The C&O Canal

We celebrated the beginning of Thanksgiving by going for a bike ride along the C&O Canal which runs along the Potomac river from Georgetown to West Virginia or beyond. Here are links for all the historical and geographical details:

http://www.nps.gov/choh/
http://bikewashington.org/canal/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal

The Potomac River is not really navigable above Washington D. C. as you quickly encounter a series of rocky patches , rapids and waterfalls as it descends from the Appalachians toward the Chesapeake Bay. The C&O Canal was built to enable travel by water to and from our nation's capital from points west. Obviously it is no longer in use. What remains is a long flat trail that is wonderful for biking. The trail is the old tow-path used by draft animals to pull barges along the canal. At some points the canal is about 50 feet higher than the river, with an extensive network of locks to raise and lower the boats.

So, today we rode from our little apartment in Arlington, across the Key Bridge into Georgetown and got on the tow-path and headed north. We rode about seven miles and turned around because the sun was starting to go down and we still had the uphill part of the trip on the return home. That is the downside of living on the top of a hill. All bike rides end with a serious uphill climb. We are literally on a summit, so no matter what direction we go, the ride home is uphill. From Georgetown we have to ride through an area called Rosslyn which is very urban and has a lot of traffic congestion. About 3/4 miles up the hill is our neighborhood which is less urban and has more residential streets and less traffic. It is still uphill, though.

The weather was beautiful, low 70's, sunny...a perfect Autumn day. The tow-path goes through a heavily wooded park and the fall colors are finally in full glory. I am told that the colors are somewhat muted this year by the warm weather and the drought they have been experiencing, but it still looked good to me. It was a good start to Thanksgiving to get out and see the colorful trees.

We hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Go Cowboys! Hook 'em Horns!!!