Pgh to DC bike trip--final day

Last day on the trail!  Paul, Sheena and I left from the Lockhouse around 8:30am and stopped at Great Falls to meet the rest of the gang. After a short hangout we rode about 9 miles further and stopped again so Jonathan and the girls could join us for the last stretch. Lots of pedestrian dodging, but it was so fun rolling into DC on our bikes!  We had to search a bit for the Zero mile marker of the C&O towpath but eventually we found it, tucked around the corner from a kayak rental operation. We took lots of pictures and then pedaled on up to the Lincoln Memorial where mom and dad were waiting. They were camera-ready and snapped a bunch of shots of our bike caravan rolling into the plaza. 

We did it!!!!!  Sheena is the only one who rode every single mile of the trip so she's dubbed the queen of the trail.  Yay for Sheena!!!

Pgh to DC bike trip day 6

Laundry was top priority this morning. Even though we had rinsed things out in the shower, they were still pretty gross. Sheena and I went to the laundromat and Paul took the bike bags back to the car wash to give them a good spray down. While we were there we saw someone else throwing completely muddy clothes into a washer so we knew exactly what they'd been up to!  It's fun to meet the other people on the trail that are riding through. 

Although it wasn't raining today we were sure the trail would still be really muddy, however, almost all the water was drained off. It was so great, we were just beside ourselves!  All the through-bikers that we passed had such huge smiles on their faces--everyone was so psyched to have good weather and dry trail after the last two treacherous days. 

It was fun to see Harper's Ferry--we didn't go into the town but could see how cute it was from the bridge. There was a train coming out of the tunnel just as we got there and they have the train bridge fenced so that you can go up and stand really close to the passing train. It's quite an experience!

Right around that area there were a ton of people walking around so it was a bit of an obstacle course riding through and dodging all the pedestrians.  Once we got past that section we passed an area where the Potomac goes through some little rapids--maybe class 1 or 2 at the most, but it was fun to see since the river has been so wide and languorous the whole time we've been following it. 

We met Mom and Dad and the girls in Brunswick for lunch. We found this great Mexican place--El Sloppy Taco that had wonderful food!  I told the owner she needs to move to Pittsburgh because we don't have any good Mexican restaurants there. She said in a few years when she branches out and expands, she'll put one right next to my house. :-) 

We thought the girls might ride with us after lunch but Evelyn didn't want to and Sierra had some issue with her leg.  Turns out it was probably for the best because Jonathan's knees got really bad again on the last stretch and he had to call for a car pickup. 

While we were still riding together, though, we got really close to a great blue heron.  It didn't take flight until we were about three feet away from it!  You see these birds from a distance and you know they are big, but seeing one that close with its wings spread open made me realize just how incredibly huge they are!  

I waited with Jonathan at White's Ferry for dad to come with the van. It turns out that Paul and Sheena were with him--they had been riding ahead of us since lunch and had already arrived by the time Jonathan called.  It was about six more miles down to the Lockhouse where we were staying for the night (Lockhouse 25) so I rode by myself the last stretch. Just as I was pulling onto the trail to start out, there was another through-biker that passed. I was relieved to not feel alone on the trail so I rode behind him for some time. However, he was all loaded down with a ton of gear and I was itching to ride faster as I had been riding slow with Jonathan the last 20 miles. Finally I passed the guy, realizing that if anything happened to me he'd be coming down the trail shortly.   Turns out I must have really been hauling because  I made it to the Lockhouse just after dad, Jonathan, Paul and Sheena got back in the van!

The Lockhouse is really cute but even more primitive than the other one. No electricity, and the water is little hike away rather than being right there in the yard of the house.  In the other house we used the dishes and washed them the "old-fashioned" way, but I have to admit that hiking 15 minutes to get water has broken our resolve and we are resorting to paper plates. So much for being authentic! :-)

The strange thing is that the other Lockhouse (with more convenient amenities) was really secluded and private, whereas this one is not at all.  It's right adjacent to a popular boat launch so there's a whole parking lot full of cars right by us and plenty of people around--one kind lady even hopped out of her car with her dog, walked him around so he could poop right beside our front porch, then hopped in the car and drove off. Oh well. Most of the people we've seen have been really friendly and many of them wanted to know how we reserved the Lockhouse to stay there. 

The girls did a show for us out by the lock--they'd been rehearsing it for at least an hour. Their "set" included such areas as: their house, the playground, the choir practice area, and the donut shop. There was a lot of going to sleep, getting up and going to choir practice.  

No lights here, so supposedly we are going to bed with the sun. Except I'm here writing the blog by battery-powered iPad and Jonathan is reading an academic paper by the light of some sort of wind-up flashlight. Makes for an interesting backup soundtrack to accompany the crickets out our window--the cranking of the flashlight every minute or so. 

Tomorrow it's only 30 miles down to the National Mall in Washington DC!  Hard to believe the trip is coming to an end! 

Pgh to DC bike trip day 5

Rain again.  Got up early and headed up to Hancock. Jonathan's knees were still out so he wisely took the day off of riding. Paul, Sheena, and I booked it the 15 miles back down to the Lockhouse for breakfast. After we ate, we helped pack up the van and get the place cleaned up. Then we set off in the rain again. The day before was soaking wet but I think because the last 10 miles happened to be paved, we were drenched when we arrived, but not that dirty. Today was just muddy and nasty. At first we tried to swerve the puddles, but ended up slipping more in the mud that way. It was better to just plow right into the center of the puddle so that your tire stayed on the most firmly packed part of the lane. Consequently we were covered pretty much head to toe with mud spray. That just about epitomizes our entire day--now multiply it by 50 miles and you've got the picture. 

Our favorite part of the day, hands down, is when we were going along Big Slackwater--a portion of the Potomac that is dammed up and more like a wide long lake--they had shored up the trail in many places with concrete embankments and in those places the trail was paved. So we had several decent little patches of paved trail. What a difference that makes!!

Also at points during the day we saw on the trail a huge snapper turtle, probably a foot across on its shell; a crawdad that reared up on its tail and opened its pincers as wide as it could, apparently trying to look its scariest; lots of deer and rabbits; a chicken that had escaped from a nearby farmhouse; and Paul and Sheena even saw a red fox!

The last few miles were really hard, not the least of which was because the map was off. Our destination was supposed to be at the 74 mile marker (counting down to DC) but in reality it was 2 miles further at 72.  That, and when we got close we saw a guy walking (always a good sign you're within spitting distance of a parking lot). He was dressed all in white and didn't look the slightest bit dirty--a nice contrast to us!--and he was carrying an umbrella and a couple of other things just loose in his hands and fiddling with his cell phone. We were totally sure that the parking lot was right around the corner. Turns out it was still three miles away at that point. We shake our fist at you, deceptive man!!!!

Luckily when we finally got to our Comfort Inn in Shepherdstown, it turned out there was a car wash and laundromat exactly next to the hotel. We drove into the car wash and hosed down not just the muddy bikes but our own bodies, so we could walk into the hotel without leaving a nasty trail and clogging up the shower drains. 

After we got cleaned up we realized that we had put all our bike bags into large garbage sacks to keep the mud contained, and we forgot to get them out at the carwash to rinse off. Another job for the morning...

We went down to Kazu, a local Asian eatery and had our fill of delicious food. Shepherdstown is a really cute community--lots of great restaurants and boutiques. So many places we have to come back to!

Pgh to DC bike trip day 4

Got up before 6am so we could hit the trail early, since we had a 75 mile day planned. It was sprinkling when we started, but not too bad. Mom and Dad dropped us off where we finished the previous day and we rode 18 miles to the Paw Paw tunnel where they met us with breakfast. By that point it was definitely sprinkling harder and we huddled around the back of the van or under umbrellas eating our food. After we ate we headed into the tunnel just in front of a huge school group that arrived in a couple of buses and was coming on a field trip to learn about the canal. 

The tunnel was pitch black so we were using our headlamps and headlights to navigate down the walkway, which was suspended about halfway up the tunnel wall on one side. We were walking on the towpath where the mules would go as they towed the barges up the canal. The floor of the tunnel of course is the canal itself, so is all water. 

On the other side of the tunnel the rain had let up a bit and we had at least an hour of very pleasant riding in which we could use our cameras, etc.   After that the sprinkling returned and gradually became a steady hard drizzle. We knew there were no possible pickup spots until Hancock which was another 32 miles past the tunnel so we just kept plugging. In addition we had no cell service anyway. Somewhere along the way Jonathan's knee started really bothering him so he and I rode slower and Paul and Sheena went ahead. We rode at least three hours in that hard drizzle and although we had on our Gortex jackets, they were not up for the task. By the time we got within 2 miles Jonathan was soaked through to the bone and shivering. Thankfully we were close and he was able to get changed right away and warm up.  Somehow, although my jacket soaked through as well, my fleece underneath managed to keep my torso toasty even though my face, hands, legs, and feet were cold.   And here Paul was just recovering from being sick for three days and he did the same thing as us!  Insane!  He seemed to do fine, though, and wasn't cold at the end. 

In addition to all of us getting drenched, our electronics didn't fare so well. The ziplock bag that my phone was sealed in got holes in it and my phone was sitting in about 2 inches of water.  Probably no more pics or facebook posts for the rest of the trip. 

We decided not to ride the last 15 miles down to the Lockhouse because it was so rainy and we were all just DONE for the day.  Paul and Sheena took advantage of the showers at the bike shop in Hancock while Dad drove me Jonathan and the girls down to the Lockhouse.  After we unloaded most of the stuff, he went back to get the others.   The plan for tomorrow is to drive up early to Hancock and ride the segment we missed and get back to the Lockhouse by breakfast. Hopefully the rain will have stopped!

We are staying in Lockhouse 49 and it is awesome. Totally primitive--actually we do have electricity (we thought we wouldn't), but no running water. The girls are so excited about doing everything "old-fashioned"!  They fetched water in the bucket from the pump outside, did the dishes in the washbasin, swept the whole place with the straw broom--the whole nine yards. I even sharpened a pencil for them with a knife so they could write in their journals. We definitely have to come back here again--they are so into it!

Got all the soaking wet gear draped around one way or another in hopes that it'll be somewhat dry by morning.  The electronics are all in a bag of rice we bought to absorb the moisture.  Ending the day with fireflies winking all around. What a day!

Pgh - DC bike trip day 3

Amazing day for Sierra--she did all 43 miles that we logged today!  And 5 or 6 of those she was on her own bike!  We went through two pretty long tunnels, and she also learned about a ton of stuff. For example, we crossed the continental divide and the Mason-Dixon line so those were both big topics. We also had a lesson in scatology in which we were deciphering if the animal poo on the trail was left by dogs or horses (it was horses). We also got to the junction of the Great Allegheny Passage trail and the C&O canal trail in Cumberland. Although our reserved hotel was in Cumberland, we wanted to log an extra 10 miles today so that tomorrow wouldn't be so long (it was slated as a 75 mi day). In those 10 miles past Cumberland we started passing all the locks of the old canal, which was fascinating for Sierra as well.  We also saw a few of the Historic Lockhouses and we are getting excited about the nights we'll be staying in them!!

Evelyn didn't ride with us at all today because she stubbed her toes really badly last night and her foot hurt. At some point during the day it was sufficiently recuperated that she was able scooter on a paved section of the trail with mom and dad and Paul for a couple of miles. 

After the divide our ride was all downhill, which was so nice after slogging uphill for 2 1/2 days!  When we got to Cumberland Paul was up for rejoining us for our late afternoon stretch. It's so fun having him back on the trail!!  We are keeping our fingers crossed because the forecast for tomorrow is rain. 

Pgh - DC bike trip day 2

We had to leave Pittsburgh with all eight of us, all our luggage, a ton of food for the week,  bedding and pillows for our Historic Lockhouse nights, four adult bikes, two tagalongs, Sierra's bike, and two scooters, all in the van at once. I'm not sure how we did it, but we did!

Paul still wasn't up for riding, but the girls rode on tagalongs for the first 17 miles from Connellsville to Ohiopyle and did great. They both took a break after that and rode in the van to Confluence, 10 miles further, but then Sierra wanted a stint on her own bike. I was in an enormous amount of pain, both because my bum was sore, but primarily because my knees were really bothering me. That coupled with the fact that I had some sort of seasonal allergy being out there in the pollen that was making me cough incessantly to the point that I felt like I was choking. I decided to not ride all the way to the 60 mile goal that day.  Jonathan and Sheena were strong and continued on at a good pace. I rode with Sierra at her pace (actually, I had to work to keep up with her!) for the next 3or 4 miles and then we both got in the van and rode to Rockwood where we were meeting Sheena and Jonathan for supper. 

There were several nice looking B&Bs right there and we were wishing we'd made the reservation for there instead of on ahead in Meyersdale. Some of these places don't advertise on the web, though, so it's really hard to know unless you've been there. Now we know, I guess. There was also a bike shop there that was closing right as we all arrived. 

We had an awesome picnic by the gazebo, complete with fresh "strawberry jam" (fresh strawberries mashed up with a fork on a paper plate.  Sheena and Jonathan rode the last 10 miles to Meyersdale and straight to our place there--Yoder's Hotel. We car people made a detour in Rockwood to get ice cream for the girls--only to find out that there's an ice cream place right across from our hotel!

Pgh - DC bike trip day 1

Day 1 was a beautiful ride--I didn't realize the trail going right out of Pittsburgh in that direction was so spectacular!  All of my local rides have been in other directions.  Because we were leaving from the Point at 7am, the girls were able to come down and ride the first 6 miles or so, even though they were going to school that day.  Mom and Dad picked them up by the Birmingham Bridge and took them to school. 

 Sadly the excitement of the day was put in check by the fact that Paul had been fighting off some horrible bug/allergies and about 15 miles in, after fighting to be able to breathe, realized he would have to abort the trip. We were all very upset and sad and felt terrible not the least of which was because Paul had put an enormous amount of energy into planning the whole trip and was intimately knowledgable about the whole route and its idiosyncrasies. We waited for the pickup in McKeesport and finally decided that the three of us would keep riding. 

Paul went back to the house, took some medicine, and slept it off, and we continued to ride in a much more somber mood. 

After traversing past steel mills, seeing what seemed like miles of stacked up tubular steel pipes, we wound along the river and up, up, up for 60 miles. We finished the day at a lovely little park in Connellsville. Dad picked us up and drove us back to Pittsburgh, as we had planned to go back and sleep at home on the first night. Sheena and I agreed that when we do this again we'd prefer to just stay where we are, even on the first night, and cut out the car shuttle. However, since we weren't fully packed for the "real" trip, we had no choice but to go back. 

We had dinner at our house and then we installed the roof luggage rack on the van, packed as much as we could in it, and worked on getting our things packed and the house in order for the trip.   We were so exhausted, though, we ended up leaving much of it for the morning. 

How many miles in a day?

Evelyn: Our ride was so short today--why are you so tired?
Me:  Well, you rode for the first three miles, but we rode sixty miles.
Evelyn: 60 miles? Is that how many miles are in a day?

60 seconds in a minute.
60 minutes in an hour.
60 miles in a day.

Makes sense to me.

Pittsburgh to DC Bike Trip -- Launch

Up at 5:45 and excited about embarking on our week-long bike trek from home to Washington DC.  Paul and Sheena are riding with us and the girls will be off and on riding with us or in the van with Grandma and Grandpa.  This morning we are heading out from the Point at 7am and the girls are riding with us the first bit. SOOO excited!

Get the girls up, eat breakfast, load the bikes, and off we go!!!!!!!!!!!!