In 2020 I was planning to take three weeks and hike the John Muir Trail. However, the pandemic caused too much uncertainty for me to commit to an endeavor of that scale. As a consolation prize my wife agreed to do a bikepacking trip with me on the C&O/GAP trails. We had tried to do the C&O before but a broken derailleur hanger cut the trip in half. This would be our redemption.
I am a teacher so this trip is VERY budget minded. I used UL backpacking I already owned. I slapped some 36c gravel tires on her Diamondback Insight along a rack and panniers we already owned. My bike is a Motobecane Cross Uno disc with 36c gravel tires and Amazon bikepacking bags. We started in DC and went uphill to Pittsburg. Our mileage was 340 miles which is a little longer than the trail itself but we did some exploring in towns along the way. Plus we parked my truck in DC and had to cross town to start the trail. In Pittsburgh we rolled our bikes onto a train and rode back to DC. This was during the protests in DC so it nearly was abandoned as we rode across the National Mall to get back to Reagan International where my truck was parked.
I am no cinematographer and am just learning to edit but I am in the process of putting together a YT video for each day of our 8 day trip. If you haven’t checked out these trails then it is an excellent way to ease your way into bikepacking.
I like to think my editing skills improved after this video but I don’t want to spam the post with all them. Here is a link to the first video.
I am a teacher so this trip is VERY budget minded. I used UL backpacking I already owned. I slapped some 36c gravel tires on her Diamondback Insight along a rack and panniers we already owned. My bike is a Motobecane Cross Uno disc with 36c gravel tires and Amazon bikepacking bags. We started in DC and went uphill to Pittsburg. Our mileage was 340 miles which is a little longer than the trail itself but we did some exploring in towns along the way. Plus we parked my truck in DC and had to cross town to start the trail. In Pittsburgh we rolled our bikes onto a train and rode back to DC. This was during the protests in DC so it nearly was abandoned as we rode across the National Mall to get back to Reagan International where my truck was parked.
I am no cinematographer and am just learning to edit but I am in the process of putting together a YT video for each day of our 8 day trip. If you haven’t checked out these trails then it is an excellent way to ease your way into bikepacking.
I like to think my editing skills improved after this video but I don’t want to spam the post with all them. Here is a link to the first video.
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