We headed into Labor Day weekend with no big plans. We thought Hermine was going to bring us rain, but by Friday the forecast called for partly cloudy skies, cooler temperatures, and almost no chance of rain. I wanted to do something “fun” to make the long weekend special, and over dinner Friday night we decided to make a day trip out of cycling to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia.
Cycling To Harpers Ferry
We decided to drive to Dickerson Conservation Park in Maryland, where we could access the tow path at about mile marker 40. It was about an hour drive from our house, with the last 12 miles on small country roads through beautiful farmland. The “park” facilities didn’t seem to be much more than a parking lot, porta-potty, and trail access, but that’s all we needed to get on our way cycling to Harpers Ferry.
The tow path is a dirt/gravel path that is sited between the C&O Canal (or what’s left of it) on the east and the Potomac River on the west. At mile 40, the “canal” looks like a pond covered with green slime. After a few miles it becomes completely overgrown, and as you keep heading north it is more like woods.
Two miles into our ride we rode over the Monacacy Aqueduct, a stone bridge that used to carry the canal over the Monacacy River. After that, the towpath reaches Point of Rocks, Maryland, and then cuts through the Catoctin Mountain Range. Here, the old canal bed is taken over by train tracks, and we “raced” several freight trains along our ride.
(source)
Once we got to Harpers Ferry, we carried our bikes over the footbridge to get to the town, and then took a leisurely break to eat lunch and explore Harpers Ferry. It is a really cute town, with historic buildings, small museums, and a number of restaurants and gift shops. Harpers Ferry is a National Historic Park, so much of the “town” is actually under the domain of the National Park Service, as is the C&O Canal towpath. It’s never hard for us to #findyourpark for weekend fun!
Four Miles Too Far
Our ride from Dickerson to Harpers Ferry was about 21 miles, and since we had no other plans for the day I suggested that we keep going a few more miles before heading back, so we could ride a total of 50 miles. Those extra four miles north turned out to be four miles too far.
First, my husband got a flat tire. We’ve been lucky that this has never happened on our long rides, but my husband was prepared with his tool kit and spare tubes. I got to see what it takes to change a tire, but it was an experience he would have been happy to live without.
As we got back on our bikes, I took out my phone to take a picture, and was met with one of the worst screens you can see halfway through an epic bike ride, that “HELLO” screen. I must have forgotten to lock my screen after my last photo stop, and the phone thought my shirt pocket was making failed log-in attempts, so it wiped itself clean for “security” purposes. Thanks, Apple!
This has happened to me once before, so I knew that all the pictures I had taken on our ride were gone–why hadn’t I Facebooked or Instagrammed over our lunch break?? Even more frustrating, it wouldn’t let me restore my phone without wi-fi, so I couldn’t take any pictures on the way back. And, my husband had left his phone in the car. That’s why I only have the one picture above to show for 50 miles of biking! 🙁
First world problems, I know, but it was such a lovely day, and I had taken so many great pictures ….
[Tweet “#Cycling To Harpers Ferry #fitness #weeklywrap”]
Weekly Wrap
The rest of my week was pretty normal,
with a few schedule adjustments
that I’ll recap for the Weekly Wrap Link Up
hosted by Holly and Tricia.
Monday: 45 min strength routine at home before taking the train to Newark for the day.
Tuesday: 4 mile run, including 10 laps at the track at a “comfortably hard” pace, which ended up being about 7:55 mph.
Wednesday: 45 min RealRide indoor cycling class at Revolve.
Thursday: 30 min strength routine at home before work.
60 min Orange Theory Fitness class after work.
I had an afternoon meeting out of the office that I knew would end by 4:00, so I signed up for a 4:30 pm class instead of my usual 5:00 am class. It was much easier to get my heart rate up–maybe I’m more comfortable pushing harder when I’m fully awake?
Friday: 4 mile neigborhood run.
My legs were still tired after OTF, but the weather was so nice I had to get out for a run. I remembered to grab my headlamp, which is definitely needed on my morning runs these days.
Saturday: 50 mile bike ride.
Sunday: 5.75 mile neighborhood run; 30 min yoga stretching video.
My legs were really tired, but again I could not resist the weather.
Or the beautiful sunrise.
Did you do anything fun this weekend?
Has your iPhone ever wiped itself clean on you?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I’ve never had my iPhone wipe itself clean! I think I’d have a nervous breakdown if that happened. I have so much stuff on there. Think I’ll back it up as soon as I post this comment…
Your bike ride sounds amazing and I’m going to use my imagination to picture all the sights!
It helps to have your photos set to back up to the cloud whenever you’re on wi-fi. I learned that the first time my phone wiped itself out.
(((runs to double check if hers is as NOTHING IN HER LIFE feels backed up right now 🙂 wait..that doesnt sound right….)))
Oh gosh….if my phone wiped itself clean, I’d be right there with Wendy having a breakdown. There have been a few times when my Ipod has “locked” (?) itself and I have not been able to turn it on…and that was a nightmare of an experience. I have a lot of stuff on there as well…fortunately, after letting it sit for a couple days, I was able to get back in and access all my stuff. And the flat tire…I’d have no clue what to do LOL
Nice week and ride! I got out last night and just think morning for short rides since I can’t run and it felt so good!
I am surprised at how much I love cycling! I’m not giving up running yet, but it’s nice to be able to go out with my husband and not be as sensitive to the heat!
Wow! I hope you got your iPhone restored and your data (and pictures!) back. I didn’t know it would do that! I use an android, and I have no idea whether they are set to do the same thing.
Sounds like a fun ride though, in spite of the problems. I once rode a century ride with a large group of people and it seemed like almost everybody had at least one flat tire. We actually ended up calling it the Flat Tire Century! Fixing a tire is an important skill. When I was riding a lot, I spent an hour or so at home practicing. Much better to be prepared!
Hah, I’m not sure I’d sign up for a Flat Tire Century, but if you’re going to have a flat, having it happen with a supportive group wouldn’t be the worst thing. I’m ordering my own tools so I’ll be prepared if I ever ride on my own again.
Are you at all uneasy about riding on the dirt and gravel with small tires? Makes me nervous! So glad our weekend turned out rain free!
I trusted my husband who said we’d be fine – and he thinks his tire got punctured when he rode off the trail, although we’ll never know!
I just got a new bike and would love to go on that trail sometime when I’m in the area! (I live in the Eastern Shore of Maryland).
It’s an easy ride as far as terrain goes and the views can be lovely!
Nothing real fun for me this weekend, it was a typical weekend of getting the kids back to school.
I don’t have an iPhone, but boy that sucks. I would be upset if all my photos were wiped away….
Oh my, I would not have been at all happy if my phone did that, then again my phone is a piece of crap anyway. It definitely has its own issues — like constantly running out of storage space.
Nope, not a fun weekend, obviously . . . I’d say it was nice to sleep in my own bed for a few nights, but with Bandit barking one night, Lola having one of her gagging spells another . . . geez, all I want is one night of uninterrupted sleep!
I feel for you! Last night I went to be early and my husband did not bring TL up, so I slept well, but I missed her little sighs and her wake-up nudges!
Eek! Glad your husband had the spare tube and his kit!
Oh, no! My iPhone has never done that, thank goodness! I would have cried!
However, what a fun way to spend an afternoon. I wanted to take a family ride today, but when we got home from lunch, all little man’s friends were playing outside, so he wanted to hang with them. Maybe next weekend.
Gosh, maybe I am really unlucky with my phone since it’s happened to me twice! Thank goodness for the backup on the “cloud”.
That bike ride sounds epic! But I am so sad that you lost all of your pictures. I’m totally a “pics or it didn’t happen” kind of girl so I get how frustrated you must have felt. Oh well, now you’ll have to do it again right? 🙂
You are finding some cool rides! That is weird about the phone- I haven’t had that happen- but disappointing for sure! Sounds like you had a fun day “unplugged” anyway 🙂
I have never had that I phone experience! That is a total bummer 🙁
I am sure it was a great ride. I love all these bike adventures and long rides you are taking.
At least the hubby was prepared with a flat kit, I would have no clue.
Maybe I need a new head lamp, mine isn’t lighting my path enough, I do better with a very thin flashlight i carry, but i do get tired of carrying it. I pop it in my sport bra when it gets light enough lol
I’m glad the weather held out for you! I love a long weekend bike ride – looks like you had a great time, despite the issues at the end.
Yeah, losing my photos was a distraction at first, but then I had to focus on enjoying the experience as it happened!
Oh man that stinks about your phone…so frustrating! I have an Android so I haven’t had that problem but I totally sympathize! That sounds like such a fun bike ride! I really need to invest in a nice bike so that I can go on similar rides with my boyfriend. Great job on your workouts! I’m going to need to finally get myself a headlamp for those early morning runs…
I feel like I’ve broken out my headlamp earlier this year, or maybe I just have less patience for running in the dark!
Yikes about the phone issue and flat tire!! That is wonderful that you both were able to take such a great ride. I love biking but haven’t done more than a little over an hour at a time. Someday, I hope to be able do rides like that!
We’ve built up to the longer rides but we don’t always have time for them. This trip pretty much took all day!
Man, what a view that must have been! Glad you had a great week of activity, even though there were technological issues 😛
Ugh, I hate it when technology fails on me. I too have been there where I’ve gotten the blue screen of death and lost pictures that hadn’t already been backed up to my iCloud. Like you said, first world problems…
Well, at least I’m not the only one! And it does motivate me to do those backups ….
The cycle trip sounds like a fun adventure. Flat tire aside, of course! My iPhone has wiped my calendar clean a couple of times. It’s SO disturbing not to mention annoying. I have no trust in it anymore, even though I have a new phone.
Is it sad that I lived in WV for a couple years but never made it to Harpers Ferry? :[ There was so much of the state I wanted to explore, but…sigh, med school. That bike ride looks like it was a lot of fun! I’m so sorry to hear that your phone wiped itself clean though. ;_; That’s horrible! (I need to go back up mine…)
Wow! I have never had my phone do that! Fingers crossed it never happens! Sounds like an eventful biking trip. 🙂
That C&O Canal path sounds awesome. I love that there are so many car free miles. Sorry about all the added drama though. ugghhhh
My previous iPhone would overheat, or get wet with sweat, and change languages. It would eventually come back around. Thankfully my new one has not done anything weird. The ride to Harpers Ferry sounds like so much fun — but not the flat. I wouldn’t know what to do with my flat tire kit but I would certainly give it my best. Thanks for linking, Coco.