Rolling down the hill June 8

 We literally rolled down the hill into Maryland today, with a 32 mile ride into Cumberland.  We climbed gently for about 8 miles to the Eastern Continental Divide, then did very little pedaling for the next 24 miles, as we gave up the altitude we had gained over the past two days.  Sweet.  We had time for a leisurely lunch in Cumberland, followed, for some us, with excellent ice cream at the Queen City Creamery.  Then our group managed to monopolize the laundry at the hotel for the remainder of the afternoon.  There are several other groups of bikers staying here; I hope they didn’t have as much laundry as we did.

This is a profile of the altitude changes as we climbed up to, and then descended from, the Eastern Continental Divide. The scale makes it more dramatic than it really is. 

At the Divide, then the spectacular view as we started the descent.

Next stop the Mason Dixon Line, where we posed on the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland.

We didn’t go into Frostburg, but we did enjoy the artwork at the path into the town.

Mile zero of the Great Allegheny Passage.  Now we head down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to DC.

I love this statue, honoring the canal mules and the children who led them down the towpath. 

No girl germs at this table.  All the men ended up sitting at lunch together, with all the women at another table, mostly based on the order of our arrival.

Rainy day June 7

 We had a very short ride today, only 12 miles down the trail to Meyersdale. Nancy explained that complications in finding lodging for all of us contributed to the schedule. That was fortuitous, as today was gray and rainy.  We arrived in Meyersdale in mid- morning, explored a very good visitor center in the old train station, including watching an excellent video on the trail, exclaiming over places we had just seen, had a long lunch, and were very happy to check in early at our hotel.  

Not such a great view on a rainy morning, but still a very impressive trestle.

We secured our bikes in a gazebo to keep them dry while we had lunch.

Meyersdale is a quiet town.

The town has some nice murals, but it hasn’t done nearly as much to capitalize on its proximity to the trail as have other places.  It doesn’t even have a bike shop.

Sharon mugging it up in a second hand “treasure” store. 

Long, gentle uphill ride June 6

 Our 46 mile ride from Connellsville to Rockport, all on Great Allegheny Passage, was a consistent one percent grade, about 1000 feet of climbing for the day.  When I rode it in 2008, I didn’t notice the grade, but 14 years later, my legs were quite conscious that they had to keep moving.  Of course, my little bike computer now tells me the grade which psychologically doesn’t help. It was another beautiful day, with plenty of time to stop and play along the way, but the legs were still tired.  

The best pie of the trip, at least so far, was a homemade strawberry rhubarb I had at a country diner.  I was so eager to try it that the only pictures of it are in my mind.

Hope, Sharon, and I posed on one of many viaducts.  Out photographer had been staying at the same hotel the previous night.  This stretch of the trip is the first time we are passing or being passed by groups we recognize, as  doing multi day rides on the GAP trail is very popular.

Oops!

A cheery mural welcoming bikers to the small town of Confluence.  We ate lunch in the town square, noting that the bike shop seemed to be doing the best business.

Heading into the Pinkerton tunnel.  I like being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This isn’t a mural or a statue either, so I’m not sure what to call it, but it’s a great rails to trails depiction.

Counting down the miles 

Back in familiar territory June 5

 We headed south from Pittsburgh this morning on the Great Allegheny Passage, which will connect with the C&O canal and bring me right in to Washington.  We rode 58 miles, no hills on a rail trail!  When we are riding on roads, Sundays are usually peaceful, with lots less traffic.  Not so on a rail trail, especially on a day as nice as this one.  There were lots of family groups and hikers, and we encountered a couple of festivals along the trail.  I first rode the GAP trail in 2008, my first multi-day bike trip.  Now I’m enjoying picking out sights I remember.  We ate dinner tonight in a diner I had visited, and the ice cream is still great.

We didn’t have the trail to ourselves, especially in and around towns. 

These rock cuts were made more than 100 years ago when the railroad lines were laid.  They are so grown over that they look quite natural now, and the temperature is a few degrees cooler as you ride next to them.

I brake for waterfalls.

John, Cindy and Stan relaxing along the trail.

More bikes along the trail.

This festival was a fund raiser for trail maintenance.  I was happy to contribute, and to eat!

Into the home stretch.  I’ve bike about 1400 miles so far.

Another fine day 

Exploring Pittsburgh. June 4

 I’m exhausted—no bike miles, but we logged about eight miles of walking around Pittsburgh on the final day off of the trip.  The day was lovely, and there was lots going on.  With both the Gay Pride parade and an arts festival, many people were out and about, celebrating the resumption of special events.  

On our way across a bridge, we spotted a lone kayaker in front of the Allegheny County jail.  On our way back in the afternoon, a very large barge was going along there. 

I felt like a hick from the country, awed by the skyscrapers.

Do you recognize this?

We visited the Heinz Museum of History, which of course contained an exhibit of Heinz food, including lots of great old TV commercials.

Our final destination was The Point, where the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers meet.

French fries on a sandwich?  We had lunch at Primanti’s, which has been serving up these sandwiches for about ninety years.  Served on Italian bread, they include French fries, cole slaw, provolone, and your choice of another protein.  The combination was surprisingly tasty. 

Adventure along the way June 3

 No post yesterday because we loaded a UHaul again to avoid the predicted heavy rains, as well as a lot of hills.  I was quite happy to be riding in the van, took no photos, and sat out a rainy afternoon reading in another Holiday Inn Express.

Today’s ride was great fun.  I rode 40 miles into Pittsburgh, with minimal climbing.  Others logged 50 miles and about twice as much climbing as I did.  Nancy and I opted to have Ken drive us at the entrance to to Montour rail trail, cutting out five miles, mostly up very steep hills.  Rolling along the trail was great, but alas, we came to some construction, requiring a detour back on the hilly roads.  The ebikers and Super Stan took off, as I struggled up another 15 percent grade.  At the top, I was off my bike, wondering where everyone was, when a strange voice called my name.  I looked at an old red truck with Nancy was sitting next to the driver.  He had loaded her bike in the back of the truck, and I very happily agreed to put mine in and climb in the truck, too.  He drove us to a spot where we could get back on the trail, and so we missed a few more hills.  The rest of the ride was pretty much downhill to the Monongahela River and the Great Allegheny Passage, known as the GAP trail,  which we will ride down to Cumberland, Maryland.  

Looking down the trail

 Jew from one of the many bridges on the trail

A jeweled spider web

Sign at a tunnel entrance 

Earl, our rescuer, and Nancy hoisting my bike out of his truck.

Pastry selection at Minerva’s, a 99 year old bakery in McKeesport.  I had a wonderful cinnamon sugar pretzel with my lunch and some equally delicious carrot cake after dinner!

More hills. June 1

 It was another short but exhausting day, 35 miles into Newell, West Virginia, right on the Ohio River.  We had 3200 feet of climbing, lots of 15 percent grades, one that was 19 or 20.  I walked a few, the steepest, and sometimes because I hadn’t recovered enough from one to tackle another.  We did have one 13 mile stretch on a highway with gentler grades and better pavement that was easy rolling with beautiful scenery. Most of the scenery was lovely on the hillier stretches, too, but hard to take in when I’m struggling uphill or flying downhill.  

We meet many interesting people.  Linda, who works at the hotel we stayed in last night, is 77 and proudly informed us that she had run her first 5K event and is planning to do a 10K.  We told her how impressed we were, and she was very interested in our biking and our ages. 

I didn’t count, but Hope claims there were 93 cars loaded with coal in this train.

Dave stopped on the bridge to look out over the Ohio River.  The welcome to West Virginia sign was right at the end of the bridge.

Did I mention there are a few hills around here?