Reply to Mud on the western C&O

I rode from Cumberland to Hancock today. I took the C&O until I reached the Western Maryland Rail Trail, opting for a paved trail for the last part of the ride. The mud on the C&O was not as bad as I expected.

I ride a Surly Long Haul Trucker: a bike with mountain bike width tires but without a mountain bike’s suspension. The mud puddles were no big deal. Most were only a few bikes lengths long and were narrow enough that you could steer around them. Sometimes I had to pass through a puddle but not that often. There were only a couple that were deep enough that I needed to slow down.

The trail is bumpy compared to the GAP, but the GAP is unusually smooth for a bike trail.

If I had been on a road bike I would have been unhappy. A hybrid bike with, say, 38 mm tires might have been ok, but I recommend something closer to mountain bike width.

More concerning to me was the condition of the water pumps. I went for around twenty miles without finding a working pump. Luckily there was a place selling water near the start of the WMRT. That guy is try to sell the place, so I would not count on him being there. My advice is to bring enough fluid with you to avoid depending on the pumps.

Just finished up the gap/c&o on 16 July 2019. Every pump I tried along the c and o worked and had water. Some had took more pumping than othersz

I rode from Cumberland to Hancock today. Trail could definitely use some maintenance. Ran into some water pumps that didn’t work but some that did. You really need to pump for a while. Important in this stretch because there aren’t towns immediately on the trail. Water from pumps is treated with iodine, so you if you are a water snob bring plenty from your starting point.