Staging in for the Ride.

2015 Inaugural Gravel Ride – Washington & Old Dominion Trail - C&O Canal Towpath - Great Allegheny Passage
During a long tour it is our custom to conceive our next ride.  This one is a bit unusual though.  The impetus for our inaugural gravel ride stems from three things -- Diane’s vow during our 2014 journey, OnTheTrace2014, “I’m done with road trips,” Rob’s need to make every ride an adventure, and the beautiful Northeast countryside accessible via  limestone/gravel trails.   

Rob did the homework on this one—not just the route and trip logistics, but on the kind of bikes and their set-up that would enable us to explore gravel grinding, without making a huge investment in bikes we might not ride again. Over the winter and early spring, Rob acquired used frames and put together two very nice touring mountain bikes and we rode them this summer whenever we could.  Our first “long” ride was on our 45^th anniversary, in honor of which we rode a 45 mile round trip on the crushed rock Cascade Trail linking Sedro Wooley and Concrete.  On another day we pumped our way through a 30 mile uphill gravel ride on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.  We took other training rides on parts of the gravel Willapa Hills Trail, and forest roads in the Lake Cushman area.  And to make sure we got in some training miles in we also did several rides of 20-40 miles on our beloved asphalt trails, the Chehalis-Western and the Yelm-Tenino.

We anticipate a leisurely pace and easy days on this 2015 Inaugural Gravel Ride - but Diane says, based upon Rob’s history of prior promises in this department, she is withholding judgment.  No matter what conditions we actually do experience, we know there will be joyful moments and more good memories! (And hopefully we will make you laugh once in awhile as you following “old people on bikes.”)

Itinerary

09/21 – Bus to SeaTac

09/22 – Fly to DC

09/23 – DC to Leesburg VA

09/24 – Leesburg to Shepherdstown WV

09/25 – Shepherdstown to Williamsport MD

09/26 – Williamsport to Little Orleans MD

09/27 – Little Orleans to Cumberland MD

09/28 – Day 2 in Cumberland MD

09/29 – Cumberland  to Rockwood PA

09/30 – Rockwood to Connellsville PA

10/0 1– Connellsville to McKeesport PA

10/02 – McKeesport to Pittsburg PA

10/03– Fly to SeaTac


 Training ride on the Cascade Trail.                        




















Diane's bike disappears into a box and flies off to Washington D.C. (really Arlington, VA)