Category: Touring

This morning Jim and I are in no hurry to start our rides. Jim had a long day yesterday so today was a short ride for him. I have 16 miles to go to Williamsport. This is where I meet up with a Warmshowers host at noon tomorrow. My plan is to go into town and buy food for dinner and then ride six miles beyond to a campsite. This will make the morning easy.

Jim leaves first, I stay awhile and then head off to Williamsport. The C&O has come alive with flowers in bloom and full leaves on the trees.

I am now in camp relaxing. I am set up for the night and I’m sitting on the bank of the Potomac.

This morning Dan has breakfast ready when I get up. Homemade bread, an omelet with potatoes, and a slice of ham. And, orange juice and coffee to start the day. I am already packed. We have a nice visit and Dan gives me advice for good places to camp. Dan, not only a great host, is a volunteer for the C&O Trail with many years of service and knows the trail inside and out.

As soon as I get back on the trail I am at the Paw Paw Tunnel. I stop to put on my headlamp to see in this long unlit tunnel. A group of about eight touring cyclists come along. They are a family of three generations that started in Pittsburgh and finishing in Washington D.C.

We ride at about the same pace and join together multiple times. I give them my contact information and blog and YouTube link for my movies of the previous tours.

I get ahead while they stop for lunch, I continue to Hancock to buy food for dinner.

I stop at Licking Creek Campsite. I set up camp and cook dinner now I am relaxing to the sounds of birds.

I watched the sun rise into the sky this morning.

This is an early day with forty-five miles to get to Paw Paw, WV. The day begins with a long drop to Columbia.

I am now back on the C&O. I leave the GAP behind as I ride out of Columbia.

I am now at the Bike Path Bed and Bath. Dan is my host and stories didn’t stop until past my bedtime. I wanted to stop here on the way to Pittsburgh but the distance was too close to where I had spent the night before. Plan B has give me this opportunity, I am glad for this gift.

It is a sunny morning and warm but this will soon change. The forecast predicts rain coming through by 11 AM. It is now 9 AM, I have eaten, packed up and now ready to ride. I want to get as many miles done before the rain.

As I start the trail I see a penny-farthing metal sculpture.

Now I am off to beat the rain and I soon come to the town of Garrett.

I cross the Salisbury Viaduct which is an 1800 foot bridge that spans the valley below.

I ride by the Meyersdale station and begin my climb to the Eastern Continental Divide. Next is the Big Savage Tunnel. It is raining as I exit the tunnel and begin the eight mile descent crossing the Mason & Dixon Line to the base of Frostburg, MD.

Now the steep climb to the Trail Inn Hostel.

It poured last night with lightning and winds with gusts up to 80 mph. A few times the lightning rattled the ground so hard that I felt it in my second floor room. This morning it is peaceful with no trace of the night before except for the tattered flag hanging limp against its pole.

I go next door to the Coffee Company and order a coffee and breakfast sandwich. I have a great conversation with the barista about life and its connection to Quantum Physics. The morning is starting off nicely. I return to my room with my breakfast.

My bike is now down stairs with my panniers mounted and ready to begin the day. It will be a twenty-eight day ride to Rockwood and I am curious to see the damage on the trail from last night’s storm.

The trail fared better than it might have, mostly some mud but a large tree was blown down across the trail. I rode close and realized that I would need to remove my rear panniers to lift the bike up and over to the other side.

I meet a nice woman riding alone so we talk for a short while. She likes to ride trails and has ridden from Pittsburgh to D.C. in sections and many of the trails round the country. She is a seventy-six year old who continues to live life to the fullest.

On the way into Rockwood the trail is alive with Spring growth. I was here a week ago and so much has happened since.

Last night I was lulled to sleep by all the birds that are now back in the area. This morning is warm and I am very relaxed. I called Nancy and had a nice visit and talked over the new plan details to meet up with her in Mt Gretna. I also get a text from Paul, he is hooking me up with his friend Greg for a place to stay in the Williamsport area.

This morning is easy, yesterday Paul gave me two hard boiled eggs, a banana, and an orange to take with me. I didn’t need to cook breakfast. I also didn’t set up a tent, just my mattress and sleeping bag on the floor. Just before packing up two couples stop at the campsite as they were passing through. We have a nice visit, they are from Vermont in an area that I know well. We exchange contact info and I plan to reconnect later on.

It is interesting, retracing a route. It is familiar but it seems new at the same time. I am noticing many things that I didn’t pay attention to on the way out.

I arrive back in Ohiopyle to stay in the same motel. I am hungry so I shower and walk to a restaurant for a bowl of chili, a strawberry smoothie, and a banana split to bring back to my room. I can relax tonight with no route planning to worry about.

As I was settling in last night three touring cyclists, Seth, Curtis, and Bill, rolled into the campground and camped at the shelter next to mine. I went over, we talked and became friends. A lot alike we four.

This morning I shed the sleeping bag to greet the cool air. The grass is wet as are my socks. Yes, I’m wearing socks with sandals. I walk over to say good morning and get an invitation for a cup of freshly ground coffee. Seth is sponsored by his friend’s Coffee company.

Now it’s time to pack up and go. None of us were in a hurry and I didn’t need to get into Pittsburgh before 4 PM, the check in time at the Travelers Rest Hostel.

Along the way is saw waterfalls, trees across the trail, and flooded parks.

I am in Pittsburgh, hot and tired as I find the hostel. I settle in, shower, and relax. All the nearby restaurants are closed until Tuesday. I find a pizza shop that will deliver Gennaro’s very good pizza. Night comes to Pittsburgh.

I woke up after a solid sleep ready to go, I left the Motel at 9 AM and walked my bike across the street to Ohiopyle Coffee Company. A 16 ounce black coffee and a bacon and egg on bagel sandwich and I am ready to go.

I’m not long on the trail before seeing loaded bikes being ridden by hungry bicycle travelers looking for food to continue towards Cumberland and beyond. This part of the trail has many hiking trails heading off into the forest.

Now I’m five miles out of Ohiopyle and the hiking trails are behind and I find solitude riding along the river through lush forest.

I pass through an area that had mudslides and trees blown across the trail from the April 1st storm. I also pass by many waterfalls.

I am heading to the Cedar Creek Trekker Campground to sleep in an Adirondack Shelter by the edge of the river.

I have set up for the night and now it’s time to cook dinner.

Yesterday I took a day off to rest and regroup. I am playing chess with the weather. It rains, there is a small window, and then it rains again. This is the pattern and it will continue for another week.

This morning I found another window. I have a motel room in Ohiopyle twenty-eight miles away. If I leave by 10 I might get to Ohiopyle about the time the heavy rain begins. But, I will arrive three hours before I have access to my room. I leave.

I load the bike and coast the short distance to the trail and begin racing the rain. I see a young woman standing by her loaded bike, I stop and we talk. She is on her way to D. C. She told me she pitched her tent in the grass last night and weathered the storm, a downpour with strong wind. Kudos for her!

As I ride the trail I am next to the Youghiogheny River, it is high, overflowing, and fast. And, it leads me to Ohiopyle.

I arrived two hours early to check into my room. I stop into the office and ask if it would be possible to get the wifi password before check in. The woman at the desk hands me a slip of paper with the wifi password and then gives me an early door code so I can get into my room.

Checkmate, I conquered the weather. At least for today.

My breakfast is cold pizza left over from last night. My ride today is short, 29 miles to Rockwood, PA. I coast down the steep hill to connect with the Great Appalachian Passage to ride the old rail bed up to the Big Savage Tunnel.

I stop at the Mason and Dixon Line at the Pennsylvania and Maryland state line. I look around and take some photos. I see two cyclists riding my way so I wait to say hi. They stop to talk, two women out on a morning ride. One asks where I stayed last night so I tell them Frostburg. She smiles and says I am Michaelanne, the wife of Daniel the Warmshowers host. They were riding up to the Continental Divide.

We get to the Big Savage Tunnel and a blast of cold air greets us as it rushes out the entrance. I stop for a photo as they ride on ahead.

Just up ahead is the Continental Divide and they are stopped. I ride up and snap another pic and Kirsten, the other cyclist, offers to take a pic of me. We say our goodbyes and ride opposite directions.

I am now on a long downhill grade all the way to Rockwood. When I get into town I find out that the hostel where I had planned to stay was closed even though the website said it was open.

The only place I find open is a B&B, The Ginger House so this is where I am sleeping tonight. I’m here all alone and it is comfortable. Josiah is very nice and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable.

I cleaned and lubed the chain, ate, and showered. Now it is time to sit back and settle in.