Enjoy. It’s at the top of my list of favorite trails.

You’re very welcome.

Thanks for the kudos!

Thanks. It makes for a great follow-up ride too!

It’s one of my favorites. Highly recommend.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks for the kudos.

Glad it was useful. Enjoy your trip on the C&O. Awesome ride!

It's probably my favorite trail that I've ridden so far.

Thanks for the kudos!

Thanks for the kudos!

You're very welcome. Enjoy your ride on the C&O!

Enjoy your ride!

Thanks. Enjoy your ride!

You live in a beautiful area!

Thanks and nice! I hope to do it all in one trip, in a few years, heading the other way, from DC to PA (since I've done trips on both in the other directions.

DO IT! Being out in the open air in nature is a great way to get away from covid.

I am also. Starting this Sunday 6/20/21 and ending Friday. Maybe we will cross paths. I will be solo. Staying in Perryopolis, Connellsville, Cumberland, Hancock and Harpers Ferry.

@@dgreene13 How did your trip go?? Have gone from Pitt to Confluence,but not all at once

Thanks for the high praise and enjoy your trip!

Thanks!

Let me make sure I fully understand. Is the Paw Paw tunnel itself closed as part of the detour?

Wow! That’s great u rode that!

Give michigan more credit - we are developing the Belle or pathway

Some are, but more for recreational than commercial purposes (i.e. the Erie Canal).

@@KentuckyCycling, Thank you !

If this video helps to get your wheels turning about doing that trip, that makes me happy.

The Hiker/Biker (H/B) sites looked really nice. One downside of carrying camera equipment for the purposes of filming is that you need periodic access to electricity to recharge devices. But, now that I've done a video on the C&O, I'd like to go back and use them. I understand that the etiquette with the H/B sites is that it's first come/first served. I'm curious to know if you've ever had an issue finding a site or what the culture is like around sharing sites?

Nathan Rome I usually go off season. Before Memorial Day and before the leaves change. So I never have had a problem. Once I had to roll past a couple sites because they were full. Further out at Paw Paw is usually near empty, because what you alluded to with their remoteness. Your videos are great! Keep um coming.

@@Sr89hot good tips there. Thanks!

You live in a beautiful area! How long is the Potomac Heritage Trail and do you recommend it?

@@KentuckyCycling It starts in PA and is/was allegedly the longest bike trail in the country. IDK the entire trail but parts are rough but challenging.

@@GB-ez6ge I'm reading about it now. It looks like it is a network of trails and includes the C&O, so I guess someone is claiming that is the largest "trail network" rather than being the longest single trail. www.potomacheritagenova.com/

Very cool.

Those tire widths are pretty close, but wider is generally better. I wouldn’t anticipate you’d have any issue in the GAP at all and would probably be fine on C&O too, but rain can bring mud there and a little extra riding surface couldn’t hurt.

Someone else may be aware of something, but we just used weather apps on our phones.

Thanks for the kudos on the video. As for the bikes we were riding, the black bike that Lucas was riding is a Salsa Warbird. I was on the yellow Salsa Journeyman. And Jacob was riding the light blue Salsa El Mariachi, a hardtail MTB which he has but a rigid fork on. The bikes you named are all great options. My suggestion it to try to ride each and see what you like best. Also, supply is an issue these days so it might also come down to what is available.

That's a tough question. I'm glad we did the GAP first. It has beautiful views, cool tunnels, bridges, and trestles and the better-maintained riding surface. We did quite a bit of gravel riding in between our time on the GAP and the C&O and the C&O has a little more wild and untamed feeling and I want to say I liked it just a smidge more than the GAP, but that also had to do with our riding experiences in between. Long story short, both are wonderful with amazing beauty and history and you really can't go wrong with either, but the answer might depend a bit on what kind of experience you want to have. If you've never done a ride like this, the GAP is a great place to start.

@@KentuckyCycling Thanks, I appreciate the info!

On my bike (the yellow one in the video), I had a Salsa Anything Cage, which carries a 64 oz Kleen Kanteen nicely. My buddy has a similar cage on his, from Topeak. In this video, I went threw each of our setups, which was filmed on a trip, just before we went on the C&O. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ityCqcmLzrnWloU.html

We did not have a SAG driver. We gravitated to a bikepacking setup vs a traditional touring setup a couple of years back. For this trip, we parked in Cumberland, rode to DC, and the hired a shuttle to take us back to Cumberland at the end. Between a full frame bag and a 16L seatpost bag and cages on the forks, you can actually carry quite a fair amount of gear. But, the more you do this, the more you learn what you really need to carry to save some weight. Hope that helps!

@@KentuckyCycling WE are bikepacking as well. we found a list on REI website for bikepacking. Taking as little as possible.

A gravel bike is the optimal bike for this trail.

We completed our ride prior to the beginning of construction and didn’t have any flats.

I rode c&o in mid October of 2022 from Georgetown. The paw paw Tunnel was closed but the contractor would shuttle bikers up the huge hill in an ATV, you rode down the other side, Quite scary for this 73 year old biker.

Thanks for the kudos! I think you'd be very comfortable on the GAP and C&O with your 42 mm gravel tires. For reference, I had 35mm gravel tires for the GAP and a 2.1" gravel tire on the C&O, but could have totally gotten away with a narrower tire. Tire width for your friend sounds fine. I'm having a hard time visualizing what kind of tread pattern would be on a semi slick tire. But, if you get any rain, you'll likely see some mud on the C&O.

@@KentuckyCycling We both have Salsa Fargos and Vayas. He says we need something like Teravail Sparwood 2.2” or WTB Horizon 50mm in case of mud: I plan to use Specialized Pathfinder Pro 42s (that have a smooth center strip). Thanks. I’m also checking out your other videos. You and your crew look like our type of folks. If you ever want to see NWArkansas, or maybe do The Katy Trail with some guys that know the ropes, look me up.

@@kennyness8881 Nice! I really like the Teravail Sparwoods and that's what I had on my bike for the C&O. If you want to go a little narrower, the Teravail Cannonball is a 47mm tire that has the same tread pattern. In looking at the tread pattern for your Pathfinder Pros, I'm sure you'd be fine. One of the guy's I was riding width was riding a similar tire. I love to explore so I definitely wouldn't count the possibility of riding together at some point out!

@@KentuckyCycling lately my bunch has been riding 1 way on the Katy Trail, and taking Amtrak back to our cars. That, plus lots of S24O’s because of COVID. Great times. Check out our Facebook page “NWArkansas BikePacking and Touring”-just a bunch of guys on bikes. Everyone can ride, but no one is racing. We’re trying to get people here out on bikes, and not afraid to do a little more than an afternoon ride.

We carried a couple of locks with us, but didn't always use them (e.g. when we stopped to go into Harpers Ferry or Great Falls). We did lock them up at night when we slept, just as a precaution.

I rode the trails a year apart and my experience with riding gravel had grown a lot in the year in between. Based on my riding experience going into the rides, I definitely recommend the GAP for those with less experience with gravel. Both are awesome. But, truth be told, the C&O is probably my favorite trail to date. But, that's pretty subjective as I definitely love the GAP too. Long story short, you really can't go wrong with either.

@@KentuckyCycling thanks yes both look great!!

Two of us were on gravel bikes. The other was on a MTB where he swapped out his suspension fork for a rigid fork and put on gravel tires, basically making it a flat bar gravel bike. There's a lot of overlap between gravel bikes with wider tires and MTB bikes. If I were riding a MTB, I'd want it to be either fully rigid or a fork where you can lock out the suspension. I also would not opt for super knobby wheels. I have ridden with folks on gravel rail trails who rode hardtail MTBs are were happy with their choice. Hope that helps.

@@KentuckyCycling thanks!

September.

Roughly 5 - 7 miles apart

I’m not exactly sure what you are asking. You are welcome to share a link to the video.

Depends on the cyclist, I suppose, and the kind of experience you want to have. There is so much to see and take in that I wouldn't think it'd be a bit of a blur if your goal was to ride the whole 150 miles in one day. But to each his own.

@@KentuckyCycling thanks for the reply. I'll have to talk my friend into longer trip. He wants to do pitt to md then back in two days.

@@thecappy You guys are beasts! The longest I've ever ridden in one day is 106 miles.

Thanks for the kudos. For this video, most of the moving footage was shot with a GoPro Hero 8. but also included pics and footage from my iPhone.

@@KentuckyCycling love to chat more about your filming and software. If interested in helping me how can I reach you? I’ve got a few basic questions just getting started. Thank you sir.

@@williambeckett9369 www.kentuckycycling.org/contact

We took a shuttle. There are multiple companies that provide this service. The folks we used were "Get Out and Play" outfitters, which are based in the Cumberland Visitors Center. See getoutandplayoutfitters.com/.

You can also use Amtrak and check your bike in

We took a shuttle. Amtrak is another option.

I guess it's all a matter of expectation and what you are looking for. For what it's worth, I've ridden several different rail trails (albeit this is actually a towpath) and this is my favorite trail to date.

@@KentuckyCycling Ok. I did the GAP last fall and it was outstanding. I had a bike seat that was way too wide though so when I got to Cumberland I was not doing too well so I did not go all the way to DC as planned. I have new seat now! lol