Marsha and I had reason travel from Connecticut to Kentucky for a family wedding. Along the way we decided to check out two rail trails we had heard a lot about, The Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Trail. Together, they provide a bike path between Pittsburgh and Washington DC. Here is a recap of our adventure.
The Great Allegheny Passage Trail or GAP as it is known, is a rail trail that runs 149 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland. In downtown Cumberland it connects to the C&O Canal Trail and continues on 185 miles to Washington DC, to form a stretch of 334 miles of rail trail riding. The GAP trail is the younger of the two sections and has a better surface. The average grade is 1-2% and overall follows the valley of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Pittsburgh, rising slowly to the Eastern Continental Divide at mile 125 and drops into Cumberland losing about 600 feet. The C&O follows the Potomac into Washington so it is downstream from Cumberland but mostly follows the old canal towpath losing only 600 feet over the 185 miles. Because the C&O is “flatter” it tends to be more muddy and as it is the older of the two sections, it is probably overdue for resurfacing and drainage corrections.
The GAP trail coming onboard second, benefitted from the lessons of eco-tourism and features more options for off trail lodging in B&B’s and Inns. It also built upon a tourism structure in place from the whitewater kayaking and rafting in place around the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle, PA. Besides whitewater Ohiopyle is home to the large Ohiopyle State Park and has attractions such as the Falling Waters House and Kentuck Knob House designed and built by noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The C&O features primitive campsites along the path. However, it is possible to easily find indoor accommodations along the C&O and conversely camping along the GAP trail. Both trails have benefitted from the recent changes in Amtrak’s bikes on board policies. You can roll on a bike with a reservation on trains that run between Washington and Pittsburgh and get off/on at several stops along the way.
Our adventures happened as a scouting trip for future riding. We attended a family wedding in Kentucky and took some time outbound to stop in Cumberland to check out the C&O. On the return trip stopped in Ohiopyle to explore the GAP trail. We were inspired by veteran TCC rider Dave Waldburger who said he had ridden it (what has he NOT ridden!) and my memories of paddling the “Yock” in those halcyon days of whitewater glory when my back was younger and allowed my roll to be bombproof (mostly).
Our stop in Cumberland was short, wet and muddy. Just outside the C&O visitor’s center in downtown Cumberland was a Fairfield Inn, so we booked a night as a stop on our way. Very nice but downtown prices. We set off in cloudy but mild conditions and soon encountered rain. It had been rainy in MD for about a week and a half and the trail was puddle filled for longer stretches and gouged with mud tracks.
We went out only about 7 miles and between the intermittent rain and mud decided that a meal of seafood at Crabby Pig near the hotel was a better choice. I remember looking down at my front chainring and seeing about 2 inches of mud covering the derailleur and about the same on my shoes and legs. We stopped at a primitive campsite and used the pump to wash the mud off the critical bike parts and continued on only to find that the mud was back in force within 10 minutes of riding. It was good that we flipped back early as Marsha picked up a slow leak flat about a mile from the end and in our exuberance to get our legs moving after 6 hours of driving and to beat the rain neither of us had slapped on our tool kits and pumps. It was just a quick out and back afternoon ride for goodness sake.
Careful riding got us back to the hotel and here took place some post facto learning. At the side of the hotel was a bike was wash down station sponsored by the bike shop just down the street. It had space for six bikes to be parked, a hose and a wipe down rag. Looks like this “muddy trail” thing is a permanent feature of the C&O near Cumberland and the hotel which allows bikes to be brought to the rooms found it prudent to partner with the bike shop to leave the mud outside. A quick wash of bikes and lower persons got the mud away. The hotel was a good host and besides bikes in the room, and breakfast included, had coin laundry services so we got to wash out the remaining mud from our clothes and get things dry. Oysters on the half shell and softshell crab sandwiches at the Crabby Pig for dinner eased any remaining disappointment in shortness of the ride, the rain, the flat tire, and the mud.
On the return from Kentucky, we stopped in Ohiopyle, PA to explore the GAP Trail. We stayed in Ohiopyle State Park and booked a “yurt” for a few days. It was our first stay in a yurt and quite pleasant. The yurt had a refrigerator, electric stove, tables chairs, a microwave and bunks for 5. You had to fetch water from a pump and wash dishes in the designated sink area of the bathroom. Bathrooms had showers, and outside the yurt was a small deck and a grill for cooking and a fire ring for campfires. Best of all for us was that it had electric outlets to charge up our electronic devices, and by making a phone a wifi hotspot I could deliver my daily dose of sarcasm to Mike Babinski on Facebook. Except for a few too many ants and some rustling and nibbling sounds in the night (keep your food in the fridge or car) life is good in the yurt.
Ohiopyle has long been a whitewater center. In talking to a local shopkeeper she related that in recent years the whitewater rafting business has tailed off (as it has across the country) and the completing of the GAP trail in 2013 has brought a new surge of tourism. The new bike tourism activity spans more age groups and spreads the “wealth” up and down the valley. It can be done in a longer season from early spring to late fall. Retirees, families and groups have fueled the need for more places to stay, more places to eat and more services like shuttles and bike shops. Biking now is the number one attraction over whitewater. Are we paying attention, Airline Trail?
We did a 35 mile round trip on Day 1 from Ohiopyle to Connellsville and back. Wonderful day, wonderful weather and great surface all the way. It is a wide track through the verdant hillsides of PA with the Yock rapids running down below.
Outbound we came up behind a group of gray haired folks like us riding two abreast in a 4 pack so we pulled in behind to chat for a bit and find a spot to go by politely. As we rode along, I was on right and an inexperienced gal rider in the lead of my column decided to slow down and stop by pulling slightly right. Next gal in line goes into the back half of her bike and down. Sweetness (my Trek 520 touring bike) and I go over the back part of the rear tire of the second bike and I go over the handlebars. Thankfully a very soft landing for me. Clipped out pretty much and avoided most of the mess by swinging hard right. Second rider got a leg wedged into the triangle of the frame, cracked her helmet on something and was showing some signs of confusion and perhaps concussion. Sweetness took it all in stride. Luckily we were about 2 miles outside of Connellsville. Her group was able to have her stop at at a park on the edge of town and coordinate a car to come back and get a her to a medical facility to double check the concussive signs. The first rider rider (sans helmet) did not do a good job of communicating her intentions and bears a lot of the fault, but overall it was a group of inexperienced folks, several without helmets, not familiar with how a pleasent day biking in a group going down a wide open trail can turn into a pile up. TCC lessons: accidents happen more frequently in the latter parts of rides, in larger groups, and when we have a lapses in frequent, clear, communication of intent, especially slowing and stopping. Sing it out clear and loud, use your hand signals and for heaven’s sake even on a flat easy non-vehicle traffic trail ride, wear a helmet. The injured rider cracked her helmet going down on something. The first rider could have done the same but it would have been her head.
Pizza slices in Connellsville for lunch and a stop at the Froyo shop for a treat before heading back. On the way inbound we stopped to help a retired couple who had a major mechanical. They were from Bend OR and doing the bikes on/off Amtrak thing for the GAP from Cumberland to Pittsburgh and staying at B&B’s. They had flown out and had rented bikes. The previous year they had done the same on the C&O. On the gal's bike the entire bottom bracket had come loose. I mean the entire bottom bracket. I have never seen as much of the guts of a bottom bracket since I tried my hand at bike wrenching and took apart an old bike for practice (and have since paid good money to the folks at Scott’s and Sunshine to take care of that stuff for me). It was like the entire bracket had come unscrewed as she had pedaled. She could pedal in one gear but the crank arms were wobbling and floppy. She had 10 miles (at about a 2% downhill grade) to the next town with a bike shop. There are couple of places on the trail equipped with a repair stand. Several different bike tools on lengths of metal wire and a way to hang your bike for repair work. Even has a air pump. And there is a QR code you can scan that takes you to a bike repair website. None this was going to help this major breakdown. Note to TCC: Let’s make these repair stations happen on the Airline and Hop River trails!
Day 2 ride was much less eventful. After a leisurely morning (yurt camping will encourage that) we went upstream to just past Confluence for about a 30 mile day. Confluence was one of the places the young Colonel George Washington camped his British and Virginia militia troops in his efforts to secure an overland water route to what is now Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War. Today Confluence is a small river town that lives off river and trail tourism. Lots of places to spend the night, or to grab a bite to eat, and a nice bike shop whose owner is from Portland, CT. We looped back into Ohiopyle going downstream (which is slightly downhill) stopping to admire several Class 4 rapids.
And on Day 3 it rained. As I write this I am sitting here in the yurt, all warm and cozy, electric heater blazing in the sleeping area, watching the rain pelt against the clear vinyl window covering. The contemplated 45 mile trip for today, is slowly dissolving into the smells of hot coffee, French toast with maple syrup and bacon. Weather radar has another two hours of hard rain. The tours of Falling Waters don’t start until noon. The Kentuck Knob house is closed today. The chef is dishing up her portion of breakfast mumbling something about “not seeing any problem with riding in the rain”. Negotiations resume in earnest when she sits down at the table. Thankfully, we only brought the plastic knives and forks.
Steve Sokoloski
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