GAP 2017

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

in the GAP

One man...

One bike...

One goal...

I have had a fascination with bicycles most of my life.  I remember the excitement of my first non-training-wheel bike... a 1970's orange Huffy 20" with ape hanger handlebars and black racing stripes.  I put a lot of miles on that bike... as Evel Knievel, a bad-to-the-bone biker, a motocross racer... ah, the freedom of a bike and a childhood imagination!

As I outgrew the 20", I moved to a 26" ten-speed with drop style racing handlebars.  My interest in bikes was fueled during this time by Olympic cycling events and the movie Breaking Away.  

In high school, our library had a subscription to Bicycling magazine and I loved turning the glossy pages full of cycling gear and stories.  And, that is when I discovered bicycle touring... loading up a bike with lightweight camping gear and taking trips... what an awesome idea!  I would turn the pages and imagine someday parking my bike for the evening and rolling my sleeping bag out in my tent... all of which I hauled under my own strength while turning pedals.  I was so enamored with bicycle touring during this time that my required senior English class term paper was titled "How to Prepare for a Bicycle Tour".

In 1993, I bought a new Giant Yukon mountain bike (MTB), thinking that mountain biking looked like great fun.  However, I soon discovered that in 1993 there were almost no places to legally ride a mountain bike in the way it was intended.  As a result, it got very little use for many years.

In the past decade, however, America's bike trail systems (both municipal and dormant railbed trail conversions, as well as MTB trails) have grown exponentially.  Along with that, my interest in cycling has also rebounded.  I tuned up the '93 and began riding local rails-to-trails with the kids.  Over the past few years, I have been converting it from an off road bike to a more hybrid bike with less aggressive tires and a cargo rack, which is more suitable to rail trail riding.  I have also been riding more often, taking advantage of after work riding opportunities on various rail trails that are near my route home.

When Jen decided earlier this year to take herself on vacation in September, I started pondering a week's vacation I had scheduled with nothing planned in October.  Perhaps a man-cation was in order?

And, then the idea came to me...

I was reading a local cycling friend's blog and started clicking through some of the other blogs he featured on his page.  One was written by a fella in Colorado who has done a number of multi-day cycle tours.  I read about his most recent outing and he mentioned some trails that he would like to try in the future... one of them being the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail, which spans 150 miles  between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland.  Wait a minute, I thought, that is close to me... just a few hours away in Pittsburgh!

I started googling info on the GAP and the cycle touring bug of old bit me again.  It would be a lot of work to prepare and plan and I only had a few months.  I had never done a solo adventure, but I had wanted to.  Round trip it would be 300+ miles and I questioned my ability and fitness level, but I wanted to try.  I began planning...

Most of the camping gear I already had from backpacking, but I would need to further outfit "Old '93".  I already had the rear rack and I felt it would sufficiently handle the weight.  I researched panniers and learned that they are a difficult fit on an MTB because the shorter wheelbase causes heel strike on the bags.  I decided on a set that I thought would fit and clear.  When they arrived, I had slight heel-strike issues, so I had to modify the mounting a bit.  I adapted an extra rear rack for the front of the bike, and I added a fender set (the GAP is all crushed limestone base) and lights.  I beefed up my tool kit a bit and added a handlebar bag and a handlebar camera mount.  I mapped out an itinerary and researched overnight stops.  It took all of the two months, but I was finally ready!

Day 1:  (miles: 59 daily, 59 trip)  I parked the car at a trailhead in Greenock, Pennsylvania and with a lightly loaded daypack rode 25 miles west to the Pittsburgh end of the GAP (mile marker 150) at Point State Park, where the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers converge. I then rode the same 25 mile route back to the east to the car in Greenock.  By doing this, I was able to avoid parking in Pittsburgh and I knocked the first 50 round-trip miles off the end of the trail without a fully loaded bike.  This portion of the trail was a mix of industrial, residential and urban.  There were parts of the trail that I found enjoyable, but it was a lot of merely turning pedals and logging miles.  The closer I got to downtown Pittsburgh, the noisier my surroundings became.  Point State Park was a unique and historical spot and I wouldn't have minded hanging out there a little longer than I did, but I still had a lot of miles to cover for the day.  Once I started back east, I was anxious to get to a quieter section of the GAP.

0 miles ridden, Greenock, Pennsylvania riding west to Pittsburgh

25 miles ridden to Point State Park (GAP mile marker 150), the confluence of three rivers

Back in Greenock, I loaded the bike on the car and drove to West Newton, Pennsylvania, which was further east down the trail.  This is where I would leave the car parked for the duration of my trip.  I grabbed a sub at Subway and then I loaded all my gear and rode 9 miles west (almost back to Greenock again) and spent the night camped at the Dravo Cemetery and Campground.  Yes, that is an unusual combination, but the neighbors are quiet!  I was not camped in the cemetery proper, but directly beside it in a free trail camp area with two lean-to shelters, a pavilion, fire rings and picnic tables... quite nice for a free campground at the cemetery.  I shared the area that night with a boy scout troop and Dan and Dave, cyclists from Cleveland, Ohio and Anchorage, Alaska who were riding from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.

Dravo Campground

Full moon at the Dravo Cemetery... legend is that it is haunted...

Day 2:  (miles: 40 daily, 99 trip) I left Dravo and rode 2.5 miles further west to complete the small section between Dravo and Greenock (because I didn't want to almost ride the entire GAP).  In Greenock, I turned around and headed east, back past Dravo and back past my car parked in West Newton.  At this point I began the actual linear portion of my solo trip. This was the shortest mileage day of the trip, but I struggled with this day.  I wasn't as conditioned for the longer miles as I should have been and I was coming off a high mileage day.  This was also the first complete day with a fully loaded bike.  In addition to that, some of this day's scenery was uninspiring and I was pushing a light headwind much of the day.  I ended the day in Connelsville, Pennsylvania where I camped in the town's free lean-to shelters.  I shared camp this night with Keith, a cyclist from San Diego, California who was riding from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh.  I went to an Italian restaurant in the nearby plaza (with a large front window to watch my bike) and had a lasagna dinner.  The camp area was very clean and well maintained, with a nice view, and included 4 shelters.  Connelsville was my favorite stop and my favorite trail town of the entire trip.  Because there was no crowd, I set my tent up inside the shelter and also parked my bike under roof.  I enjoyed swapping stories and comparing gear with Keith and it was a very enjoyable evening.

Leaving Dravo

Because some people are just ignorant!  Incidentally, I looked over the hill side and it was covered in garbage... yep... ignorant!

This beautiful arch welcomes cyclists to Connelsville

End of day 2

The view from my shelter.  Later I watched a spectacular moon rise over this trestle.

Home and garage

Making breakfast on my new Ohuhu bio-fuel stove... a nice addition to my camping gear

Sunrise over Connelsville

Day 3:  (miles: 46 daily, 145 trip)  This was my favorite section of the trail.  The average postcard is what, about 4" x 6"?  This was like riding through a postcard 46 miles long!  It was characterized by longer spaces between towns filled with woods, rocks, colorful leaves on the trees and crunching under the tires, and it followed a river with rapids plunging over and between boulders.  These miles seemed the easiest of the trip (despite a flat tire a little over an hour into the ride) and this day was the ride I came for!

My only real mechanical issue was a flat tire 4 miles before Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania

I'll take some luck! (But I first checked the backside of the board to make sure it was not a cruel prank and my tapping would disturb a hornet's nest... it was all clear!)

The Pinkerton Tunnel is at a bend in the Casselman River and  features a cool trestle-tunnel-trestle in rapid succession.  

By this time I had refined my packing a bit and my rig looked more put together

I passed 150 of these mile markers (twice), so I started stopping for significant photo ops

Husky Haven Campground in Rockwood, Pennsylvania is a favorite on websites about the GAP.  Keith (from the Connelsville camp) had stayed here on his way from DC and recommended it.  Dave (from the Dravo camp) had ridden the GAP once prior and he also recommended it.  It was on my itinerary for this night.  Indeed, it was a gem of the GAP.  It is owned and operated by a retired couple and they provide great accommodations for thru-cyclists at a reasonable cost.  The campground was meticulously maintained.  Every site had a level tent area, a picnic table, a fire ring, a wood rack under roof and stocked with dry firewood and newspaper, and trash and recycling bins.  Some sites (like the one I chose) also included a pavilion.  The camp office was located in town (only about a quarter mile by road across the river).  It was open 24 hours and featured clean showers, potable water, laundry facilities, bike wash, WiFi, guest use computer/printer, phone charging station, and pool and ping-pong tables.  When I arrived, Dan and Dave were also here.  We three went looking for dinner, but it seems restaurants and bar kitchens are all closed on Mondays in Rockwood.  We ended up getting pizza and sandwiches at a local gas station convenience store and ate next door to the gas station on the patio of a local bar.

One of the complaints of some who camp along the GAP is the noise of the trains.  The GAP follows rivers (Monongahela, Youghiogheny, and Casselman) and there were once rail lines on both sides of the rivers.  The rail line on one side was abandoned years ago and became the modern day Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.  The rail lines across the river from the GAP are still very active, though, which makes for difficult sleeping in a tent.  Rather than complain about the train noise, I chose to embrace it... for the very experience I was enjoying was made possible by trains.  With the campground's proximity to the road crossing at Rockwood, the trains were especially loud at Husky Haven, because they all blasted the horns as they passed the campground and road crossing.  The way the mountains were shaped made this kinda fun to listen to.  Trains out of the east seemed to come out of nowhere.  You couldn't hear them until they were almost in town and they rumbled in fast (on a down grade) and blasted the horns.  You could then hear them in the distance hitting the horns at two more crossings before they finally faded away.  Trains out of the west were the opposite.  You could hear them lugging up the valley (on an up grade) long before they hit town.  You could hear the horn at the same two distant crossings.  Finally, they would hit the horns at Rockwood and rumble through town, disappearing quickly.  The trains ran all through the night, but after riding several miles, I slept pretty well, despite them.  They would cause me to stir, but I would fall right back asleep and woke feeling well rested.

Home and garage at Husky Haven Campground

Day 4:  (miles: 59 daily, 204 trip)  This was a mixed day.  The first half was filled with nice scenery and several interesting man-made features.  The second half was drudgery and turning pedals by sheer will.  

Heading out for day 4

Early in this day's ride, I crossed the 1,908 feet long Salisbury Viaduct with spectacular far-reaching views of the Casselman River valley.  I had the entire Viaduct to myself and I felt like sounding my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world... "YAWP!"

"The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering. 

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." ~Walt Whitman, Song of Myself (as featured in a favorite classic movie, Dead Poet's Society).

The Salisbury Viaduct (1,908 feet long)

Partial view from the Salisbury

New meets old... here you can see the more modern steel/concrete bridge built atop the patina girders of the original Salisbury Viaduct trestle structure.

Next, the trail brought me to the Eastern Continental Divide.  Although a gradual ascent, the 126 miles of trail between Pittsburgh and the Divide climb from an elevation of 720 feet above sea level to the highest point of 2,392 feet above sea level.  To an eastbound rider, the Divide represents the end of days of pedaling ever so slightly uphill.  In the last 24 miles from the Divide to Cumberland, Maryland, the trail plunges back to an elevation of 625 feet above sea level.  Eastbound riders look forward to nearly coasting the last 24 miles of the GAP.  To a round-trip rider, like myself, this is a mixed blessing... after all, what goes down must pedal back up!  (We'll get to that in a minute!)

Chart shows the elevation gain over 126 miles from Pittsburgh to the Divide, then dropping into Cumberland (just off the left side of the pic)

Rolling down from the Divide, I rode through the heart of Big Savage Mountain via the 3,294 feet long Big Savage Tunnel... that's over a half mile underground!  The tunnel is lit, but still fairly dim inside... and chilly!  As the trail exited the tunnel, I stopped at Big Savage Overlook to admire spectacular views of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Big Savage Tunnel (3,294 feet long)

Big Savage Overlook

A few more miles down the trail, I came to the Pennsylvania/Maryland state line at the iconic and historic Mason-Dixon line.  I was enjoying gravity's pull on bike and rider and 50-ish pounds of gear and I nearly blew right past the Mason-Dixon line.  I stopped for a quick pic and made a mental note to spend a bit more time here on the return trip.

PA/MD Mason-Dixon line

Descending 8 miles from the Divide, I arrived at Frostburg, Maryland.  This was to be my stop for the night and I planned to splurge for a motel and sleep in a real bed this night.  My plan was to stay at a local mom and pop motel in Frostburg that featured reasonably priced rooms and very good reviews.  The motel was over a mile from the trailhead and Frostburg is built on the side of a mountain, so the hotel owner offered a shuttle service from trailhead to motel.  I checked with him prior to the trip and he said just call when you get to the trailhead.  I did just that, and the hotel owner answered his cell phone from a hospital bed.  Obviously, he could not shuttle me.  Time for a plan B.  The town had built a switchback trail that climbed from the trailhead to the edge of town.  I geared down the bike and rode up to the edge of town were I came to the Trail Inn.  Not really wanting to continue riding uphill exploring options in Frostburg, I stopped and inquired about a room for the night.  I was not very impressed with the Inn and I felt the rooms were more than I wanted to pay for the accommodation.  They did have a "bunkhouse" option, however... a much cheaper price for a bed in a co-ed dorm-style room with private baths and showers.  I looked at the bunkhouse and I was the only guest, so far.  I wasn't crazy about it, but it was and would be a long mile day and it was a place to sleep.  I negotiated a slightly lower price and reserved a bed.  I then stripped my bike of all but necessities and secured my gear in the bunkhouse and continued the last 16 miles down into Cumberland, Maryland to the 0 mile marker and the end of my one-way ride.  I quickly snapped a couple pictures of the end and turned right around and pedaled my lightly loaded bike uphill for 16 miles back to my bunkhouse in Frostburg.  Part way up to Frostburg, I passed Dan and Dave rolling fast into Cumberland.  I waved and shouted "safe travels" as they whizzed by.  This would be the last time I would bump into them as they were continuing on to Washington DC on the C & O Canal Trail.  Even though the bike was nearly empty and the railbed never exceeded a maximum grade of 1.7%, 16 miles of uphill pedaling is not very fun.  Back at the bunkhouse, I was still the only guest.  I grabbed a shower and walked up the hill to the downtown area and ate an entire 12" pizza at Fat Boy's Pizza Shack... yum!  I then did a quick load of laundry and went to bed... having the whole bunkhouse to myself!

My "Plan B"

Not crazy about the "bunkhouse", but it was a bed and a shower and it appeared to be clean (though I chose to sleep on the bed in my own sleeping bag!)

150 miles from Pittsburgh, PA at the mile 0 end of the GAP in Cumberland, MD

Day 5:  (miles: 45 daily, 249 trip)  Day 5 started by climbing the last 8 of those miles back up out of Frostburg to the Divide... with a loaded bike rather than last evening's empty one.  On fresh legs, though, it wasn't a bad climb.  I broke it up with a longer photo op at the Mason-Dixon Line and another stop at the Big Savage Overlook.  Still, the Divide was a welcome sight... now just a gradual down slope over the many miles back to my car in West Newton.  The weather was perfect and the leaves were beautiful, so I stopped and snapped more pics going this direction, taking more time to enjoy the scenery.  I stopped for the night in Confluence, Pennsylvania, grabbing a sub and an RC cola at a grocery store before settling into the Paddler's Lane Campground for the night.  On this night I camped alone and I was feeling pretty homesick.  My schedule was such that I could ride hard and finish Thursday or take it more leisurely and wrap up Friday.  Laying in my tent missing my kiddos and the familiarity of home, I decided I'd be home tomorrow.

A sculpture on the Frostburg switchback... an appropriate sculpture, indeed!

The Borden Tunnel is not lit and I actually needed my headlight in the center

I've got a butt cheek in 2 different states!

Big Savage overlook... again

Back through Big Savage Tunnel... slower this time, because it is slightly uphill

Back over the Divide

Keystone Viaduct

My view... the Third Eye eyeglass mirror keeps me aware of what is happening on my backtrail.

Paddler's Lane Campground is across the river from the trail... and very close to the train tracks!  Here, it sounded like trains were going to come THROUGH my tent.  Still, I was tired and slept well.

Day 6:  (miles: 51 daily, 300 trip)  I got an early start on Thursday morning, leaving Confluence under a bit of fog.  I stopped for some breaks and some photos ops, mostly prior to Connelsville.  The scenery beyond Connelsville was not as interesting, so I stopped a few times, but mostly these miles were just head down and pushing for home.  I had not touched my rain gear once during the trip, but it was starting to get cloudy as I neared the end on Thursday.  About 3-4 miles from my car, it started to sprinkle, but still not enough to get very wet.  I rode on to West Newton.  It had been an incredible trip and an experience that I had long wanted to try... but I was glad to get my butt off that saddle and head home!  I packed everything in the car and loaded the bike.  I got a few miles down the road and the skies opened up and I drove in rain all the way home.

Fog over Confluence

Ohiopyle Trestle

Several years ago, before this trail existed, I walked across this same then-abandoned Ohiopyle Trestle with some friends to explore the other side of the river, after finishing a backpack trip on the Laurel Highlands Trail. (Old photo on right shows Phil and Andy on the trestle, 10/1991)

Benny calls these "wishes" for some reason.  Packs of wishes were making me homesick.

300+ miles (with town accesses) to complete the entire GAP in both directions!  Glad to head home!

With absolute perfect weather, my first bicycle tour was a great trip.  I'm not sure how many bike tours are in my future (I think I prefer backpacking), but it was great to experience something few have... 6 days, 300+ miles, camping on a bike.  I'm not sure there were any profound lessons learned while pondering life as I cranked pedals solo down miles of trail, but it reaffirmed to me that I prefer a fairly simple life.  I always enjoy spending a few days to a week in an outdoor context where I carry my basic needs by my own strength... be it on my back, on my bike, or in a canoe.  I was chatting with an outdoorsy friend recently and he commented that he lives for experiences, not material things.  Trips like this affirms that mentality.  Not that I don't want some material things, but I am pretty content with a fairly simple life and I would rather have experiences like this over a big house and fancy cars.

One man.

One bike.

One goal... completed!