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 Bridge across the Potomac This will be my last day!
Leaving the Teahorse Hostel after a waffle breakfast , I rode up then down into Harper’s Ferry. Again I had to squash the urge to immediately leave town across the bridge and get riding again. So I rode around the part of town right near the river. The History Channel crew was setting up again for another shoot. There was certainly a lot of history in Harper’s Ferry with the Revolutionary War and Civil War and the founding of the country. Right now there is only one railroad bridge out of town, but previously there had been at least three. The two unused ones are slowly falling apart. Now nothing is left but their stone piers. Continue reading Day 81: Harper’s Ferry, WV to Arlington, VA (November 18)
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 C&O Towpath near Harper's Ferry Coming into Hancock the day before, I noticed that there was paved bike path heading into Hanock and then out continuing down river. There is about a twenty mile bike path of the old Western Maryland Railroad that parallels the C&O Tow Path with Hancock pretty much in the middle. Since paved roads are faster than the bumpy C&O I decided to give it a go until it ended.
At one point on the trail, there was a sign pointing out the three modes of transportation that were tried in that corridor: canal then railroad, and then the interstate. It said that each eventually led to the demise of the previous one. (CSX still has an active rail line nearby that mostly moves coal.) I had often thought about the history of the route. From the historical signs along the canal, the canal was never much of a success. It was plagued by flooding and it was not fully completed until the railroads were also nearly complete along the same route. It could not compete with the railroads in speed or tonnage. The amount of railroads coming through are still visible with both active and abandoned railroad trestles crossing the rivers. The signs along the path were interesting because of the long and important history of this area of country for both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War as well as the development of industry and the move west. Continue reading Day 80: Hancock, MD to Harper’s Ferry, WV (November 17)
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 The C&O Trail next to the Potomac River The rain was coming down as I rode through the gate marking the beginning of the C&O towpath in downtown Cumberland by the park service visitor center. Cumberland is a CSX town and the train horns could be heard at all hours with trains coming and going. The rail lines paralleled the towpath for about half the day. Even when the trains could not be seen they were present with the low throb of the locomotive diesel engines, the clatter of cars on the rails or the screech of wheels going around bends. Continue reading Day 79: Cumberland to Hancock, MD (November 16)
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 The Eastern Continental Divide Waking up to a hard drizzle or maybe rain, I went to eat breakfast at the Sweetie Bakery next to the pizza place I got dinner with the night before. Buying some donuts and a bagel with cream cheese I checked my email and hoped the rain would stop. The rain eased up and was only something between a mist and a drizzle when I headed back out.
Before Meyersdale, was one of the big things on the trail today: the 1908 foot long Salisbury Viaduct. So not to lose elevation, the railroad made a big bridge to cross over a valley. The bridge is narrow — one track wide — which makes it seem even higher than it is. It looks too be about 100 feet off the ground (but probably only 60 or so) and only about 10 feet wide. Continue reading Day 78: Confluence, PA to Cumberland, MD (November 15)
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 Campground near West Newton, PA on the GAP Trail There was a light drizzle leaving in the morning. Not cold but a little chill to start.
The surface of the trail is compacted chip stone. Due to the rain last night it seems a couple miles an hour slower than yesterday when dry. Still able to go about 10 mph. There are also a lot of wet leaves on the trail but they seem pretty stable and I haven’t felt any slipping.
There are little towns every five to ten miles along the route. Most have a look they were started 100 years or so ago when this corridor was heavily used judging by the style of houses. Continue reading Day 77: West Newton to Confluence, PA (November 14)
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 Bridge over the Youghiogheny River in West Newton, PA I picked up a trail (Three Rivers Heritage Trail) downtown behind the PNC bank building. Being a Sunday there were a bunch of other cyclists on the trail — most on nice road bikes.
The downtown and riverside seems to be having a bit of a renaissance. The Carnegie Mellon center for studying media technology is there. Seeing the building reminded me of Randy Pausch who taught there, and his lecture on fulfilling your childhood dreams. I guess riding cross country was not one of my childhood dreams, but has been something I have wanted to do for a number of years. In a few days I will have fulfilled that dream. So what is next? Not sure, but I will think of something. Continue reading Day 76: Pittsburgh to West Newton, PA (November 13)
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 My bicycle waiting to be transferred to a new bus to Pittsburgh Waking up, I had a fear, “What if I can’t get on Greyhound?” I’d bought the fully refundable fare so I could travel anytime plus could get a refund.
So I started trying to think of what to do if Greyhound didn’t work. As so often is the case in the USA, Amtrak was not an option. A one-way rental car is now only possible airport to airport so I’d have to get to Lexington, KY which is about 50 miles from Berea. A day’s work. Plus the rental companies now charge about $200 as a fee for one way rentals. So I was going to have to spend $350 to rent a car from Lexington to Pittsburgh. Then I realized there is still a company that gives a one way rental: UHaul. I could rent a ten foot box truck from Berea to Pittsburgh for $350 and unlike the car rental I could take up to three days to get there. Expensive option but an option. Continue reading Day 75: Berea, KY to Pittsburgh, PA by Greyhound Bus (November 12)
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 A tobacco drying barn with geometric pattern This morning was very cold when I got up — about 25 F. Even after the sun was up for a hour it was still below freezing. It would be a slow start. I normally go slow to warm up but today would be even slower and involve multiple stops for layer adjusting. Looking at the ACA route, there would be no restaurants along the way to buy lunch. I’d be snacking it today. Plus with it so cold, I would not be sitting by the roadside to enjoy a lunch either. Somehow this 52 miles felt like a long distance between services sort of like being out west.
The ACA routes are nice because they try to put you on roads with little traffic. Today was certainly one of those days. It seemed like hours that I could ride in solitude with no noise but my tires and the birds.
I did run into a few dogs who charged my bicycle barking but now I have found that if I ignore them they lose interest pretty quickly. But there was one today I could not ignore. He ran out in front of my bike right in front of the tire. I was going about 12-14 mph which seemed a little fast for him to run along with his head turned completely around barking at me. It was a little comical but I was worried about running him over. I kept having to brake and steer aside. Eventually he gave up. Continue reading Day 74: Harrodsburg to Berea, KY (November 11)
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 Kentucky Bluegrass with blue skies and puffy clouds I stepped out in the morning just before sunrise, and was faced with a crisp, cold morning. It was below freezing by quite a bit. The weather channel said it was about 24 F. I had some breakfast and hoped it would warm up by the time I was ready to go.
When I left the temperature was just about freezing. I bundled up so that I’d warm up warm instead of trying to go out cold and warm up. I knew that I’d have to change out of something in about twenty or thirty minutes. The day was somewhat breezy so it might be even longer. Continue reading Day 73: Bardstown to Harrodsburg, KY (November 10)
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 The birthplace of President Abraham Lincoln I woke up this morning thinking I had to get going to cover a lot of ground. But I stopped myself. The birth place of Abraham Lincoln was just minutes away. I could not be this close without visiting. I had read Bill Bryson’s less than enthusiastic description…but he basically hated everything he saw while driving through the USA so I didn’t feel it was a useful guide.
The birthplace park is small. There is a visitor center and a stone, monumental building that houses a log cabin. The cabin is supposed to represent the cabin that Lincoln grew up in. Unfortunately, the monument was closed for repairs, but the visitor center was interesting. The rain started as I got ready to leave the birthplace. The route would take me by the Lincoln homestead and another farm that Lincoln lived on as a child before the family moved to Illinois. The farm was in a little valley that was extremely picturesque. The steep hillsides came down onto a lush green field. If it had not been completely pouring rain I would have stopped for more than a couple minutes. Continue reading Day 72: Hodgenville to Bardstown, KY (November 9)
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