Day 40 Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD

Day 49 Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD 62.3 miles 390ft climbing #NM2NY4LFSA

We started with breakfast at Mark's Cafe. It is a great spot with excellent espresso pulls and good, fast, hot breakfast. Because we only knew of two potential stops off trail on the way, we had them make us sandwiches to go for lunch. Our route took us 50 miles down the C&O Tow Path. The C&O is more primitive than the GAP also less maintained generally. There are far fewer towns on the trail so less community investment. If it weren't a National Park, it probably wouldn't exist. I'm just saying that it is not highly condusive to bicycle travel. There were plenty of muddy sections. We felt like we were at the cross races through some sections. Lauren's bike, being a road bike, has almost no mud clearance and I cleaned it out twice for her during the ride. It slowed us down a little but at least it was mostly shaded. That's good because we're in record breaking heat again. 100 degrees today plus humidity. I always bear in mind the potential for extreme conditions becoming dangerous. I felt that quite a bit during the 110 degree days from New Mexico to Amarillo. Then again in Southern Missouri. Today never felt dangerous. We stopped and checked out a couple of locks and talked to a park service guy at one. There are 74 locks on the canal between Washington, DC and Cumberland numbers 1 through 75 because they never built lock 65. About 45 miles into the ride we stopped for lunch at a group of picnic tables in the busiest campground we had seen on the C&O. There are hiker/biker campgrounds every 6-8 miles that have water available at a hand pump. This campground was one of the very few we'd ridden through that had asphalt road access. It was super peaceful when we got there and soon after, all of the sudden it's mega motorcycles mega loud and then came a blaring A/C-D/C karaoke. Just A/C-D/C. I like A/C-D/C. This was a greatest hits album turned nightmare. The baffling thing to me is where the sub woofer was. The fidelity was actually pretty good and the volume rices the forest. At least we could finish our lunch and ride. There were families camping there peacefully who didn't have the choice to hear it or not. Another 4 miles down the trail, we picked up a paved trail running parallel called Western Maryland Rail Trail. We'll be back on it in the morning. We headed into Hancock and to The 1828 Trail Inn. It is a beautiful old Craftsman house operated by wonderful host and hostess Bill and Darleen. Complete with bike wash and lock-up for bikes. Then on to dinner across the street at Buddy Lou's. Of course the she crab soup was spectacular, we are in Maryland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 39 Day off in Cumberland, MD

Day 39 Day off in Cumberland, MD #NM2NY4LFSA

We had a fantastic day off in Cumberland. We opted for the stop because Lauren decided we should all do a little canoeing. She called and got the info and shortly after breakfast we went and met a fellow about a boat. He put us in his van and drove us to a launch in Old Town. From there we canoed about ten miles down the Potomac to Paw Paw where he picked us up. It was great fun, but a lot of work. I was sweat soaked almost from the beginning. It took us about three hours to paddle down. There is not much current on that part of the river so we had to paddle constantly. The guide told us that he has had cyclists go canoeing who ended up paddling up river not knowing that's what they were doing because the current is so light. The Potomac is very clear water on that stretch. You could almost always see the bottom and the flow is pretty low so the bottom is rarely deeper than five feet. It was a great time. Afterwards we went back to the B&B and showered and lounged and decided to order Chinese delivery. We ate in front of the TV in the common room watching the Olympics. Tomorrow we are on to Hancock traveling down the C&O Tow path which was how the barges were propelled on the canal from Washington DC to Cumberland. Cumberland is a terminus for both the Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesepeake and Ohio Canal Tow Path. We rode the GAP 150 miles from Pittsburgh and the C&O goes 184 miles to Washington DC but we will get off near Hancock to begin heading North.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 38 Rockwood, PA to Cumberland, MD

Day 38 Rockwood, PA to Cumberland, MD 46.7 miles 670ft climbing

It is getting warm again. We will miss the trail with its shade and cool trail side glades. We got out a little earlier today after an excellent breakfast prepared by our hostess Maryanne at the Gingerbread Bed and Breakfast. Blueberry French Toast and sausage from a pig she bought for butcher. Sleep was much better than the night before but a surprising amount of big truck traffic started out front just before 6AM. As we loaded the bikes, we saw it was logging trucks. They were coming down this fairly small entirely residential street at 60 or so and I was just glad we only had about a hundred yards of sharing the road with them. We got on the trail at mile marker 44 and started pedalling. Again we felt flat but this time understood we had 500 vertical feet to ride in the first 22 miles. That's not much of a grade, but on the loaded bikes you feel it. We crossed more bridges and rode through short tunnels when we came to the Eastern Continental Divide. Hooray! According to the maps we had a steady 2 percent descent for the next 22 miles. It was great! After a couple of miles we came to the longest tunnel of the ride. The tunnel is called Big Savage after the mountain it tunnels through. 3300ft long and you can't see one end from the other. We were shocked at the cold air coming out of it as we approached. The ladies put on windbreakers and we rode in. We all have headlights and although the tunnel is lit, the cool air is foggy and lighting is minimal. I was glad some cyclists approaching from the other side had lights. After Big Savage we made great time down the hill. On the way we crossed the Mason and Dixon Line. I did not realize what it was named for or exactly what it marked. It is a line established by an astronomer and a surveyor to establish the Pennsylvania-Maryland border. And the Pennsylvania- Delaware border. It was done to settle a border dispute before the Revolutionary War. In the mid 18th century that was really the frontier. We passed through two more tunnels over 1000 ft long before we came to the trail terminus in Cumberland. We decided to stay in Cumberland for our next to the last day off and go out on the water in canoes tomorrow. At least we can take a dip when we feel hot. I just saw on the local

Weather that it hit 97 here today. At least the humidity is only 90 percent!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 37 Connellsville, PA to Rockwood, PA

Day 37 Connellsville, PA to Rockwood, PA 49.7 miles 1470ft climbing #NM2NY4LFSA

It was not a great sleep. It was in the eighties until 3 AM or so. I was surprised to see it was 8:30 when I woke up and looked at my watch. Chandler and I got up and started coffee and breakfast. I don't know why, but the longer we're on the road, the longer it takes in the morning. Today it was partly because dehydrated huevos rancheros take 40 minutes by themselves and we can only boil about a liter and a half of water at a time, so with oatmeal, huevos, and two press pots of coffee we need to boil water three times. The stove is hot, but it still takes 15 minutes per boil. All day we felt a little overworked and then realized we climbed a very shallow grade pretty much all day. Very constant and only noticable to the legs. Looking at the map we have another 500 ft or so of climbing tomorrow, then we descend 1800 ft over the last 20 miles. Joy. We're trying to work out the very end of the ride. I'd like to take a day off in Philadelphia, but that will make for one long day riding from Lancaster. It's two fifties to get from Philly to NYC and that would be a nice way to finish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 36 Pittsburgh, PA to Connellsville, PA

Day 36 Pittsburgh, PA to Connellsville, PA 57.7 miles 430ft climbing #NM2NY4LFSA

Now that's what I'm talking about for bike friendly terrain. The two biggest climbs were bridges at the beginning of the ride. We lounged in Pittsburgh all morning. We didn't really want to leave The Monaco, or our favorite town so far. Great food, coffee, accommodations, and attractions. If we did it again, I'd go for two days of in Pittsburgh. Maybe three. Sightseeing, Warhol Museum (which we missed because they're closed on Mondays), and Kennywood Amusement Park. Maybe a water slide too. We finally hit the trail and found one of the most beautiful trails we've been on yet. Plus, it's 150 miles long. We camped tonight at riverside campground near Connellsville. We got to camp late and I immediately pulled out the stove. It took me about forty minutes to clear a clog. The stove worked fine the last time we used it, but it gave us a scare this time. It would be a very challenging dinner without boiling water. I finally got the stove working and we ate a multi course dinner of Backpackers Pantry. It is really pretty decent stuff. We got to bed a little late and it was hot, humid, and still. We had the rain fly rigged because there was a threat of overnight rain. That cuts down the ventilation, but it would be a serious drag to wake up to torrential rain in the tent. Tomorrow we head on down the trail to Rockford.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 35 Anniversary day off sight seeing in Pittsburgh

Day 35 Anniversary day and sightseeing in Pittsburgh #NM2NY4LFSA.

Today was a really lovely day. We slept in late and then headed off to Market Square and a sandwich at Primanti Brothers. I swear the IPA and "Second Best Seller" Pittsburger was about the best lunch I have had as long as I can remember. Definitely the best lunch of the ride. From lunch we walked down to Point Park and saw a"Ducky Boat" amphibious tour bus n the river. We all thought that would be a fun thing to do so we jumped on the "T" and headed to Station Square across the river to catch one. We had a fun time and Lauren got to drive it on the water. Then we decided to walk back to the hotel. Chandler and I left Lauren in our room with a room service menu and an overnight friend. The hotel will bring you a gold fish to your room, on request. For company not consumption. We came back after dinner and out went the lights.

 

 

 

Day 34 Cadiz, OH to Pittsburgh, PA

Day 34 Cadiz, OH to Pittsburgh, PA 69.4 miles 2950ft climbing #NM2NYFSA

It was a beautiful day for a ride. And it was a tri-state day. When we checked in to the hotel last night I asked the desk clerk if the route we had been riding, Route 22, was more of the same from Cadiz to Pittsburgh as it had been from Zanesville to Cadiz. He knowingly said, "yes, it is very similar and Pittsburgh is higher than Zanesville so you will be climbing to it". Fortunately he was making it all up. The road went from a two lane contour highway following the terrain to a four lane separated highway with a big smooth shoulder and cut and fill construction all the way to the Ohio River. Much, much milder grades, and, by the way, Pittsburgh is several hundred feet lower than Cadiz. We arrived in Stueben, OH and stopped in the Fort Stueben Museum where we were met with kindness and awe by the staff. After a short visit, we headed outside and rode to the foot of the bridge across the Ohio River taking us into West Virginia. The bluffs on the WV side are massive and all I could think is we had to get to the top of them. The next four or five miles were very steep and multi-mile long climbs. Just before he climbing started we stopped at a small shop that had a sign identifying it as a cafe. I noticed there were three "cafes" in the immediate area and no other businesses. I said to Chandler that I wondered if they call bars cafes in WV. Not quite but close. They'd were gambling parlers. No food. We climbed aver 1000ft in four and a half miles and came to a section of rail bed converted to trail. We have come to deeply appreciate rail trails. They are grade limited because trains can't climb big grades. We rode the Panhandle Trail for 24 miles. It was awesome. About ten miles paved and fourteen unpaved. The trail ended just before Carnegie, PA and we thought it would be an easy finish to Pittsburgh. Not so. In the next five miles we did over 1200ft of climbing. Ouch. On the backside of the climbs we rolled down to the Heritage River Trail. We saw we had less than two miles of riding left and were waylaid by a riverfront cafe serving "Hot food and cold beer". That was the best beer I've had in years! We finished by riding across the bridge into the city. A big, Huge shout out to The Hotel Monaco. What a gem and what a staff. Thanks to Brittany and John. We had a warm welcome and ten minutes after getting in our room, a bottle of champagne and a very sweet card showed up compliments of the staff. How did they know August 8 was our wedding anniversary?