I have enjoyed the shaded towpath, rolling along easily, with the Potomac often visible through breaks in the trees. On Sunday especially, many cyclists and the occasional dog-walker or jogger passed us going the opposite direction, visible proof of the popularity of the C&O. 
My favorite encounter Sunday was with a local family, the Beaulieus, that I passed. Mother, father and son were biking with their Jack Russell terrier, Bug, riding alertly in a milk crate attached to Dad’s rear rack. They were nice about my taking pictures. They do it often, they said, and Bug is used to being a celebrity along the towpath.
Many of us have seen deer. One rider, M.J. Veverka says that Sunday she saw a small fawn curled up right beside the trail. Monday, not far from Williamsport, Md., I saw a doe leap across the path well ahead of me.
A little later something low-slung with a long tail scurried across the trail. When I reached the spot where it had disappeared into the underbrush, I looked for an otter since it seemed more slender than a groundhog. I was surprised to see a raccoon, probably a young one, run up a tree. It stopped about 20 feet off the ground and looked right at me. Then it climbed around the back of the trunk and peered around the other side. Then it went back around and looked again. I must have been pretty entertaining, because it kept this up for about ten minutes, alternating positions and watching me—plenty of time for me to pull out my camera and alert two riders behind me to approach quietly so they could see too. Of course, once I put my camera away, it climbed down into an even better pose, but I missed it.
Others have reported seeing black snakes crossing the trail. Last night at her safety talk, Sojourn staffer Linda Young was telling a funny account about seeing what she thought was a tree root in the shadows. When she discovered she was about to ride over a snake several feet long, she uttered (more or less), “Ooh! Aghh! Eeekkk! Ack!” which she later translated as “Watch out, there’s a snake on the trail!!!”
About midday today several people were lucky enough to see a large beaver in the watered canal a mile before reaching Cumberland, Md. Sojourner Carl King said it would surface and nibble grass in the water.
Today was a hot day, and while riders were doing what they could to stay cool, turtles were loving the sunshine. We saw lots of turtles sunning themselves on logs, nose to tail, some bigger than dinner plates. Sojourner Jay Garvin says that’s because turtles, being cold-blooded, need the warmth of the sun to aid digestion. Egrets, blue herons, frogs (well camouflaged) sounding from an algae-covered canal—probably everyone has had some back-to-nature experience.
Susan Weaver
Some days I’ve ridden chatting with friends from home—Rosanne, John and Hiram—and taking time to investigate points of interest, like White's Ferry, the last operating ferry on the Potomac. Other times I’ve ridden alone, open to whoever or whatever I might meet.
My favorite encounter Sunday was with a local family, the Beaulieus, that I passed. Mother, father and son were biking with their Jack Russell terrier, Bug, riding alertly in a milk crate attached to Dad’s rear rack. They were nice about my taking pictures. They do it often, they said, and Bug is used to being a celebrity along the towpath.
Many of us have seen deer. One rider, M.J. Veverka says that Sunday she saw a small fawn curled up right beside the trail. Monday, not far from Williamsport, Md., I saw a doe leap across the path well ahead of me.
A little later something low-slung with a long tail scurried across the trail. When I reached the spot where it had disappeared into the underbrush, I looked for an otter since it seemed more slender than a groundhog. I was surprised to see a raccoon, probably a young one, run up a tree. It stopped about 20 feet off the ground and looked right at me. Then it climbed around the back of the trunk and peered around the other side. Then it went back around and looked again. I must have been pretty entertaining, because it kept this up for about ten minutes, alternating positions and watching me—plenty of time for me to pull out my camera and alert two riders behind me to approach quietly so they could see too. Of course, once I put my camera away, it climbed down into an even better pose, but I missed it.
Others have reported seeing black snakes crossing the trail. Last night at her safety talk, Sojourn staffer Linda Young was telling a funny account about seeing what she thought was a tree root in the shadows. When she discovered she was about to ride over a snake several feet long, she uttered (more or less), “Ooh! Aghh! Eeekkk! Ack!” which she later translated as “Watch out, there’s a snake on the trail!!!”
About midday today several people were lucky enough to see a large beaver in the watered canal a mile before reaching Cumberland, Md. Sojourner Carl King said it would surface and nibble grass in the water.
Today was a hot day, and while riders were doing what they could to stay cool, turtles were loving the sunshine. We saw lots of turtles sunning themselves on logs, nose to tail, some bigger than dinner plates. Sojourner Jay Garvin says that’s because turtles, being cold-blooded, need the warmth of the sun to aid digestion. Egrets, blue herons, frogs (well camouflaged) sounding from an algae-covered canal—probably everyone has had some back-to-nature experience.
Susan Weaver
Photo of recumbent rider by Linda Young
