More post from Day one to Harpers Ferry

As you can see I don't have the protocol on this blogging business down pat yet so here is more to the ride on day one:
We stopped for lunch at White's Ferry, a working ferry at about the 40 mile post. Prior to that Barbara met us at Great Falls with a smile and some fruit and took a couple of pix I hope to be able to post later. I took several shots too but my cable isn't working so I'll get that fixed and post those later.
This trail is easy to ride, well maintained and busy with hikers and bikers. We stopped briefly for photo ops and to check the scenery or read the many signs several times, chatted along the way and made pretty good time. The average was around 13 mph for the time we were in the saddle so it wasn't a race, but a ride. The surface is crushed stone with occasional mud puddles from rain a few days ago that we dodged easily. There was one section near Brunswick where we shared the pathway with vehicles and it was pretty dusty. That area also has a 7 mile train yard, one of the largest in the country when it was built. Lots of frieght trains were being put together. Ralph raced nearly every one we saw and lost everytime. We went into Brunswick for a quick visit but went back to the trail after seeing a pretty little town but not much else. When we got to Harpers Ferry about 7 miles later we had passed throught the Blue Ridge Gap of the Appalachian Mountains and crossed the Appalachian Trail. We had to walk up a metal staircase to the crosswalk adjacent to the train tracks going into Harpers Valley, a climb of about 3 or 4 stories and then walk across the bridge over the Potomac to the WV side. There were scores of rafts, canoes, kayaks and tubes in the water riding over the minor white water rapids below the town. Harpers Ferry is a quaint town kept in the 1800's period and was filled with tourists. We rode uphill, really uphill!, to the Comfort Inn where we washed the bikes and checked in before a great dinner.
I rode Barb's new bike today to try it out. The guys at Clemmons Bicycle set it up for me and it worked great for this ride. It is a Raleigh bike with 29" wheels, shocks on the front and more like a hybride that a mountain bike, but it is perfect for a ride like this. The guys did a great job and it performed flawlessly.
Tomorrow I'll ride my Scott mountain bike as we tour the battlefields of Sharpsburg and Antietam before travelling the relatively short distance to Hagerstown, MD.
All in all a great day for riding and a wonderful start to our 7 day trip.