Cycling

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.

I woke up with the sun, listening to the morning birds as I lay cozy in a warm sleeping bag. Eight o’clock comes and I step out into the cool air. Brandon is also up and making his coffee. He will set off on his many steps toward D. C.

I begin cooking some oatmeal and brewing my Elbow Room coffee. Next is breaking camp and packing panniers so I too can start another leg of my journey. I hope to get to Frostburg where I have made arrangements to spend the night.

I follow the C&O to Columbia, MD. This is such a nice trail. Wildlife everywhere and only a passing cyclist every ten miles. There are camping sites every five miles so water, toilets, and a place to sleep is never a concern.

I now see Columbia in the distance, this is where the C&O begins or ends. I stop for lunch at the Crabby Pig located at the end of the C&O and the start of the Allegheny Passage.

After a great lunch I clip in again and begin riding the GAP to Frostburg.

When I arrive in Frostburg, a super steep climb up a switchback trail is the only way to get into town. I opt to stay at the Trail Inn Hostel. It was just opened up a few hours ago for a large group coming to stay tomorrow. The owner, Steve, offered to put me up for the night. I have a nice bed, hot showers, and washer and dryer. Today was awesome.

It was a cool night with sounds of frogs and birds. I fell quickly to sleep, I was tired. It was 7:30 when I crawled out of my warm sleeping bag and hit the cold dew. Breakfast was fast, I want to get on the road as soon as possible.

As the day goes by I go by some wonderful sights. The C&O is mostly in the deep woods and the scenery gets better with every mile.

I ride through the Paw Paw Tunnel, which was dug through the mountain for the Canal. It is long and  dark and the walkway is narrow carved on the ledge, this is where the mules walked to tow the barges.

I thought about staying in Paw Paw at the hostel. I called the number when I got out of the tunnel, it’s closed until May. So, I continue down the trail. There are campsites roughly five miles apart. I come to a nice quiet camp at 4:00 and decide this is where I’ll sleep. I set up camp and cooked dinner, time to relax now. I hear someone walking the trail. He’s carrying a backpack. He looks at me and waves and walks into the camp. I have company tonight, someone to share our stories. Brandon, is hiking to Washington, D.C. This is his test hike for attempting an Appalachian through hike.

I woke up in 28 degrees cold with frost on the ground and tent. A neighbor camper from three sites away walks by and asks if I’d like a piping hot cup of coffee. Well ya! He continues to walk by and I sit in the sun warming up with coffee.

I cook oatmeal and eat it. I am letting the warm sun melt the frost and dry my tent. I walk over to visit Pete and Kate and to thank them again for the coffee. I tell them about this tour and of the past tours. We exchange contact info and I give them the links to my blog and YouTube movies. It was a slow cold morning before I set off down the road toward the C&O Trail.

Now on the trail I am enjoying the quiet ride on the single and double track riding along the Old Canal through the woods from Lock to Lock.

After Hancock I have four trail campgrounds to choose from each about five miles apart. I pick the site in Capagon State Park. I stop riding with thirty-eight miles at 4 in the afternoon. I eat and set up camp. I am now listening to the sounds of birds and peepers.