Andy, That was a wonderful ride report. I was on the GAP a month ago for only 40 miles though (I'll write a small something later), and was able to relive my ride through your wonderful descriptions. Your report makes me want to visit again and ride farther next time. Thank you so much.
Roberta On Thursday, August 9, 2018 at 8:54:46 AM UTC-4, ascpgh wrote: > I had a vacation week that didn't fully mesh with my wife's so, on her > prompting, I planned a two day trip down the Great Allegheny Passage to > Cumberland, MD returning via Amtrak. A two day solo ride through the > wilderness on a non-paved path on my own resources riding my go-fast bike, > what's not to like? Here's the run down, sorry it's long and a few days > old. My wife and I had to move the young woman we mentor and has been our > summer roommate into her new apartment. > > I crossed the Hot Metal Bridge to the South Side and the GAP ant the temp > was already in the 80°s, humid (...a different thread). Dew point? Over > 70°. Not so many folks out for a weekend morning but it was going to be a > hot one. > > For the next 20 miles I was on pavement with a pretty good head of steam, > imagining becoming less motivated as the day heated up. I stopped at the > bench with the USS Edgar Thompson Works across the Monongahela River. What > you don't get in the picture is the steep hillside behind me down which the > Phantom's Revenge roller coaster of Kennywood roars, riders even more so. > Their voices getting the Doppler effect as they go around. > > I cross the Mon River on a span between Duquesne and McKeesport which is > both the one time largest steel tube manufacturing site and very confusing > urban section. You can scan the Google satellite images and see all the > stacks of light green coated steel pipe everywhere. The GAP takes a hard > right after the railroad tracks, behind buildings and police station of the > main drag. > > I weave the rest of the way through the tired, unpopulated part of town > through the assisted living projects and the Swin Cash Rec Center. The > outdoor courts are empty, not a soul in sight other than a resident trying > to get all of her shopping bags in one trip. A left, an upslope and a right > onto a bridge over the Youghiogheny River terminus and I am into the > watershed I'll follow for 70 miles. > > This stretch is post-industrial wasteland. Warehouse line the river for no > obvious reason. The trail takes leave of them soon enough and takes you > over the shoulder of a hill and into Dead Man's Hollow just before Boston > where both the pavement ends but a surge of activity from the popular > access point and vendors close by. I passed a rider on a light blue Boulder > Bikes All-road here. Most riders are on comfort bikes with the seats too > low. They won't be a presence on the trail in very many minutes as I ride > beyond their intended range and the beginning of some sparse sections of > trail. Things will continue like that until Lunch. > > West Newton. Home of the Trailside restaurant and bike shop. Also where > most of the electric pizelle irons are made. I stop and have lunch on their > outdoor deck, habitually. The next stretch is sparse until Connellsville, > about 20 more miles. After getting back on the trail I pass a fellow diner > finishing before me on his Bleriot. I was worrying about popup > thunderstorms and wanted to reach my day's end as I went by him, only able > to process and recognize his bike after I passed and yelled back "nice > bike, have a good ride". > > The path gets very narrow along this part. Not a problem since few riders > are out in this heat and humidity. Dew point is more impressive. As I ride > through coves of tributaries coming to join the Yough, their moving water > and topography create small biomes of cooler air that immediately makes my > entire body, if not concentrated in my clothing, feel like the substrate > for condensation. I am accumulating a thick coating of partly dried sweat > and sunscreen to which gnats stick. My clothing feels wet and sticky. I > ride underneath I-70s bridge over the Yough, unaware of whatever > civilization it would suggest had I seen the vehicle traffic. > > It's still more than a dozen miles to Conellsville and I'm switching water > bottles. It's hot and sweltering along stretches in the open sun. This is > the epicenter of the Whiskey Rebellion, George Washington had land in the > town of Perryopolis which is just as fleeting an idea as American history > topics are along this stretch since you'd have to come off the trail and > know your way around to find it. The GAP maps aren't confidence-inspiring > as off trail navigation tools to sight-see those places. > > Entry to Connellsville is via a "campground" area of permanently placed > tightly packed travel trailers each replete with landscaping and > mag-wheeled golf carts. After passing the community pool of this enclave > things get back to the sparse country homes outside a small town until I > begin the descent into the city riverside park. For a place that gets > flooded about every other year by the waters of the Youghiogheny, they sure > embrace it. There's even a hotel on the far end just before you reach the > main street stoplight. Just across that street is Bicycles Unlimited, their > door on the GAP. I always stop and buy Gatorade from them and sit at their > table and chat. > > Leaving Connellsville is a bit post-industrial as well, on a lesser scale. > The bridges are fun and then you get down to the business of the sparsest > section. There is nothing until Ohiopyle and you are on your own along the > river with whatever happens, and rhododendrons. I rode this in April 2012 > after the Riv Rally East broke up due to a Nor'easter messing with several > folks' drives home > > > Ohiopyle greets with two bridges high above the Yough. The first is more > to photograph as a vantage point as the rafters below are audibly as scared > as the roller coaster riders at the start of the day. If you zoom in you > can see the ferocity of the Middle Yough waterforms that attract so many > paddlers. The state requires a $5 permit to get on the river in the state > park, they tally a million per year, mostly in the summer months. > > The second bridge is photogenic itself and views the swimming beach and > front of the village. Its curve obstructs you from seeing the end and the > station visitor center immediately. Just to the right of it is my home for > the night, The Yough Plaza motel. I sign in as the only guest staying the > night and take my key as I ride over to one of the outfitters to look > around before taking a shower and looking for food. Turns out the town was > overrun with paddlers wrapping up their days or weekend's trips, > eating before they departed. I got carry out and retired to my room to get > ready for tomorrow. > > Monday came clear at first but fog dropped from above. I walked past three > wild turkeys who seemed to follow me to breakfast and stared at me as I > ate. It took no time to load up and get going, as much as I'd like to hang > around longer. Next stop Confluence, where the Casselman River joins the > outflow of Lake Youghiogheny. the dew point this morning makes yesterday > seem trivial. The pictures really show the humidity. > > As I rode out of Confluence the climbing was higher steady rate than > yesterday. The trail stayed higher above the Casselman than it did the > Yough and the tributaries that drain into it are more impressive and often > have bridges to span them. I reach Fort Hill and try not to feel like I've > been working hard, but I have been. The Pinkerton Tunnel took my mind off > the climbing. It was closed for so long that a loop around the large hill > it goes through was made while the active railroad line was "daylighted" > so double stack container cars could be used on the line. > > I went through the small villages of Marklleton then Rockwood which once > enjoyed important location to east-west travel through this tightening > landscape near Mount Davis, the highest point in PA sitting to the > southwest. Rail traffic still must come this route, Amtrak included. It > just doesn't stop here anymore. More time to reflect on the average grade > of climbing after going past the local trail access area. It's steeper and > the row of windmills on the crest of the Easter Continental Divide is > becoming a periodic tease. > > Two long viaducts bracket Meyersdale. The Salisbury before which crosses a > valley with the Casselman River, CSX tracks, and the divided PA State 219. > It's a whole lot of man made stuff to see in one vista with those windmills > as the tassles on the hem of the gaudy curtain the clouds and sky make in > this first really open area I've ridden in tow days. The heat and humidity > were a preamble to some weather unrest somewhere. I'm hoping not around me. > > I planned on lunch in Meyersdale and I rode down the steep street into > town and didn't find much open. One nearby place was but seating was all > indoors and I couldn't inflict myself on non-cyclists in this degree of > sweat, sunscreen, trail dust and adhered gnats so I climbed steeply back up > to the trail and ate more Clif Bars under the shade of the visitors center > and had an ice cream sandwich they sell. Eight more miles of climbing. > Those windmills are actually starting to seem closer. > > The Keystone viaduct is a truss bridge that carried railroad tracks with > room for two but only ever approached by trestles carrying one set. It's > picturesque as it crosses, an active rail line, a two lane road and audibly > tumbling creek that will take me nearly to the Eastern Continental Divide. > I hardly notice Sand Patch and Deal as I keep gaining elevation and nearing > those windmills, fewer fill my views. What was once a row of ten or so is > now only ever two or three when I get a glance. > > The path to the Eastern Continental divide becomes straight for long > portions that tease your hope that the large culvert structure you'll pass > through to symbolize this summit will be in the next view. It takes a bend > or two to reach that view of the coming summit. The profile map on the wall > validates what I've felt for the last two days. My first push onward was > met by another sensation that was really odd, I picked up speed > without pedaling. I actually used my brakes in what felt like the first > time in those 130 miles. That windmill is huge. I know objectively the > blades of these GE models are 116' and create a sweep of vertical space > that is just under an acre. > > Things really pick up as the pedaling got easier and the Big Savage Tunnel > came along with its row of lights in its length, the last one oddly > off-line of the others being the other opening a kilometer of darkness > away. This is what made me take the generator hub and LED light jump after > riding with so equipped others on the Riv Rally East in 2012, just not on > this bike so I'm happy the overhead lights are there. That windmill is > behind me now, its friends soon to console it as I ride away. > > The miles pass in much less time and the Borden Tunnel goes by pretty > quickly. I have to keep my speed in check as I pass the switchbacked hill > that leads up the the gate announcing Frostburg, MD. Soon the Wester > Maryland Scenic Railroad becomes my trailmate, it's ballast bed on the same > plane of the GAP trail right next to it. Ballast beds and secures the > tracks by way of their cross ties and permits a little give while holding > things stable under the loads tracks take. In heavy rainfall or runoff > ballast can be washed and the path of the GAP is where it goes, or went > after some local heavy stuff. These are to be avoided and effectively keep > me to the speeds of my previous climbing as I visually sort the things on > my intended wehelpath, differentiating small curled leaves from ballast > stones. It really takes some energy and attention, miles go by and I > realize my back, neck and shoulders ache from the effort but more the time > of sustained position I am holding for this process. I had a break while i > changed the only flat I had after hitting one I didn't see and avoid. > > There is narrow gap the trail, the WMSRR and MD Route 36 share as > Cumberland nears that I-68 just bypasses by way of massive earthmoving > construction. The white sheer bluffs of the north side are worth the > picture. The path is now paved and Cumberland is really around the corner > as I reach crosswalks and formal cement culverting for Wills creek and its > end at Canal Place, Mile Zero of the GAP. > > The ride is over it's 4 pm, I'm filthy, hungry and have a train to catch > at 7:30. These are all so artificial to my last two days' needs. I've been > on a different personal Maslov's hierarchy scale but have to ratchet it up. > > The downtown Cumberland YMCA is beyond the train station on Baltimore > Street and is not tremendously welcoming in physical presence. No bike > racks and many residents don't seem like they are there for the traditional > purposes the organization envisioned. I didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling I > read about to use this as my hygiene upgrade stop, so I rode back to the > Canal Place. > > The public restrooms at this focal point of downtown to have a bike rack > at their door, to be very spacious and most of all the ADA-compliant stall > at the end has its own hand sink. To this opportunity I brought my pack > towel, Dr. Bronner's Peppermint castile soap, TSA-approved dab sized > deodorant and toothpaste and home-shortened travel toothbrush. I wasn't > ready for the prom but I was ready for sitting among others in a restaurant > and on a train. I kept thinking I had more scrubbing to do and my riding > clothes on the coat hook were really rank, what I didn't know was another > patron of the facilities had come in who was in a period of much more > extended recess of personal hygiene than me, and much more involuntary in > its nature. > > Stepping out on my cycling gear removed record of my trip but reinforced > the self-reliance that was in my mind when I set out on this > trip. Traveling along once railroad routes reinforces that those paths once > prospered but also declined. To many places and people I passed the trains > had come and gone. I'm happy for myself but at the same time saddened by > situations faced by those who cannot keep up with the resources their lives > require in the places they find themselves. Cumberland was known as the > Queen City but is a center of a pocket of poverty in Maryland. > > Next to the public facility is a restaurant with an outdoor bar which I > chose to eat sit and pass some time before I ride over to meet my train. I > can relax and eat at the bar about 50' from my bike secured by my honesty > lock. Skateboarding kids use the plaza to practice their moves. When it's > time to go I pedal to the walking plaza of downtown on Baltimore Street and > across the tracks then left to the little shelter to wait for my train back > to Pittsburgh. Others gather quietly and chat about delays and weather. > > When the train comes the conductor who has stepped out is scanning riders' > boarding passes and looking for the three of us reserving the walk on bike > spaces. The others, a couple from Connellsville, were going home from > riding the C&O from Georgetown to Cumberland. We had a little light left > when the train got going at 8:25 pm. The crevasses followed by the track > had us in shadows of darkness which added to the tint of the windows to > obscure fully except for the treeline canopy at the edge of the rail > easement, and soon that was gone too making a light nap a simple task. > > The Connellsville stop was just a few minutes and the ride on > to Pittsburgh was a tease of places lit by bulbs and streetlights that I > struggled to recognize from my ride out. Railroads really present an > odd perspective of places you know as they travel. This went right next to > the GAP in McKeesport on its way into the city and took the rails in > Panther Hollow between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie > Mellon University, adjacent to the path I rode the morning before. The > track went into a tunnel at the steam plant of the Carnegie Museum complex, > called the Cloud Factory by Michael Chabon in his novel The Mysteries of > Pittsburgh, exiting at the foot of Polish Hill before the end run to the > station in the Strip District. > > At the station at a bit past midnight, the bustle of a major stop on the > Capital Limited was surreal. Getting my bike off the hook and wheeling > through the crowd was a contrast and in the darkness as I remounted my bag > strapped on my lights and changed into my riding shoes my phone rang, it > was my wife who kindly said she was a half mile away and had been watching > the train's progress to give me a ride so I didn't have to finish my trip > with three uphill miles through the east end of town. I missed the chance a > little bit and the tick of my odometer from 158.25 to beyond 160 miles, > but my trip was over and I was back on another hierarchy scale again and > home. > > Andy cheatham > Pittsburgh > > On Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 10:13:13 AM UTC-4, ascpgh wrote: >> >> Here's pics, ride report will follow. >> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ErSUHmvYvjnuks6J8 >> >> Andy Cheatham >> Pittsburgh >> <https://photos.app.goo.gl/ErSUHmvYvjnuks6J8> >> >> >> On Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 8:09:52 AM UTC-4, ascpgh wrote: >>> >>> I have to log my vacation choices more than a year ahead of time and >>> this week was one of my picks, it just didn't mesh well with my wife's >>> work, so I'm taking a solo jaunt south on the GAP to Cumberland. >>> >>> I will be on the trail at the South Side by about 9:15. Lunch in West >>> Newton, overnight in Ohiopyle. Monday I'll ride to Cumberland, MD in time >>> to ride Amtrak back to Pittsburgh. I'll clip on my lights and ride home >>> from the station around midnight. >>> >>> Seemed like a lot of fun, Just have to finish my breakfast and coffee, >>> print my reservations and head out. I'm on my orange Rambouillet, wave if >>> your out there. Hopefully some good pictures to follow. >>> >>> Andy Cheatham >>> Pittsburgh >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
