Cycling the Great Allegheny Passage - 2

As we continued along the Great Allegheny Passage we enjoyed it more and more. There was something new to see and observe and learn everyday. The only problem with bike riding is that you tend to miss things along the way. If you’ve got your speed up and you’re tooling right along, it’s hard to stop and read every info sign displayed along the route. Though we whizzed by some things, we managed to take in many others.

Day 5 - Connellsville to Whitsett - 32 miles RT

Blanche had been working hard since we left Las Vegas and was overdue for some TLC… an oil change, check-up and tire rotation. David set up an appointment with the local Dodge Ram dealer, dropped off Blanche at 0800 and got a ride back to the hotel. We were on the trail by 0900.

Just in front of the Comfort Inn is another of the bike trail public art sculptures. This one, entitled ‘Coke to Spokes’ by Jody Best was dedicated to Connellsville that had once been the ‘the coke capital of the world’. Not coke as in cocaine, but rather coal coke, the residue left after processing bituminous coal which was used in blast furnaces in the production of iron and steel.

At one time, there were more millionaires per capita in Connellsville than anywhere else in the USA. The relics of 38,000 coke ovens lay abandoned outside town. Evidently, they can be seen from the trail if you know where to look. We missed them since they’re on private property and well hidden by heavy summer vegetation.

The concrete cylinder pictured below is all that remains of a major coal processing facility operated by the Pittsburgh Coal Company which processed up to 500,000 tons of coal per year until it closed in 1956. In 1907, a gas and coal dust explosion at the company’s Banning No.1 Coal Mine killed 239 miners, one of the worst mining tragedies in U.S. history.

The day was cool and lovely. The cursed limestone trail was smooth and level. Purple coneflowers, wild bergamot and false sunflowers lined the trail. It was an excellent day for cycling. There were lots of benches along our route, rest stops, vault toilets, picnic areas and bike kiosks with all the tools necessary for repairs or adjustments. David used one to tighten up his kickstand which had come loose.

On the serpentine paved path entering (and leaving) town, we passed under the Connellsville Arch, another piece of bike trail public art.

We’d seen signs at the hotel for the St. Rita’s Annual Festival. It was only a few blocks from the hotel, so we walked over to check it out in the evening. It’s an Italian festival and folks were queued up in long lines for locally made specialties. The cavatelli and pierogi (thought this was Polish?) lines were the longest. We walked around and observed the local folk thoroughly enjoying a lovely summer evening, conversing with neighbors, and joining in the community spirit.

A quick word about the Connellsville Comfort Inn. It’s great! The staff and general manager couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. The room was lovely and spacious enough for us and our bikes. The breakfasts were good. They have laundry facilities available. They have a small bar off the lobby with beer and wine service in the evenings and an awesome patio with tables and chairs to sit, relax, and watch the river flow by. And, of course, it’s only a stone’s throw from the hotel’s front door to the trail.

Day 6 - Connellsville to Confluence - 29.5 miles

No more yo-yos. We checked with the local police for a safe place to park Blanche and they recommended the Connellsville Amtrak station. We packed up our panniers with all we’d need for the next few days, parked Blanche at the station, left our contact info with the police just in case, then hit the trail.

Another lovely day on the GAP. The trail was shaded and cool as we rode under a lush canopy of sycamore, oak, and maple. Just south of Connellsville, artists Triggs & Galvinas had painted a mural entitled Four Seasons on two industrial silos at the Youghiogheny Glass Factory.

We crossed the river on the Low Ohiopyle Bridge and stopped at Falling Waters in the Ohiopyle State Park.

It’s a wonderful, but crowded rest stop with all the amenities including restaurants, pubs, a bike shop, a visitor’s center in the converted railroad station and plenty of shady places to sit and rest for a while.

We’re still riding along the Youghiogheny River. Youghiogheny, by the way, is a Native American Lenapi word which roughly translated means ‘stream that flows in a contrary direction’ and indeed, the Yough, a 134 mile tributary of the Monongahela River, flows north.

We were aware that the trail was an upward grade, but considering it’s a railroad grade (1-3%) it isn’t too bad. We had to work a bit at times, but the ebikes definitely make a difference on the long, uphill grade.

We stopped in Confluence, PA for the night, so-named because it’s at the confluence of the Youghiogheny and Casselman Rivers and the Laurel Hill Creek (which definitely looks like another river). It’s a small town, but we found a room for the night at the Casselman Overlook Guest House located just behind a levee on the river. Our host, Connie, met us at the house and it turned out we had the whole place to ourselves.

Our room was upstairs which was a bit of a challenge for me since my knee was still ailing, but we managed. We were able to park our bikes inside the house and had use of the kitchen, not that I intended to cook. It was nice having the fridge though and Connie had stocked it with lots of bottled water.

View of the Casselman Overlook Guest House from the other side of the Casselman River.

Once settled in, we walked 1/4 mile to the nearby Lucky Dog Cafe and enjoyed a late lunch in the garden setting of their patio. The sandwiches were so large, we had them for dinner, too.

Back at the guest house, a second floor deck with great river views was just off our room and we spent part of the evening playing cards and relaxing on the deck watching the slow-flowing Casselman River make its way north. Connie mentioned there was an eagle pair in the trees beyond the river, but we didn’t catch a glimpse of them.

Day 7- Confluence to Meyersdale - 31 miles

The day dawned cloudy and cool. It drizzled for a while, but it wasn’t unpleasant. We pedaled 1/4 mile back to the trail and left the Youghiogheny, now riding alongside the Casselman River. The sun shone briefly then a brief shower ensued. The rest of the day remained overcast and cool.

We passed through the 1911 Pinkerton Tunnel. It’s damp and dark inside the tunnel though you can see the other end. The temperature inside the tunnels is always 10-15 degrees cooler than outside.

We stopped briefly at the Visitor’s Center in the trail town of Rockwood, PA. We were greeted by a trail volunteer, Linda, and her yellow lab, Regina. The center had lots of brochures and info about the town as well as vault toilets, a bike repair station and plenty of benches. We had a snack and a rest then hit the trail again.

Rockwood had several pieces of public trail art. The piece below highlighted the transition from rails to rail-trail.

The penny farthing bike would have been a tough one to master. Imagine falling from that seat!

Just before the expansive Salisbury Viaduct, we spotted the Meyers Burial Ground. Several of the Meyers family, for whom the town of Meyersdale was named, were buried here. Of the 38 graves, 24 of them were children. Some died of croup, some perished in a fire and others from various childhood diseases of the time.

The Salisbury Viaduct spanned the Casselman River and was one of many bridges and viaducts we crossed along our route on the GAP.

We passed by the Meyersdale Visitor’s Center and headed down a very steep, very long hill across railroad tracks, down another hill and a sharp left to finally arrive at Donge’s Drive-In and Motel.

Donge’s was not our first choice, but it sufficed for the night. We’d tried to book into a couple of other places, but none had a vacancy. The motel was a 1950s vintage, two-storied, 8-room variety. Our room, fortunately on the ground level, was very small and very dark, with a double bed wedged against one wall and one small window with a single jalousie window to let in any air or light. Once we parked our bikes inside, there wasn’t much room to maneuver around. All that said, it was clean and the staff in the adjoining diner (drive-in) was very friendly.

We had dinner at La Trattoria a block up from the motel. The place had potential since the food was good. The service, however, was very slow and the waitstaff was the pits. One out of three ain’t bad, I guess.

Day 8 - Meyersdale to Cumberland - 32.5 miles

We had a light, early breakfast at Donge’s diner next door and hit the road. I had been dreading the long, steep hill and the railroad crossing to get out of town and back to the trail. Once again, the ebikes with their pedal-assist were a blessing, but it was still a challenge. We managed to get up the steep hill and over the tracks, but we were certainly breathing hard and heavy by the time we hit the trail.

There’s was lots to see today. First, we crossed over the Eastern Continental Divide. Interestingly, having lived in the West where we crossed the Great Continental Divide many times, we didn’t even realize that there were ‘other’ continental divides. Live and learn. The water on the west side of the Divide drains into the Gulf of Mexico Watershed and once we crossed over, all the water ends up in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. David will expound on this topic in his next blog post.

As we passed through the tunnel over the Divide, we noted an info sign which showed why we had been laboring a bit along the trail. It had been a constant grade for miles and now we would be heading down… hallelujah! Looking at the illustration, we were glad we weren’t coming up from the other direction.

The sweeping views from atop the Continental Divide were awesome.

We crossed the Mason-Dixon Line which we always thought was just about the North-South border during the Civil War, but actually that wasn’t it at all and the line was established even before the Revolutionary War. According to Wikipedia, it was “a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia (part of Virginia until 1863). Historically, it came to be seen as demarcating the North from the South in the U.S. It was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute involving Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware in Colonial America. ” Yet another history lesson!

Bikehead art at the Frostburg Visitor’s Center.

We’d seen markers for the P&LE Railroad (PIttsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad) and later for the WMR (Western Maryland Railway), not unusual since the rail-trail is repurposed, abandoned railroad lines. Now, however, tracks appeared beside the trail.

A facade of a railroad train station appeared out of nowhere.

We headed into the Brush Tunnel and noted a sign that indicated we shouldn’t enter the tunnel if a train was coming. No kidding!

It was only after we emerged from the tunnel that we saw the sign for the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Line. Imagine our surprise when minutes later a steam engine train came huffing and puffing around the bend. Yikes!

We learned it is an historic scenic railroad that takes passengers for a ride on weekends. I didn’t even have time to get my camera ready and there it was, chugging towards us. Here are my pics…

Here’s what it looks like when it’s not whizzing past you.

In a few more miles, we arrived in Cumberland, the eastern terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage.

Just outside the NPS Visitor’s Center was a huge bronze medallion embedded in the trail signifying Mile 0 of the GAP and the western terminus of the C&O Canal Towpath. We did it… 149.5 miles from Pittsburgh. We actually rode closer to 220 miles because of yo-yo legs and getting back and forth to our accommodations.

Did we enjoy it? Yup!

Are we planning to continue onto the C&O Canal Towpath. Yup!

Come on along with us. We love the company! No saddle sores involved.

Continue on to the C&O Canal Towpath