Inaugural Gravel Ride 1 – Final Day and Epilogue

The final day of the ride consisted of a quick jaunt to the post office to mail home tools and then we dropped off the bicycles at Thick Bikes in Pittsburg and took a set of bus rides to the airport, and shuttle to the hotel.

The bike trip all on one sheet. Love it when a plan comes together.

Even though this was a very short trip, it was pertineer perfect!  Diane discovered that Rob is not always “such a liar” about route conditions and the like, plus she gained an even greater appreciation of his weather prediction skills.  Diane also discovered she could quite easily traverse the non-asphalt trails, and enjoyed successfully developing cycling skills on a new-to-her gravel bike.  She had been concerned that this trip would be all work, and little joy until the end of the day.  Not so!  Each day brought great delights and, as always, camaraderie. 

As a result, she is eager to try out other similar long distance non-asphalt trails, such as the Katy Trail State Park, one of America's longest rail-trail at nearly 238 miles of scenic trail built especially for walkers and cyclists, connecting the Missouri towns of Clinton (near Missouri’s western border at the Grand River and Harry S. Truman Reservoir)  and Machens (on the northern outskirts of St. Louis).  Yes, planning is underway!

One theme of this ride is the enduring effect of trains – their evolution and devolution – on modern day bicycling in America.

We learned that a train company helped to bring about the demise of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal as a transportation mode.  On July 4, 1828, after considerable fund raising efforts, construction  had begun on the canal. And on the same day,  construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had begun.  The Canal operated for nearly 100 years, and throughout this time, competition between the B&O and the C&O persisted; ultimately the B&O prevailed.  For a more detailed history of the canal-train competition, including lawsuits, see here.

Fortunately, though, the remnants of the canal survived the automotive industry.  After demise of the canal, the canal right-of-way was sold to the federal government, and later Congress was considering construction of a multi-lane federal highway on the right-of-way.  Immediate and widespread public opposition was bolstered by the leadership of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas – he publicized the scenic beauty of the canal by hiking its entire length in a 1954 hike.  Not only that, he challenged the Washington Post, which had published opinions supporting the Congressional plan, to join him.  The Post changed its stance, as did Congress, and by the end of 1954, the Department of the Interior decided to create the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. 

In rock-scissors-paper style, however, the automotive industry ultimately bested the railroad as the major transportation mode, and many railroads throughout the nation went through the rail abandonment process.  As described by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (here),  “By the early 1980s, the struggling railroad industry was abandoning 4,000 to 8,000 miles of lines each year. In 1983, a group of walking and biking enthusiasts, railroad history buffs, conservation and parks groups, and active-transportation activists began to meet for monthly brown-bag lunches in Washington, D.C., to mobilize efforts to preserve rail corridors for public use. The group realized the need for an organization that focused specifically on this work, and on Feb. 7, 1986, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy opened its doors.”  

Railroad adornment ultimately led to creation of  the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) -- the longest rail-trail east of the Mississippi River.  The GAP’s 150 miles connect Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland, thrilling the trail user with viaducts and tunnels, great rivers and mountain passes, beautiful scenery and wildlife.

To be sure, though, the railroad has survived.  Indeed, there are active tracks using the same river corridors as the GAP,  Every day of our ride on the GAP we could see and/or hear several passing trains.  And they continued through the night.  Two of the B&Bs we stayed at that were close to the tracks provide complimentary earplugs.  When we walked to our dinner destination, we were told to expect to wait for at least two trains, and we waited for one, and walking back, for another.  Coming into Homestead, we traversed the Steel Valley Trail section of the GAP which evidences a thriving industry supported by rail.

There is so much more that can be said about this fun trip, but it is time to end this epilogue.  We would enjoy answering your questions and we leave you with a movie from C&O Trail.   – Diane and Rob

The Final 50

Diane cruises as we head north toward Pittsburg

 

October 1  Connellsville to Homestead

We had fifty plus miles to travel on our final day. We arose early to a great breakfast of eggs, ham, and gluten free pumpkin pancakes, a nice visit with Jim and Mary, and then we were off.  The trail  was just a block from the B&B and it meandered through the town park—a really nice park, with several camping shelters, large children’s paintings (about 4’ x 6’) adorning the fence along the trail, and a welcoming arch. It was a joyful way to start the ride.

The trail had flattened out quite a bit from the previous days, but the riding was still relatively fast—we averaged about 10 mph over the 52 miles, 

Excuse the blurry photo but I wanted show how confident Diane had become with her bike. Here she is drafting me down the gravel trail at slightly over 13 mph..... note she is smiling like a mad woman. Of course your photographer is also crazy.

 but we also took time to marvel at the sights, and visit with two older local bicyclists – two gentlemen in their 80’s why usually cycle 30 miles a day (except in winter). 

And we learned some things about the local geology.  For example, some of the rock we had seen along the GAP are tufa formations.    We  didn’t know what that meant when we saw the information kiosk, so we looked up the term:   “Most of the geology along the Great Allegheny Passage is ancient. Most, but not all.  About a quarter-mile south of Cedar Creek Park are greenish-brown mounds of rock called tufa. This is the youngest rock you'll find, because it is still being formed. This is known as the Port Royal tufa. It is being formed as calcium from the ancient limestone is dissolved by slightly acidic groundwater. When that water comes back to the surface and evaporates, the calcium is left behind, and new layers of rock are being formed.”  For further description of some of the geologic features we’ve been enjoying along the GAP, see here.

 

In addition to natural geological features the trail holds some startling examples of the effects of mining. Here ground water gushes - freed by mining. The redness of the rock is a result of ferrous-oxide in the water. 

The last 10 miles of our ride was back on an interurban asphalt trail which jump over rivers and railroad tracks via overpasses designed for cyclists.   

We came suddenly into Homestead and the trip was done. Time to find food! And we did find great food at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, just a 15 minute walk from the hotel.  Tomorrow we finish the ride with a short jaunt to the post office, the bike store, and the airport (via public transit).

The Glide

Beginning a 40 mile downhill glide.  Note the large smile.

September 30 Rockwood to Connellsville.  Our B&B hostess provided us a breakfast of local fare – eggs, sausage and maple syrup all produced in the area. Everything was good but we do miss West Coast coffee.   And then we pushed off for a 46+ mile day.  Thanks to Rob’s rain avoidance strategy, we had a dry run, except for a few misty miles mid-morning.  (Shortly after we had arrived in Rockwood the night before it began to rain and continued well into the night – sometimes coming down in  torrents.  So riding that short day yesterday to stage ourselves in for a fast run to Connellsville really paid off.) 

 

Zippy-dodah, zippy-day.  Mister Bluebird singing on my...........

The ride today was super.   We were concerned that all the rain would leave the trail sluggish, but it was reasonably fast. The storm from last night had littered the trail with broken branches, but they were simple enough to dodge.   

The river was swollen and powerful, and we followed it downstream throughout the ride.  On the other side of the trail were stone ledges and wonderful rock formations,  waterfalls, coal bearing rock strata, and beautiful foliage.  Occasional deer, chipmunks and one rabbit graced us with their presence.  And along the way we were regaled by bird songs.   As we flowed down hill, we met several  cyclists going the other direction - all wore happy smiles and offered friendly greetings. (Yeah we know this sounds like a Disney family flick… but it is all true.) 

As we took a quick stand down along the trail a couple rolled up going our direction - Jim and Mary, who had driven from their home in Grand Rapids, MI to Cumberland, to ride the GAP.  They have never done an overnight bike ride, and they were tickled their first ride was so proving so easy. They are staying at the same B&B tonight and we are currently sharing a washer and dryer.

The Trail crosses the river in a number places via wooden viaducts

Tomorrow’s weather looks good. Our plan is to roll into a town just south of Pittsburg some time before sunset.  

This way Pittsburg..........

Vindicated and Fingers Crossed

September 29 Meyersdale to Rockwood.  Staying at the Levi Deal Mansion B&B with hosts Michael and Jan was the way to go.  We slept well, notwithstanding the frequent rumble of trains and their whistle blasts throughout the night.  The Mansion was fully booked, mostly with cycling spouses (one of whom is a recently retired USDOJ Assistant Attorney General).  She and Diane had a good time extolling the virtue of retirement.  Breakfast was in two shifts, and since we had a very short day, we took the second shift and had a relaxing morning, including spending quality time at the local Laundromat. 

We then embarked on our quick 12 mile ride to Rockwood, and not caring about the light drizzle.  The ride was scenic with hillsides beginning to boast their autumn colors.  

One of the treats of this short ride was traversing the Salisbury Viaduct  over the Casselman River, a 100 feet high, 1900 foot long bridge.  The original bridge was a Western Maryland Railways trestle, built in 1912 and used until 1975.  In the 1990's, the Allegheny Trail Alliance acquired the bridge, and built a concrete deck in place of the former railroad deck. The bridge opened to trail users as part of the Great Allegheny Passage in 1998.

Two photos on the viaduct

 

Our B&B (The Rockwood Trail House) for the night was easy to find.   You just pull off the trail into the yard.  And it is tranquil.  We have the whole place to ourselves.  Even though we called to say we would be arriving early in the day, the host was welcoming, and told us he wouldn’t be there, but that he would leave the door unlocked for us, and told us which room was ours.  He also provided fresh baked cookies, assorted teas and hot chocolate.  (We’ll see the host come breakfast time.)

The beasts of burden in for the evening.

We walked downtown for a light lunch, stopped at a country store to buy comestibles for dinner, and have settled into our B&B for the evening.  

Many of the small towns have wonderful murals - all reminiscent of works commissioned by the WPA in the 1930s 

It started raining constantly at 2pm today but tomorrow's forecast is just for overcast skies. Fingers Crossed!