Next Time We’re Bringing Mountain Bikes Too

Lucky enough to see the 3rd preseason game of the Steelers at Heinz Field on August 18th, we added an NFL stadium to our accomplishments. And… Stillers won! One more night of Primanti’s, “Come Oooon“‘s and the black and yellow was a perfect break for us before we hit the tough trails to DC.

The reason we came back through Pitt on our way to DC was for the two great trails taking us all the way: the Great Allegheny Passage & the C & O Canal Trail.

Crushed limestone and gorgeous views with only a wee bit of traffic filled our route along the Allegheny Passage.

Midpoint through our ride we reached the Fallingwater house by Frank Lloyd Wright.

An “organic architectural masterpiece,” the design allowed water to flow through the foundation of the house. FLW wanted to combine nature with design. The house is now under the care of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy foundation who look after it and run tours of the house. It’s mildly expensive to see the house, but it’s going to a good cause so it’s worth our pennies. Sound familiar? … [www.bikingforbaseball.org]

The trail is a slow incline up to the Eastern Continental Divide and then a mild decline on the other side. We passed both the Mason-Dixon Line and another Continental Divide on the same ride.

We set up camp half-way between Pitt and DC in Cumberland Maryland at a YMCA next to a picnic shelter. $5 a person works for us. Quick rest and up early to start our final push to DC. We met another tourer at the campsite who was on a 2-day trek up to the Eastern Continental Divide and then back to DC. He was carrying nearly 100 lbs worth of supplies with him. Seemed a bit excessive for a 2-day trip, but we wished him luck and parted ways in the morning.

The next morning we joined up with the C & O Canal Trail and were looking forward to another great day of riding. However, this is where the trail became nearly UNrideable for road bikes. We had read through a book and through the website on the trail before our day’s ride. They had mentioned that they discourage road bikers to use the trail. Well we found out why pretty quickly. The trail was better suited for mountain bikes. Gravel comprised the trail for most of the day with a soil layer underneath. It had rained the previous day and washed out a bit of the trail leaving puddles and turning the soil into a big nasty mess. It felt like it was either gravel or mud the entire day, which marks for a slow ride on road bikes. The gravel wasn’t kind to us either as it gave us 4 flat tires on our ride. It was slow. It was the most pleasantly unpleasant ride.

SERIOUSLY beautiful views.

The whole way.

We really wanted to enjoy it.

We did.

But we had to focus so intently on the gravel road at our feet that we weren’t able to enjoy it as much as we would have liked. Not meant for a road bike. We labored through the ride with a smile on our faces as we enjoyed the scenery and wildlife.

Annnnnnd we got to ride through another tunnel!

As we were about to ride through this 1/2 mile long tunnel, two nice ladies said, “Hope you have a light!” We replied, “Nope!” and rode on into the tunnel. The path through was uneven and narrow but with a railing to save us from falling into the water below. We were safe and made it through unharmed. It’s exciting to ride through a dark tunnel where you can’t see anything only trusting the light at the end of the tunnel as your guide out of the darkness.

We found a way to jump on the Western Maryland Rail Trail into Williamsport. That certainly helped cause it was another wonderfully paved bike trail for nearly 15 miles. Can’t get enough of the Rails to Trails Conservancy. You guys are doing a great job! Now make some trails out west!

But after that, back to tough trails till DC.

The ride on the Great Allegheny Passage and C & O Canal Trails reminded us of the Appalachian Trail a bit. Once you get into the trail, you were committed for a good 10-20 miles at the minimum. Not many places to jump into or out of the trail. Would be a perfect Sunday afternoon mountain bike ride. Easy and flat riding and great terrain for a mountain bike. Our recommendation would be to not do this on a road bike. We experienced it, and there are better ways to experience it. That would be on a mountain bike.

We were happy to make it to biker-friendly DC though! We planned to see the city via our great host’s location (thanks Adam Abosedra!) right next to the stadium and the many sights to see in DC. Over the next couple of days we spent time touring the National Mall on our bicycles, at a couple of the Smithsonians, at the Hirshorn Modern Art Museum, at the National Archives, in the Arlington Cemetery and in Georgetown. So much to see in DC. We took advantage of what little time we did have!