I left Harpers Ferry at about 8:20 AM after a nice breakfast at the B&B. I got to the Leesburg Colonial Inn in Leesburg, VA, about 1:50. It was a really nice ride, and the sky was almost cloud-free most of the day. I'd expected a muddy trail after the rains the day before, but it wasn't bad at all. It was warm, so perhaps the water had dried up, or maybe the storms just did not hit this section of the trail. The first five miles of the tow path out of Harpers Ferry were super - crushed stone and on par with the Pennsylvania portion. But then a washout had closed the trail! There had been really bad flooding in 2018 on the Potomac, and they were still trying to repair the damage. Lots of cyclists were wading through, but I took advantage of a shuttle that the communities had provided, and bypassed the washout. This also cut seven miles from my ride. After that, the towpath reverted to the packed dirt surface, but again, very few muddy spots.
Toward the end of the ride, I reached White's Ferry a short ferry ride across the river for cars, pedestrians, and bikes...
Then I took some surface roads to Leesburg. I visited the library to get my bearings for Saturday's ride, and checked in at the Inn (brick building, second story)...
I borrowed a phone again to text Laura, and called Mark and Karen to let them know of my status.
On the shuttle, I met a guy from Brooklyn who is an editor for the NY Times. He had visited his father for a day, who lives in Pittsburgh, before starting the bike trip with his son. His father is a retired dentist and a well-known Model Railroader!
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