Wilmington, DE to Baltimore, MD
On May 22nd, I rode the train from Burlington, VT to Wilmington, DE. The train was delayed by a few hours due to a power outtage outside of New York City, but I didn't mind - I was so excited to continue biking! I spent my first night of the trip in a Warmshowers home in Wilmington. I was a bit nervous biking through Wilmington at night, but I also remembered Wilmington well, since this was the city wherein I ended my bike trip in 2023. I arrived so late, my Warmshowers hosts were asleep and texted me instructions on how to get into their empty attic room above their garage. I went inside and found a few Smucker's Uncrustables waiting for me thanks to the generosity of my hosts. After eating the peanut butter sandwiches, I went straight to sleep. I needed to wake up early the next morning to start the ride!
I woke up at around 6am and started riding to Maryland! The riverfront area in Wilmington is beautiful, and I loved the early morning portion of this ride. For the first few miles, I was on a bike trail, which exists the length between Wilmington, Delaware and New Castle, Delaware. Once I arrived in New Castle, I stopped at First State National Historic Park, which was the first of a few National Park sites I got to experience on this trip! After New Castle, the East Coast Greenway route I was following started placing me on the shoulder of roads, and the views became far less exciting. A lot of highway images. However, I knew that this was one of the few days on this trip that I wouldn't be on a bike trail, so I was motivated to get through it!
After biking on roads for around 30 miles, I reached a bridge near Havre de Grace, Maryland that was impassable via bike. There was luckily a train station nearby, so I biked to the train station and booked a ticket right to Baltimore. I knew that this would shorten my intended ride, but the only other option was going all the way around on a route that would have taken me an additional six hours! In comparison, the train ride seemed preferable. I rode the MARC train from Havre de Grace to Baltimore.
Baltimore was truly a beautiful city, and I loved being there. I ate food at Red Emma's Cafe, a radical bookstore and vegan cofeee shop that I had always dreamed of visiting. It certainly lived up to all my expectations! After biking around the inner harbor and enjoying the sites, I went to the home of my second Warmshowers host. She was so friendly and kind, and she lived close to downtown Baltimore with a rooftop view! After chatting about biking with my host for an hour or so, I took a titular warm shower and went to sleep. The next day, I was going to bike right into Washington, DC!
Baltimore to Washington, DC
The first segment of the trip out of Baltimore was all on bike trails, and they were a beautiful site! I loved biking right next to and under the stadium where the Baltimore Ravens play - I was excited to see that they play right in downtown Baltimore! Once I got outside the city limits, there were a few riverside benches where you could get beautiful views of the city. After a while biking, of course, the trails ended, but this was far more manageable than the previous day. None of the roads were highway shoulders, and the trail I was following kept me mostly on quiet suburban streets. Eventually, I reached another bike path, and this one was apparently put in place of a streetcar network that used to run between Baltimore and DC. Why isn't that still running? This bike path was lovely, and it took me right into Washington DC. I sped to the Capitol building and took a picture with my bike in front of it, and then rode to my hotel. Washington DC was the only place I stayed where I spent money on a hotel because I knew I wanted to stay there for a whole day close to the National Mall, so that's what I did! I went right to sleep, ready for my fun DC day to come.
After I woke up the next morning, my friend Julie came up from Charlottesville, VA to hang out with me in DC! It was so good to see her! We went to the National History Museum and the Botanical Gardens. Julie also took pictures of me basking in the glory of the Library of Congress. I saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, and essentially all of the DC sites! It was a wonderful day! At around 7pm, after we ate dinner, Julie drove back to Charlottesville and I returned to my hotel, ensuring that I got enough sleep to endure the next day of biking
Washington, DC to Harper's Ferry, WV
The rest of my trip, from Washington, DC all the way to Pittsburgh, would be on a bike path! The first leg of the trip, to Cumberland, MD is on the C&O Canal Trail, a mostly dirt path that was a little rought at times, but ultimately a lot of fun. The first thing I did when I woke up in DC is go see the Excorcist steps, which happened to also be right next to the entrance of the Canal trail. The exorcist steps were very steep, so I can understand why the priest dies after falling down them in the film. Upon returning to the trail, I rode my bike for around 60 miles to Harper's Ferry, West Viriginia, right next to a beautiful river. It was truly a wonderful day biking. In Harper's Ferry, I stopped at a local pizza place and had my fill of amazing WV pizza. After eating, I had the task of riding up a very steep hill to my Warmshowers host. He warned me in advance that it would be uphill, but I don't think I was prepared for just how uphill he meant. After sweating through the uphill climb, I met my Warmshowers host who gave me an ice cold lemonade and told me about his daughter's music on Spotify. It was a sweet time, and after a short conversation, I retired to his guest room and started to get ready to sleep.
That night, there was a large storm, so I was glad that I had already made it to my destination! It was a bit frightening to be alone in a strange place with a stranger while it was storming, but I texted a few friends to calm me down. I looked at the weather and saw that it would be perfectly sunny in the morning, so I calmed my nerves and went back to sleep
Harper's Ferry, WV to Hagerstown, MD
The muddiest part of the trail turned out to be the section prior to Harper's Ferry, so I really lucked out that the storm didn't occur until I had already reached West Virigina. The next section of the canal trail was paved, which was wonderful! The ride from Harper's Ferry to Hagerstown was also one of my shortest days riding, so I was really feeling confident and good thorughout this entire day. After exiting the trail at around noon to go to my Warmshowers house, I noticed that they actually lived quite a ways from the trail entrance. This meant I would again have to ride on some roads, but luckily, there was a Taco Bell on the way so I took advantage of that.
These Warmshowers hosts lived in a beautiful neighborhood, and their house was eccentrically decorated from all of their travels. I arrived fairly early in the day, at around 2pm, but I took a nap before dinner. The family made me a pizza at around 6pm, and I also watched Jeopardy with my host's friends who apparently watched Jeopardy together weekly. After dinner a conversation, I returned to bed early, ready to tackle the next day