Cycling the Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal - October 2012

Our tour starts at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center just 14 miles north of Washington, D.C., where we load our bikes and luggage on a truck and board our motorcoach headed for McKeesport, PA. This is the start of the Great Allegheny Passage, a 141 mile path connecting with the C&O Canal in Cumberland, MD. Once we join the C&O Canal, we retrace 184 miles of history of the towpath through wonderful scenery along the Potomac River Valley.

The Great Allegheny Passage surface is made of packed crushed limestone and provides a smooth easy ride. As it was built on abandoned railroad beds it is nearly level. Travelling west to east, we experience an average of 1% slow/gradual upgrade.
The C&O towpath is flat and “very rustic” - most of the trail is hard-packed dirt with some areas mixed with small stones for traction, and maybe a pothole or tree root here and there. There is a drop of about 625 feet in elevation from near the Eastern Continental Divide all the way to our destination in Great Falls.

After reaching McKeesport, PA, we gather our bikes and head out on the Great Allegheny Passage. This first day is a relatively short ride in to Belle Vernon. The trail follows along the Youghiogheny River with beautiful overlooks and one long hill to get us to our hotel for the night.

We leave Belle Vernon the next morning with cool temperatures and light fog. Following along the banks of the Youghiogheny River, we stop in Connellsville at a local cafe for a few cups of coffee and a warm-up. In the early 18th century, European traders found weath in the fur trade here and later other natural resources - iron and coal laid the foundation for the iron and steel

industry. We cycle more woodland areas in to Ohiopyle where we park our bikes for the night and take a shuttle to Fallingwater, a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

On day 3, we catch our shuttle back to the GAP trail in Ohiopyle. Along the way, we make a short stop at Fort Necessity. Once in Ohiopyle, we collect our bicycles and begin cycling through the beautiful Casselman River Valley. Our first stop is the Sisters Cafe in Confluence for one of their famous apple dumplings. Confluence is known as the town where “the mountains touch the rivers”. Continuing on the trail, we stop in the once thriving rail town of Rockwood for lunch at the Mill Shop Coffee Shop & Bakery. We stop several times along the trail to admire and photograph some of the artwork and sculptures provided by the Rockwood merchants. Cycling more beautiful scenery, we cross the 1900 ft Salisbury Viaduct to our destination of Meyersdale, PA.

As we leave Meyersdale, we start a gradual climb to the highest point of the GAP trail and the Eastern Continental Divide. From here, it is an exhillerating 10 miles downhill along the trail, through the Big Savage Tunnel, over the Mason-Dixon line, and in to Frostburg, MD. We make a short stop in Frostburg to explore the town and have a cup of coffee and snacks at the Trail Inn cafe. Another 14 miles downhill to Cumberland we reach the end of the GAP trail and connect to the C&O Canal. As we are riding down to Cumberland, the Western Maryland Railway Tourist train passes us on its way to Frostburg. The bike path is just a few feet from the railroad. This evening we enjoy a historic walk around the restored downtown Cumberland area and Canal Place. Cumberland is known as the “Queen City”. Here we see a sculpture of a mule and its handler in front of the Visitor Center/Train Station. Mules were the “engines” of the C&O Canal boats. Mules were treated not only as workers but also as pets and companions.

It’s our fifth day of cycling and we begin on the C&O Canal this morning as we leave Cumberland. Immediately, we find the towpath a bit rougher than the GAP trail; more bumps, rocks, tree roots, pot holes, etc. Since the C&O Canal is a National Park, maintenance of it is very limited in order to keep it in its natural state. We cycle past many locks and lock keeper houses along the towpath. Suzie, our tour host, provides everyone with a picnic lunch in a canal park in Old Town, about 20 miles in to the ride. Following the river, the towpath then zigzags for about 10 miles to the Paw Paw Tunnel. The tunnel is 3,118 ft long (completed in 1848) and was built to bypass the Paw Paw Bends, a 6-mile stretch of the potomac River containing five horseshoe bends. There are no lights in the tunnel so we advise having a good flashlight and walking through the tunnel rather than trying to cycle through it. Another 15 miles and we reach Little Orleans and Bill’s Place where we stop for drinks and snacks before heading up the hill to the Town Hill B&B for the night. After dinner, we are entertained by Rick Garland with historical story telling and piano serenades.

The next morning we have a nice 7.5 mile downhill ride from our B&B to the towpath. Soon, we connect with the 24-mile paved Western Maryland Rail Trail. This provides a very pleasant break from the roughness of the towpath. We stop in Hancock, MD, to check out the C&O Bicycle Shop and for coffee and snacks at the local Park-n-Dine Restaurant. Continuing on the rail trail another 10 miles brings us to Fort Frederick. We tour the Fort guided by our host dressed in period attire from the French and Indian War. Our day concludes in Williamsport, MD, with a mexican dinner at the Desert Rose Cafe.

Day 7 we leave Williamsport cycling quiet rolling backroads to visit historic Antietam Battlefield. The Battle of Antietam was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. With about 23,000 casualties on both sides, this was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. After visiting the Antietam Visitor Center and listening to a park ranger tell the story of the Battle of Antietam, we continued on backroads to Shepherdstown, WV, for lunch. We cycle about 3 more miles on rolling backroads before reconnecting with the C&O Canal. Nine more miles and we reach Harper’s Ferry, WV, set on the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Once again, Suzie has arranged for a local historian to entertain us after dinner with the history of Harper’s Ferry and the Shenandoah River Valley region. Harper’s Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown’s attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States.

On our last day, we are set for a long day of cycling back to Great Falls. However, with the threat of Hurricane Sandy, Suzie arranges a bus to take everyone back. We welcome this change in plans as we are not looking forward to riding in the rain, wind, and cold (not to mention being on the dirt towpath in this kind of weather). Back in Great Falls, everyone collects their bikes and luggage. We say our goodbyes to our new friends. Many in our group were trying to get on the road for home before the hurricane makes landfall while a few of us shuttle back to the Comfort Inn in Gaithersburg, MD, where we stay safely tucked in til our flights home.

This was a great trip and one of our favorites. We highly recommend it. And, by all means, take plenty of time to explore the area as you cycle the GAP and C&O Canal.

Look for more pics on the right side of the page under the caption "LINKS TO CYCLING PICS AND OTHER SITES WE LIKE".

Cycling Maine's Coast - September 2012

We arrived in Portland, Maine, early Saturday afternoon and met in the downtown Portland Wharf area for our "Meet and Greet" dinner at DiMillos Floating Restaurant with the rest of the participants on this Bike and the Like Tour.

We awoke the next morning to light rain and began cycling Portland's back cove with beautiful water views. Following country backroads we passed through Yarmouth and made a stop at the DeLorme Map Headquarters. Skirting the byways of the Harraseeket River, we entered Freeport (made famous by L.L. Bean) where some cyclists had lunch while others shopped the many L.L. Bean stores. Leaving Freeport, we pedaled through beautiful Wolfe's Neck State Park and followed the gorgeous rocky Maine coastline into Brunswick, home of Bowdoin College.




Monday, we rode out of Brunswick under cloudy skies on backroads, along the Androscoggin River and through the 'port of entry' city of Bath. Then, over the Sagahadoc Bridge and on to Wiscasset where lobster rolls were the big attraction at Red's Eats. We crossed the bridge to the Boothbay region and cycled up and down the many hills along backroads before finally reaching Boothbay Harbor and the Fisherman's Wharf Inn. We arrived in time to have a couple hours to explore the town before taking our scheduled Harbor Cruise.

Leaving the Boothbay region the following morning, we cycled more rolling hills along the River Road. We continued on beautiful wooded roads to our stop for lunch in Waldoboro at Moody's Diner. There were more rolling hills to follow as we cycled along Bayview Road into Camden, a city made famous by the film Peyton Place. Once again, a light rain started just as we arrived. It continued to rain through the night and was due to rain all day. Our tour hosts arranged for a bus to take us to Bar Harbor in lieu of cycling in the thunderstorms. Along the way, we stopped at the Fort Knox Historic Park and went up the observation tower overlooking the Penobscot River. After a short visit to the fort itself, we continued on the bus crossing the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and on to Bar Harbor where we spent the next 3 days.

Our first day in Bar Harbor started with a hearty breakfast before cycling through Acadia National Park and up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in the Park. We took some time to enjoy the views and then coasted back down the mountain and rode the park roads to Jordan Pond House for lunch and one of their famous popovers. After lunch, we returned via some of the Carriage Roads which weave through the Park. Later in the evening, we joined friends for a sunset cruise on the 4-masted Margaret Todd Schooner.

Our second day in Bar Harbor, we elected to go sightseeing in lieu of cycling. We walked around town early morning and then caught a tour with Oli's Trolley which took us around the Park Loop Road, making several stops including Cadillac Mountain. Our last day, we took the free Island Explorer bus service to Sand Beach in Acadia National Park and walked the Ocean Path to Otter Cliffs. It was quite foggy starting out but still a beautiful walk. We returned to town for lunch and arrived back at our hotel just in time to help load our bikes on the truck for the return to Portland. Back in Portland, we collected our luggage and bikes, packed the car, said "good-bye" to all our new friends, and headed to our hotel for a good night's sleep before starting our drive home the next day.

Prince Edward Island - June 2012

Following our Kentucky cycling trip, we spent a few days in Ohio with kids/grandkids before heading to Washington DC. We spent a couple of days sightseeing in DC and then drove to Portland, ME, where we picked up another couple who were spending the week on Prince Edward Island with us. Our first stop along the way was at Saint John, New Brunswick, CAN.

The purpose of this visit was to see the Reversing Falls. When the tide goes out the St John River empties and falls about 15 feet. When the tide comes in from the Bay of Fundy the river is stopped, the tide pushes it back up the river and it rises the same 15 feet. We timed our visit so that we could photograph the rising tide about noon and the falling tide about 8:00 pm that evening.

On the road again we headed for Prince Edward Island taking us across the Confederation Bridge This is the longest bridge in the world over icy waters, 8 miles long connecting New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. Before crossing, we stopped at the visitor’s center and took a few pictures from the observation tower of the bridge and the bay next to it.

After crossing the bridge we headed toward the city of Summerside where we stopped at a cafe called Sharkey’s for lunch; our first time for “Fish & Chips”. Our home that night was the Northport Pier Inn in Alberton where every room is an ocean front room. We drove to the light house at the North end of the Island. This drive let us see the start of the Confederation Trail in the town of Tignish. It is a hard packed gravel trail that runs 260 miles to the opposite end of the Island. Leaving there the next morning we drove to the Bike Shop in Charlottetown to pick up rental bikes for those needing them. From there we drove to our “rent house” which was about midway up the Island on the East shore. This was a 7 bedroom, 7 bath, home - plenty of room for the 10 in our group.

From the House we planned our sight seeing trips and bike rides on the Trail.

As for biking, we did 5 rides. The first was a short 10-mile loop out of the house to the Confederation Trail, up the trail and back to the house. This was a ride for people to familiarize themselves with their rental bikes and investigate the condition of the Trail. The Trail was no problem, flat and very smooth for an unpaved trail.

Next day we rode from the house to the Confederation Trail, up the trail past the town of Mount Stewart and back. Another day we drove to the east end of the island, Elmira, and cycled a loop to the East Point Lighthouse. That particular day, it started raining about the time we reached the lighthouse so we cycled back about 6 miles in the rain.

Back on the Confederation Trail the next day, we rode into Charlottetown for lunch and returned. Charlottetown is the Capital of PEI and the largest town on the island. Our final ride of the week took us back to Charlottetown, passing the University of Prince Edward Island, to the end of the Confederation Trail.

Other than biking we did a lot of sightseeing since none of us had ever been there before. We played on the beach although the water was too cold to get in. We saw several light houses and even climbed 3 flights of 18-step stairs and a ladder to get to the top. We ate lobster and seafood at a church social, did fine dining at the Dundee Arms Restaurant and ate at a Nursery that also had 60 flavors of ice cream. A very good time was had by all.

Along with Lynne and I on this trip was Don & Sondra Heaton, Harold and Pat Landers, Sam and Margaret Arafat, with their daughter Danyah and her son Brooks.

For more photos of our Prince Edward Island trip, click the PEI link on the right side of the page under Links to Cycling Pics.

"Kentucky River Run" - 2012 Tour de Kentucky - June 2012

June 6th we arrived in Lexington, Kentucky for our 3rd edition of the Tour de Kentucky Bicycle Ride. Our hosts for this years tour were Jack and Pat Deacon. We met at their house Wednesday night for a “meet & greet” affair with all the riders present. This meeting gave us an opportunity to prepare all the paperwork necessary as well as enjoy a glass of wine and a delicious meal. Thursday morning we had a short 35 mile warm-up ride touring some of the Horse Country around Lexington. We met at Berries on Bryan Station Road, an organic farm owned by two of our fellow riders. The route had beautiful countrysides, lots of horse farms & mares with foals born earlier in the spring. We had lunch at a local cafe, Windy Corner after the ride.

The Tour began on Friday. Our route took us to Georgetown with one group leaving from Lexington and another group leaving from Versailles. This route provided us with more horse farms, lots of mares & their foals, hayfields being cut and baled, and just more beautiful country. Lunch was in Georgetown. After lunch we rode on to the Country Inn & Suites, our home for the night. Each night before dinner we had a group meeting to discuss times to load luggage in the 3 sag wagons that support us and start time for the next day’s ride.

Day 2 we travelled from Georgetown to Carrollton and the General Butler State Park Lodge where we spent the night. This day gave us our first look at the Kentucky River. We had lunch at a very interesting cafe in Gratz, Kentucky. While there we met the local State Representative who was telling the locals about improvements to be made there to attract tourism. After entering the State Park we met one very tough steep hill (about 15-18% grade) to get up to the Lodge. Some of our riders had to walk this hill. Dinner and breakfast were at the restaurant in in the Lodge, a pretty good buffet with a large variety of food.

Day 3, from Carrollton to Shelbyville, started with a ride across the bridge of the Kentucky River. This was a very scenic route along the river and then out in the country. After riding through the country on relatively flat to rolling roads we saw in front of us a wall. The route went up this hill, roughly 600 yards, with grades from 5-10% then near the top it went to 22%. Only two of our group made it to the top. The rest of US walked it.

We were concerned about lunch since it was Sunday but a Marathon Station/Deli was open and saved the day. After lunch we rode into Shelbyville to the Holiday Inn Express. Dinner that night was at Claudia Sanders Restaurant, an icon in this town. Claudia is Colonel Sanders’ ex-wife. On day 4 the rain came. After a council meeting at breakfast we decided to take several people into Lexington to pick up vans capable of hauling all the people back to there cars or homes. Only two people chose to ride in the rain back to Lexington. That night, many of us met for dinner at Fazoli’s and reminisced the 2012 edition of the Tour.

For more photos of our trip, just click on the link "2012 Tour de Kentucky" on the right side of the page under Links to Cycling Pics.