At this phase of Zachary's life, we share a common interest in bicycles, as evidenced by the fact that my garage holds three bikes each. While his interest is different than mine-- he enjoys the two rat rod bikes he has built for cheap and feels cool tooling around town on his flat black painted creations-- there is some overlap. His third bike is a mountain bike (MTB) and we enjoy an occasional thrash through a forested trail together. When he saw the pictures from my
October tour of the
Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), he was intrigued and said he'd like to do that. Seeing an opportunity to spend quality time with my son, I pushed to see if he was serious about committing to a multi-day ride if I could arrange my summer schedule and outfit his MTB with a rack and panniers. He was excited about the possibility, so over the winter and spring we shopped equipment, adapted his bike, and planned an itinerary. We planned to ride Monday through Friday, but Lily's appointment with the USCIS caused us to push it to a Wednesday to Sunday trip. Fortunately, we could still make it work, though I prefer to have a day or two to rest before returning to work.
Day 1: (miles: 59 daily, 59 trip) The itinerary I rode for my October ride worked well, so we copied the first three days exact. We parked the car in Greenock, Pennsylvania, loaded minimal day gear, and rode 25 miles west to the Pittsburgh end of the GAP... mile 150 at Point State Park.
0 miles ridden, leaving Greenock, headed for Pittsburgh
Several new and old bridges criss-cross the river and the rails on this stretch of trail
This isn't my favorite part of the trail, but Zachary really enjoyed this portion. This 25 miles takes the rider through industrial areas, riverside shopping/dining/residential areas, and downtown skylines. About half way to Pittsburgh, the skies got very grey and let loose with some rain. We took temporary shelter under a Costco fuel island roof, but when it seemed it was going to last a while, we pulled out the rain jackets and pressed onward. It was a warm day, a moderate rain, and not too unpleasant to ride in. Fortunately, it was only rain, devoid of lightning danger. It rained less than an hour, then cleared.
We made good time to Pittsburgh and took some time to relax and munch some snacks at Point State Park, then headed back from whence we came... our car in Greenock.
Point State Park, the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers
Trains...
trains, all day... and all night! But, they are why this trail exists.
Arriving back in Greenock, we loaded bikes on the car and drove east along the river to West Newton, Pennsylvania. We went to Subway for dinner and parked the car in the overnight lot at the West Newton Station. We loaded full gear on the bikes and, again, rode west, approximately nine miles almost back to Greenock. This put us at about 59 miles for the day at the Dravo Cemetery Campground... a free primitive camp adjacent to the historic Dravo Cemetery. Both lean-to shelters were occupied when we arrived. One guy offered to let us share the shelter with him, but I decided to just pitch our tent and keep to ourselves. I did not sleep well this night. I awoke in the middle of the night to a gnawing sound. I went to investigate and discovered a pair of raccoons helping themselves to our food cache. I shooed them away, rehung our bag near the tent, then slept very lightly, guarding our food. Fortunately, our losses were minimal, to the point that we still brought food back home with us.
Campsite at the Dravo Cemetery Campground
Dravo Cemetery
Day 2: (miles: 40 daily, 99 trip) To complete the small section that we missed the day before between Dravo and Greenock, we left Dravo riding west for about 2.5 miles. Arriving in Greenock, we turned back east and retraced those 2.5 miles, past Dravo, and back through West Newton (passing our parked car). We stopped briefly at the station in West Newton and talked to a couple from Germany, who had taken 4 months away from their jobs to come to the US and ride their bikes from New York to San Francisco. We continued east toward our next stop in Connellsville, Pennsylvania.
Leaving Dravo for Connellsville, by way of Greenock
This colorful arch welcomes eastbound riders to Connellsville
Volunteers maintain this free trailside camping area in Connellsville
We managed to get my favorite of the four shelters
We arrived in Connellsville to find the shelter I wanted still available. We used the water supply to freshen up a bit and rinse out our ride clothes. We set up camp and we were HUNGRY! We ordered an eyes-bigger-than-our-belly pizza at the shop in the nearby plaza. It was delicious, but we couldn't come close to eating it all. We shared leftovers with two teenage boys who were cycling the GAP with their Grandpa. I'm not sure Grandpa realized how much fuel was needed for 2 teenagers, because they were very happy that we offered them extra carbs!
Watching the forecast on my phone, we questioned the next day's ride. It looked likely that there would be precipitation most of the day, with thunderstorms (and that means lightning) mixed throughout. We strongly considered cutting our five days to three and turning for the car in the morning.
The evening view from the shelter
Day 3: (miles: 46 daily, 145 trip) The night was dry in the shelter and I slept soundly, waking to find my food cache unharmed. The weather forecast had improved very slightly while we slumbered, but there had been rain off and on during the night and the morning was grey with drizzle. I mostly left the decision to Zachary whether to ride further east or retreat west. He was leaning toward retreat, but I hated for him to miss out on the beautiful scenery that we would cover on this day's ride. I suggested, since it was only about 25 miles back to the car, that we at least head east for five miles or so before we made up our mind. He agreed. Once we got to the five mile point (as I had hoped), he said we may as well just keep going.
The Pinkerton Tunnel is flanked by trestle on both ends to accommodate a large bend in the Casselman River
The trail in the background, crossing a mountain stream
Photo op at the milepost of my age
The weather turned out better than it was predicted. It rained off and on, but not constant or hard. This day of riding was noticeably uphill all day. Nothing that resembled steep or difficult, just noticeably up grade. The trail was a little messy, but I had the benefit of fenders... Zachary did not. The heaviest rain of the day's riding happened when we were about three miles from our camp. The skies opened up and drenched us with a cold rain. We were staying in a pay campground this night, so I knew we would have a hot shower when we got there. We skipped rain gear, lowered our heads, and cranked pedal!
We arrived, dripping and cold, at the Husky Haven Campground in Rockwood, Pennsylvania. Only one other site was occupied, so we had our pick of the place. We chose one of the few sites that had a pavilion and took shelter from the rain. We set our tent up under the roof, then rode the quarter mile, or so, back to the road and crossed the bridge into town. The campground office is in the basement of their guesthouse, directly across the river from the campground. We warmed up and cleaned up in the nice warm showers. We used the complimentary bike wash to rinse the trail grime off the bikes (crushed limestone and rain makes a mess of bikes). We had the office to ourselves, so we spent the evening there, out of the rain. We ordered a pizza from a shop just up the street, charged our phones, did a load of laundry, and shot some pool at "Barry's Pool Hall" (Barry and his wife own and operate the Husky Haven).
When we felt it was time to turn in, we hopped back on the bikes and made a run, between rain showers, for the campground back across the river. We were thankful for our dry tent under roof. It rained pretty hard through the night, but the raindrops on the tin roof above us was a great soundtrack for sleep... and it nearly drowned out the train horns that are pretty prevalent through the night at the Husky Haven. I slept well.
Barry's Pool Hall in the office of the Husky Haven Campground
Husky Haven Campground on a clear morning
Day 4: (miles: 46 daily, 191 trip) We awoke refreshed to sunshine and clear skies. The Casselman River had risen significantly from the overnight rain, and was flowing fast and muddy past the campground. Rockwood is as far east as this trip would take us, so today would just be a reverse ride of the previous day. We packed up fairly leisurely, anticipating a relatively easy pedal back down grade to Connellsville.
Leaving Husky Haven in Rockwood, headed back to Connellsville
There were a few messy spots on the trail from the previous nights rain, but the crushed limestone riding surface dried surprisingly fast. There were a number of areas where the trail was partially eroded from water runoff and some limbs and trees had littered the trail overnight. I was extremely impressed with the speed at which trail volunteers cleared the storm debris. Several places we saw and smelled fresh sawdust where early morning cleanup had already occurred. The trail was clear all the way to Connellsville.
We stopped off and spent some time in Confluence. We investigated the Outflow Campground and I will add this to my list of potential places to stay. We did not stay in Confluence on this ride, but I did on my last ride and was not very fond of the campground I chose. The Outflow is better. While there, we bumped into the Grandpa and teenage grandsons that we shared the pizza with. They had met some family there and were taking a few rest days at the campground.
Yesterday's rain had soaked my nearly 25 year old leather palm riding gloves and they were disintegrating. When in Confluence on my last trip, I stopped in at a bike shop for some local information. The owner was extremely helpful, though I purchased nothing from him. With my gloves in sad shape, I knew just where to get another pair. We rolled into town and visited Confluence Cyclery and I picked out a fancy pair with gel palm. I asked the owner to give my trusty old Trek leather palms a proper burial. I reminded him that he helped me the last time through and he thanked me for remembering him on this trip.
A mural just outside Confluence, Pennsylvania
Last night's rain made for many beautiful waterfalls on today's ride
We made good time on the down grade back to Connellsville. We were hoping to get my favorite shelter. Alas, it was Saturday, and when we arrived, all four shelters were occupied. At least one of them (and I suspected two of them) were occupied by locals who were just free camping on a Saturday night. This is against the rules, but who is to stop them? The shelters are intended for through travelers only (bikers, hikers, and paddlers) who pour money into the local economy during the recreation season.
We planned to pitch our tent in the grass, but struck up a conversation with a solo fella in one of the shelters. He recognized us and it turns out he was the guy who offered to share a shelter with us the first night in Dravo. He extended the same invitation and we accepted this time.
His name was Ron and I really enjoyed talking with him. He traveled very light. He was riding a no-frills bike with water bottle cages duct taped to the frame. Water bottles were recycled soda bottles. He carried a department store tent that he acquired from someone who was throwing it away and a basic plastic tarp. In a small duffel, he said he carried one change of clothes, one light jacket, and one blanket. He had no sleeping pad, but used an emergency blanket (picture a heat reflecting aluminum foil blanket) if the ground got too cold. The tent, tarp, and duffel were bungee corded to a rack (that had been repaired with duct tape) with a tool kit attached to the back of his saddle. That was pretty much Ron. He said most towns have a dollar store and he buys cheap food rather than carrying it and if he wears out a piece of clothing or needs something additional, he just finds a thrift store rather than carrying excess baggage. Talking with him further, he shared that he was divorced and lives in Florida, but has family in Pittsburgh. Each spring, he rides his bike from Florida to Pittsburgh for the summer. When he gets bored, he hops on the trail for a while. In the fall, he rides his bike back to Florida. Honestly, I felt a little indulgent that night, as I rolled out my sleeping pad and my fluffy sleeping bag in my Eureka lightweight backpacking tent. I also felt a little guilty because the first time I met Ron in Dravo, his scruffy appearance caused me to decline his offer to share a shelter. Turns out, he was a good guy and I admire the simplicity of his life. I sincerely hope I bump into him again on future GAP rides I may take.
We share a shelter with Ron from Florida
The abandoned trestle we view across the river from the campsite
Day 5: (miles: 25 daily, 216 trip) Skies were clear on Sunday and we packed and headed out for the final 25 miles. Although the shortest mileage day of the trip, it seemed a hard ride. Partly, we were tired, but the return trip of a turn around is often difficult because it is a repeat of what you have already done. Riding the first direction has anticipation of what is ahead. The return trip is mostly just a rewind of where you've already been. Still, it was a nice day for a ride. We finished without incident, logging a total of 216 miles in 5 days of riding, and with no mechanical breakdowns. We packed up bikes and gear and headed for home, stopping to load up on Taco Bell (as is often our adventure tradition).
As my kids rapidly grow up, I don't take opportunity to spend concentrated time with them lightly. It helps that bikes are a bit of a hobby for him and it is a common interest for us, but I feel very blessed that Zachary chose to spend 5 days adventuring with me ... and asked for copies of photos so he could brag to his friends on Instagram about his 216 mile bike tour with his dad. Even better... he asked if we could maybe do it again next summer! He'll soon be an adult pursuing some life apart from me; so, yep... it's on my list to try to make happen for the summer of 2018!
He came. He rode. He proudly wears the t-shirt and wants to go ride it again
