the Appalachian Trail.  In the past week alone, I have read David Miller's Awol on the Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods (both excellent reads for very different reasons), and watched the Nat Geo documentary.  It has entered my head to do a study on the folklore about the trail and on the trail itself, and if someone handed me a couple thousand dollars, I would quit my life and go hike it in March.  I would also consider doing the Pacific Crest Trail, because holy COW, wouldn't that be cool!  The other major item on my bucket list is to bike across the continent to Vancouver (then maybe, just maybe, up to the Yukon), but I doubt I can afford both.  I wonder if anyone has done both, and if the latter is really as dangerous as they say.

Anyway, I need to start small, so I wonder if anyone has advice on super awesome hikes or long bike rides in the DC area....

That's really it.  Stay warm out there!
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3 comments:

  1. RootchopperJanuary 9, 2012 at 6:38 PM

    A Walk in the Woods is the funniest book I have ever read. I cried from laughing so hard.

    Now as for local bike rides, do the Backroads Century next fall. Perfect.

    And if you haven't done so, ride to Pittsburgh or as close as you can get on the C&0 and GAP trails. Rivers. Trains. Mountains. Tunnels. Wind turbines. Looong trestles over valleys. White water rafters and fly fisherpeoples. Good stuff.

    Have you done the North Central Rail Trail north of Baltimore? Worth a day or two (85 unpaved miles round trip).

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  2. Melanie SuzanneJanuary 9, 2012 at 7:18 PM

    Heh. Wouldn't it be cool to have that kind of power, though? ;)

    I second Rootchopper's recommendation for the Backroads Century. The hubs and I had an absolute BLAST last year and cannot wait for next September.

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  3. RachelJanuary 10, 2012 at 8:23 PM

    Oooooh....I read up on the Backroads Century. If I'm still in the area next year, I'm in. Thanks for the advice!!

    And @Rootchopper, I've done C and O up to Harper's Ferry and back in May 2010...it was fun, though my teeth nearly rattled out of my head because the path was in such bad shape. I've heard that the trail gets much better past Cumberland.

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