In June of 2016, I checked an item off of my bike bucket list, and rode the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath Trail and Great Allegheny Passage Trail from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, PA.
I rode with seven friends (two old friends; just meeting the other five on the trip). We drove to Pittsburgh and met at the Amtrak station, took the train to DC, then rode the trails back to Pittsburgh. We toured “credit-card style,” i.e. staying in hotels and eating meals in restaurants.
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 6 – Ohiopyle to Pittsburgh, PA
We tried to get an even earlier start than usual on our last day, hitting the Ohiopyle Bakery and Sandwich Shoppe for breakfast soon after they opened around 6:15am, then we hit the trail a little after 8:00am. A couple miles outside of town, we came across a group of four riders from Massachusetts using a do-it-yourself…
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 5 – Cumberland, MD to Ohiopyle, PA
Breakfast (any item from the menu) is included in your room at the Ramada Inn of Cumberland, Maryland, so after a filling meal, we packed up our bikes and headed back for the short ride down through town to the trail. Of the many popular photo ops in the area, one is the sculpture of…
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 4 – Hancock to Cumberland, MD
After the hotel buffet breakfast, we headed into town to visit C&O Bicycles just after they opened at 8:00am. I was considering buying new tires, but they didn’t have any in the size and tread type that I needed. Bill needed to buy a new saddle, though, after breaking his during a fall near the…
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 3 – Harpers Ferry, WV to Hancock, MD
Another early start today after the hotel breakfast buffet at 7:00am. I lubed my and Mike’s chains as we got ready to leave outside the front lobby, then helped Tom adjust his handlebar. It was less than a mile through town, across the footbridge, and down the spiral staircase to get back to the C&O…
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 2 – Washington, DC to Harpers Ferry, WV
We got an early start from the Inn at Rosslyn. After trying unsuccessfully to find a pancake place for breakfast, we settled on the Panera Bread at the Rosslyn Metro Station, since it was on the way to the bike trail. They weren’t able to make breakfast sandwiches due to kitchen renovations, so we settled…
DC to Pgh Bike Tour Day 1 – Pgh to DC via Amtrak
I woke up this morning at 12:56am, four minutes before I had my alarm set. All I had to do was get dressed, toss my gear in the car, and hit the road. The eight of us doing the bike tour arranged carpools to save on parking in Pittsburgh, and I was to meet my…
Packing List: Credit-card touring on the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trails
I am leaving early Thursday morning to check off another item on my bike bucket list, riding the C&O Canal and Great Allegheny Passage Trails from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, PA. Back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I used to ride parts of the GAP trail between McKeesport and Confluence, just 20-50 miles at a…
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