Trip highlights

It was a great trip.  Although we didn't expect the weather to be as consistently cool as it was, nor the ground as soft as it sometimes was, we were prepared with the right clothing and gear nonetheless.

For me, the highlights of the trip were:

• Visiting many neighborhoods around Pittsburgh, especially the Southside.
• Meeting Ted of Ted's Excellent Bike Repair shop.
• The two hour in-depth tour at Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's house.
• Riding 22 miles downhill from the Eastern Continental Divide to Cumberland.
• The serenity of biking 27 miles through Ohiopyle State Park.
• Traversing numerous valleys on long, high elevated viaducts, all in mint condition.
• Crossing train tracks on newly built steel bridges.
• Staying overnight at the Levi Deal Mansion in Meyersdale.
• Getting spooked at the optical exhibit at The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh.
• Dinner at the Monterey Bay Grotto high above Pittsburgh's three river convergence.

Final Day

Well I think Jim has pretty much said it all. Great adventure, excellent company. Hopefully Bob has succeeded in getting to DC.

There were at least two days when I seriously wondered if I would make it. As people keep pointing out I'm not 25 any more! The last 2 days were hard going as my knees decided it was their turn to hurt. However despite not being able to put any load on them the flat trail meant I could find a gear combination that would keep me rolling even if I did have to get off and walk up any inclines.

This was my first attempt at biking a distance like this so I am pleased to have completed it. For the next one I have a good idea of what to expect and how to train for it.

Many thanks to Jim for all his hard work planning the trip and inviting me along for the ride!! Also to Eva and Anita for holding the forts so we could venture forth on our trusty steeds!
Tony

Day 7: final day

Amazingly, our seven day trip from Pittsburgh to Cumberland and back has concluded. We woke up today in Connellsville after a long rainy night. After a hearty breakfast at the Home Town diner (where we ate last night), we got on the trail to begin the final 43 mile push. My rear tire was looking a little flat as we started, so I attempted to inflate it with my portable hand pump. Unfortunately I managed to completely deflate the tire while failing to get the pump attached to the valve! Tony's CO2 inflator saved the day. Tony wore his new knee brace, though it was never clear that it was helping. We were mostly in deep woods today, with nice views of the river on one side and occasional waterfalls and streams descending the steep hills on the other. The same soft clay that we slogged through on our second day was waiting for us again today for a mile or so, after what was apparently a full day of rain yesterday. We stopped at the bike shop in West Newton for a tire top off and to buy a replacement CO2 cartridge. Then on to the Picnic Stand for tacos and a chicken Philly. We chatted with a number of other northbound cyclists on the trail. I also had five minutes of play time with a very friendly and cute white kitten who lived alongside the trail.

We got back to the car after four hours of pedaling. We spent about half an hour getting the bike rack reassembled, washing the mud off the bikes, taking some final pictures, and stripping everything off the bikes. We then retired to a local cafe for cold drinks and free WiFi to search for a room for the night.

We had our first and only really nice dinner tonight at the Monterey Bay Grotto at the top of a tall building on the top of Mt. Washington. Spectacular high view of the city...

Tomorrow we're going to catch the contemporary art installations (room-sized) at The Mattress Factory when it opens. Then Tony hits the road and I head for the airport.
It's been a great trip, Tony's been an excellent travel companion, and I am already starting to think about the next biking adventure.

16:45. Job done! GAP biked both ways!

Tony

Ohiopyle Falls

Day 6. Rockwood - Connellsville

We had a great stay at the Trail House Inn thanks to Lynn and his wife Debbie. We were very well looked after and had a very comfortable night. Breakfast featured delicious sausages from the local butcher.

Lynn was good enough to open up his very well stocked bike shop and take care of my gear shifting problems. No doubt from all the grit we picked up in the rain on Day 2. While he was sorting that out I bought another saddle to replace the torture device that was on the bike. The words 'comfy' looked good on the labelling. We also fitted a stalk extension to raise the handlebars thus creating a more upright riding position. Hey, it must have worked .. I completed a 50 mile ride today! Didn't think that was possible a few days ago.

The early part of the ride was a beautiful, sunny fall day. We made good time along the sun dappled trail to Confluence where it started to cloud over. We had a quick lunch at the Lucky Dog Cafe where it started to spit with rain. They had a wifi connection so we were able to look at the weather radar and see that there was more rain coming. We thought we would be able to do the 10 miles to Ohiopyle before the next band of rain so pressed on.

We made it to the bakery in Ohiopyle for a hot chocolate just as it started to rain lightly. After the chocolate fix we did a quick tour of the Park in town and snapped a few photos of the Falls before setting out on the next leg to Connellsville, our night stop. Along the way we spotted a large Kingfisher and Great Blue Heron and were gladdened to read that an Otter release program has been a success in the cleaned up river.

We arrived in Connellsville just as the rain began to get heavier so were glad to get to the Greenwood House B&B.
Dinner was at the local Diner and just the right fare for a rainy evening.

Tomorrow is our last day, heading back to our starting point at McKeesport. The forecast is for rain. We will decide how to tackle it in the morning.

Tony

Sent from my iPhone

Day 5. Cumberland - Rockwood

After the dramas of trying to find accommodation last night we ended up in a room overlooking the train tracks. The good was that the trains were going very slowly through town and not sounding their horns. However they did make the building shake and were rumbling and clanky noisy. Inadvertently I discovered a great way to get back to sleep. I started trying to count the number of seconds it took for the trains to pass by. Never managed to stay awake long enough to find out, although at breakfast we watched one take at least 15 minutes. It had tankers carrying Molten Sulphur .., firstly where do you get that from and secondly who uses it and what for?

We caught our train at 11:30 and rode it up to Frostburg. Parents, your yelling and screaming children in a confined space for an hour are not cute.

I set off up the hill with some trepidation. 9 miles of uphill to our planned picnic lunch spot at the viewpoint near the Big Savage Tunnel was an intimidating thought, but it turned out to be a breeze and most enjoyable, as was the rest of the ride to Rockwood. It was a beautiful sunny day, cool enough to be very comfortable riding, the trees just beginning to turn and it was downhill enough to maintain 12-15 mph instead of the 7-8 I had been doing the other way.

The day flew by. It seems I just needed the 140 mile warm up. I know, I needed to train for it.

The plan is Rockwood to Connellsville tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a sunny day to make up for the rainy one we had coming the other way.

Tony

Lunch Stop.

Between Frostburg & Rockwood

Uphill done! Yay! Actually a very enjoyable ride. Now we start down to Pittsburgh.