Prepping for the C&O bike tour

This year, I had hoped to fly to Alaska, ride my bike, and camp  for a couple of weeks. That didn’t pan out, so instead I’m packing my  bags (technically panniers) for the C&O trail from Cumberland to  D.C. My friend Kathyrn and I will be spending a whole week with each  other. Both of us have done overnight camping on our bikes, but neither  of us have done a multi-day trip.

The 184.5 mile long Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is located along  the north bank of the Potomac River, starting in Washington, DC and  ending in Cumberland, MD.
— Bike Washington

Test your gear!

I’ve been on two overnight bike camping trips this year, and I went  on four or five last year. Doing this helped me shake out what was  essential and what wasn’t. I definitely overpacked a few times,  underpacked other times, and forgot essentials like tent poles at least  once.

I tested various setups over the past two years, tweaking this and that until I found out what worked and what didn’t.

Kathyrn and I went on a longer gravel ride (~60 miles) in March at  Croatan National Forest, where we encountered a flat care tire and  really got to test how we worked together in a stressful situation when  we were both exhausted, cold, and hungry with barely any cell phone  service. The good news is we were able to work together to fix the flat  and get back to civilization.

Ride often, ride a lot

When people ask me how I train for any bike-related thing, this is  always my advice: ride often, ride a lot. I think the “often” part is  probably more important than the quantity of miles you have under your  belt.

I’m no personal trainer, but it has worked really well for me to  commute to work (~11 mile round trip) a few days a week and do a couple  of longer (20-40 mile) rides throughout the week. I have two centuries  (100-mile rides) under my belt following my disorganized training plan,  but I also wasn’t trying to race either time.

I think riding often and riding a lot helps you tune in to how much you should eat and drink. You’ll know if you’re going to bonk before it happens.

Planning the route and stops

The route for the C&O is well laid out by many cyclists before  us, but Kathryn did a bang-up job of planning where we should stops,  what’s available, and making sure we had a place to sleep each night. We  started with a spreadsheet, then I moved things to Trello (mostly  because I love Trello).

It’s okay to make things easier

I’m not cooking at camp. I’ll get two servings for lunch, then pack  the rest for dinner. I can eat cold leftovers if it means not having to  pack cooking gear.

We might have noticed we’re staying in Jellystone Campground. They  have a pool, water park, mini golf, and all sorts of fun things. This  will be an awesome, relaxing, luxurious mid-week stay. We’re also  staying at a hostel one night, and once we get to D.C., we’ll be staying  in a hotel and exploring the city for a whole day.

The night before

I’m spending the day relaxing, packing up, and trying to get a good  night’s sleep (assuming I can contain my excitement). I plan on writing  more as the trip goes on, so stay tuned!