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).