“Bike 150 miles in 3 days why not?”
This post is just the content from the Facebook posts that I made during the trip. More Information about this trip will becoming to the site. We also will be working on fully guided tours of the GAP trail and other exciting adventures. If you have any questions contact me.
This weekends adventure 150 mile bike trip!! From Pittsburgh PA to Cumberland MD. (Is the goal/plan lol)
The GAP *Great Allegheny Passage* is one of the east coasts most traveled biking trails.
Follow along this weekend as we make our way through the mountains of Pennsylvania.
We have no plans and no reservations.
We have a tent and a little bit of gear but definitely don’t want to have to use it lol.
See where the trail takes us next. Tell some friends and join in following along on this real life reality ride?
*Update*
We are not freezing ?
No tent ?️ needed tonight ?
So while chatting with our waitress at lunch we mentioned staying in a tent and she said let me make a phone call. 5 minutes later we had a room for $40 just 10 miles down the trail in the direction we where heading.
Downstairs is the most popular bar in town and up stairs is 2 floors of newly renovated rooms.
Today has been so full of cool stories, people and locations.
I’ll have to be posting all these over the next week with all the information and details.
Looking forward to the adventures that day 2 will have in store.
See you tomorrow as the journey continues.
No tent ?️ needed for night #2 ??
Finding places to stay has been easier or if you want to say luckier than expected. We where scrambling around town last night in Ohiopyle PA asking everyone we passed if they had a spare room we could crash in. With out any luck finding some couch surfing. We tried the only motel looking place in town. Not wanting their last room available that was meant for 6-8 with a price tag not meant for 2 we went back on the hunt. So we end up at a white water rafting outfitter thinking they might have some info on where to pitch our tent or something.
We are told….why don’t you rent a room in our guest house.
10 min. Later and for only $95 we are on the porch of “FernCliff”
Now here is where it gets Exciting….. We have the whole house to ourselves!!! Full kitchen, 2 baths, living room, WiFi, coffee maker, laundry and more.
Long story short….you can’t beat the whole house for $95 bucks?
75 miles in one day on my bike my longest ride ever.
So what happened day 3 of The GAP adventure???
5:30am – wake up in Ohiopyle
Get packed. Mike handles some work. I handle grabing some breakfast and a short loop checking out the town.
9:30 am on the trail again. The next 40 miles is all up hill.
11:38 am we hit mile marker 50!!! We are moving at a faster than expected pace and my legs are burning?. We have a serious discussion about the possibility of making it to Cumberland tonight ?
12:26 pm we break for lunch at Rockwood. I’ve decided that if I eat some pizza I’ll be able to make it to Cumberland. (Later I realize the truth is… if I drink some Twisted Tea I’ll make it to Cumberland?)
3:26 pm we hit mile marker 26. With in the next few miles we will hit the Continental divide. I dig deep to make the final push of this up hill section with the goal of catching the 7:24 Amtrak train back to Pittsburgh. (My legs are not happy with my decision making so far today)
4:01 pm we pedal through Big Savage tunnel. We are transformed back into time with the thoughts of the countless trains that would have been using this passage throughout history.
4:12 pm we are meet with one of the most spectacular scenic views along the entire route. Even though we’re in a hurry we stop and pause to look out across the valleys and mountains rolling in to the distance before us.
4:24 pm we cross the Mason-Dixon line. We have now officially left Pennsylvania and our racing down the trail into Cumberland Maryland.
6:03 we have done it!!!? Mile marker #0!!! The accomplishment of riding over 150 miles in the past 3 days feels awesome!!! We are on top of the world.
6:33 pm we find the Amtrak station.
6:44 pm we find out there are no more spots available for bikes on the train. (We are now no longer on top of the world lol?) We have 30 minutes to come up with a plan before the train arrives.
7:14 pm we chain our bikes to a fence, we say prayer ? that they’ll still be there when we return and order 2 tickets with 10 minutes to spare.
7:56 pm group of bikers shows up to the station and informs us the train is over an hour behind schedule. After talking with them we learn that they have two tickets not being used for bike transportation on this train.
7:15 pm we all scramble to get their tickets refunded so we can purchase empty slots for our bikes to make it onto the train. The announcement is made the train will be arriving in 10 minutes.
8:32pm everything miraculously works out
once again!!!? We unchain our bikes and get in line for the ride back to Pittsburgh.
9:15 pm we explore the train, make new friends and start talking over how to get back to my van from the Pittsburgh train station which is 13 miles away at the hotel we originally started this adventure at.
11:27 pm we take an hour nap or at lest try to.
12:34 am we arrive in Pittsburgh
1:35 am we take our bikes apart and load them into an Uber.
1:54 am we reach my van and get ready for the drive back to Erie.
4:15 am we are back into Erie and I’m dropping Mike off.
4:45 am I arrive home and motivate my legs one more time to get out of my van and get into a hot shower.
5:30 am after 24 hours of push my mind and body I’m back into bed.
What a day!!!
Mission accomplished.
Come join the fun as I explore my tri-state area and beyond. See my adventures in real time on Facebook and Instagram. Feel free to interact and see what I’m up to for the day. Also check out my YouTube channel for more details and information about my adventures. By following along with my Pinterest posts you will see the Ideas I have for future activities as well as pictures and posts from my previous adventures. I’m so glad you are now part of the adventure. Explore the website for more blog posts, ideas and things that are happening .
I’m going to do a quick Q and A post this morning about some of the questions I’ve been getting about the GAP adventure. I might do one each day this week or even more as you guy keep asking great questions ?
Q – 1. How much weight were you carrying?
A – Way to much!!!?
I weighed my bags this morning before I started unpacking them. They weighed in around 40 lb at the end of this trip. So I’m guessing between 45-50lbs depending on the day.
Mike was carrying only around 1/3 of this weight I’d say 15-20 lbs give or take.
Why the drastic difference between our pack weights?
1. I was afraid and prepared for being very cold
2. My Candy bag was a little over kill???
3. Bringing some camping gear that we never used. Stove fuel, tent, and small bag of camping food , ect….added an extra 6 -10lbs.
4. Experience….Mike’s experience of knowing the trail, his gear, and how his body functions on long rides definitely helped keep his pack weight down.
So to some up this first question.
Mypack was heavy no doubt about it.
But being a rookie I had peace of mind the whole time, knowing I was prepared for and would be comfortable in most situations. To me this was worth the weight for my first trip.
After gaining a little experience and seeing the trail. I would say the tent would be my first choice of large gear to be left behind on my next GAP ride. There are plenty of places to find along the trail. Several options to stay inside as well as nice locations with shelters to use for camping.
Second would be food and beverages. This trail crosses through many small towns and it was very easy to stop at restaurants or convenience stores each day. Carrying only a few hours worth of snacks or drinks at a time would have saved me a few pounds easy?
Of course every Adventure is different. But in most cases adventures like this and in locations that are not super extreme, carrying a few extra dollars is the best way to pack lighter.
If you’re not sure you’re going to need something leave it behind because there’s a good chance you can buy it while you are out on the trail.
We will be posting more information about this trip, gear we used, places we stayed and other recommendations to help you out so keep following along ?
