We’d like to explore Europe on our bicycles and we still want to ride around the Gaspee Peninsula in Canada. But, given the ongoing pandemic – will it never end? – we decided to stay closer to home. So many cyclists we’ve talked to rave about the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal that combined run from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. so we thought we’d check it out. But it’s only about 340 miles. For our one and only bicycle adventure of the year, that just felt too short; it would take less than two weeks. So we figured out a loop. We could pick up Adventure Cycling routes from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and then from Washington back to Philadelphia. It came out to about a thousand miles. We planned on starting the end of September and taking about a month.

While the riding wasn’t stellar, what made the trip fun were all the friends and family we visited along the way. Before leaving the suburbs of Philadelphia we reconnected with Tony and Kim, good friends from our time living in DC (Rob and Tony worked together at NIH). Shira, another of Rob’s former honors students from Brown, let us stay with her and her partner, Kelly, and leave our car at their house.

DAY 1: Friday, 9/24/21

56.5 miles, Wyncote to Frenchtown, NJ (but we stayed in a campground across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania – town unknown)

Riding into or out of a metropolitan area is never fun and today was no exception. From our friends’ house in Wyncote we found our way after about seven miles to the Atlantic Coast Adventure Cycling route in Ambler. One of the streets in that town had apparently been hit by a tornado from the remnants of Hurricane Ida the week before. It looked like the tornado had blasted down the middle of the streets, tearing up trees but leaving the houses intact, but for a damaged roof here and there.

After about thirty miles we arrived at the charming community of New Hope situated on the Delaware River. After having cheese and crackers and some snacks at a historic railroad station, we stopped in a local brewpub for a beer and fries and then got back on our bikes for some more miles, beginning a meander back and forth along the Delaware River.

We spent the night at what should have been a low-budget campground only it cost $30. Neither of the tent sites offered to us had a spot level enough for even our little tent and it was a long walk to the showers and restroom. But the owner was friendly, offering us a place to charge our phones, the showers hot, and the bathrooms clean. 

The camping experience was not something we were eager to repeat. Consequently, this would be our only night camping until after we left Pittsburgh.

A cyclist camped nearby stopped by to talk after we were in our tent. He offered advice on a way to avoid a big climb out of Belvidere, coming up in the next day or two. He also told us not to expect anything in Phillipsburg, a small city of 14,000, where we were hoping to stop for a second breakfast.

DAY 2: Saturday, 9/25/21

DAY 2: Saturday, September 25, 2021

34 miles, Frenchtown to Riverton, PA

We began the day crossing the Delaware River. We would do that a lot over the next few days.

We passed through Phillipsburg and the cyclist from the previous night had been absolutely right. Riding three miles down Main Street we didn’t see a single diner, restaurant, or coffee shop, just rundown and abandoned row houses. It was pretty depressing.

Then not a single town until we arrived in Belvidere and Uncle Buck’s Diner where they served breakfast all day and I had eggs benedict for lunch. Rob was pretty happy with his omelette.

Without a lot of camping or lodging options I was all for going another fifteen miles to a state campground up from the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey where they promised not to turn away cyclists. But Rob said he was done riding for the day. He called a hotel just across the river and they had a room for $75. How can I argue with the guy who has lung disease when he says he’s done? I can’t. 

We spent the night at the Riverton Hotel and Restaurant, the only establishment in the almost nonexistent town of Riverton, Pennsylvania. Owned by a Greek couple for over forty years, it was clearly in decline. Our room was small, the carpet threadbare, the internet spotty, and the microwave hadn’t had a proper cleaning in a while. (I have a hunch that we were the only “hotel” guests and that the hotel served more as a rooming house.). In the morning when we tried to leave the doorknob fell off. But it worked out fine for an afternoon nap and a good night’s sleep. The restaurant served good food at a reasonable price. We both had a seafood pasta dish with a Greek salad and shared a berry crisp for dessert.

After dinner we crossed over the bridge back to Belvidere and explored the town. There wasn’t a lot going on but there were some lovely old buildings.

DAY 3: Sunday, 9/26/21

44 miles to Effort, PA

Out of Belvidere we decided to take the advice of the cyclist we met our first night out and took the highway directly to Portland to avoid a big hill. As is often the case we gave up a quiet country road with hills for a busy highway with traffic, but also a wide shoulder. We made good time for 15 miles. Then we passed through the town of Delaware Water Gap, crossing the Appalachian Trail where we left the Adventure Cycling Atlantic Coast Trail and picked up the Chicago to NYC Trail. The noteworthy difference in these two sets of maps is that now we had elevation profiles, indicating lots of hills to look forward to, even though we’d already had quite a few.

By the time we arrived in Saylorsburg after about 25 miles I was desperate for lunch and a bathroom. Only a few businesses sat along a busy highway with nowhere to sit and have a relaxing lunch and no public bathroom in sight. So we had a couple slices of pizza and soda on the porch of the local pizza joint as semis and loud motorcycles zoomed by.

Our destination for today was the home of Joan and Malcolm. Joan and Rob went to high school together. We’d kept in touch over the years through annual Christmas cards and newsletters. Every year we look forward to theirs as they always come up with some crazy photo of their family. They live in Effort, a town you have never heard of and not really on the way to anywhere so it’s been over 30 years since we’d seen them. But in researching this trip we realized they were only a few miles off our route. We had a great visit, filling in the gaps of what the Christmas letters left out.

DAY 4: Monday, 9/27/21

24 miles to Hazleton where we had booked a room at a Red Roof Inn. 

We decided to take Malcolm and Joan up on their offer to drive us and our bikes a few miles ahead to shave a long hill off our day. Whenever we do that, I tend to watch the scenery go by and think, “I could have done that.” But there was, in fact, a long hill that Rob, sitting in the front seat of the car, expressed gratitude that he wouldn’t have to climb. And there were plenty of other hills waiting for us. Neither of us minded having a shorter day.

We only got on the road around 10:30 and after 18 hard miles arrived in the little town of Freeland just after one o’clock. With a CVS on one corner and a pocket-size town park on the other, it was the perfect place to stop for lunch. I went into the CVS to use the bathroom and picked up chocolate milk, regular milk, and some Dove chocolates. I got the regular milk because I was tired of carrying a bag of Heritage Flakes and decided cereal was in order for lunch. 

We had a pleasant rest sitting on the grass in the shade of a tree in this lovely garden with a small gazebo as semis and motorcycles roared through the town that had only one main street. I said to Rob, “I’m always impressed with these towns that are obviously distressed but will still have a lovely little park or maybe a beautiful mural to show off.” Across the street from us was an abandoned building with broken windows.

DAY 5: Tuesday, 9/28/21

40 miles, Hazleton to Danville, PA

40% chance of rain starting at 9 a.m. didn’t sound too bad and when Rob looked out our hotel room this morning he saw some blue sky. That was at 6:30 and by the time we were ready to head out the door and get on our bikes at 8 a.m., it was already raining and very dark. We put on our rain jackets and got out our bike lights and headed out into the morning traffic. I, for one, was feeling very uneasy, not about the rain – I don’t generally mind riding in the rain – but about the traffic and it being so dark. Fortunately, after just a few miles we were on a quiet country road. Our Adventure Cycling route has been taking us along the Pennsylvania Bike Route V. The roads, for the most part, have had very sparse traffic, even as they have sometimes had some narrow winding parts that can be a bit nerve-racking.

The rain came down heavy for awhile and Rob said, “I kind of like riding in the rain.” I didn’t argue but I didn’t agree either. I was a little cold and would have like to stop and put on a warm shirt, but there was nowhere to stop, no convenience store, no restaurant, no small-town gazebo. There was nothing in the small towns we passed through, just houses, many of them tired and rundown. Eventually it began to get lighter, and the rain began letting up, and I noticed the clouds lifting and then we had some riding without any rain. After 30 miles, just as we arrived in Catawissa, it started raining again, but we were finally in a town that was supposed to have a restaurant so at least we arrived with the hope of finding refuge from the rain.

The first thing I noticed in town was a house with three signs in front: “Trump/Pence 2020;” “My vote was stolen;” and “We will not be silenced.” And a flag: “Trump 2024.” I wanted to ask the owner who stole his vote.

There were two diners and a tavern in town. The diners were both closed. One had a sign that said, “Gone to the fair.” The tavern was open. I’m not a huge fan of bars because they are usually dark. This one was no exception. We sat at the bar because that was the only place we could sit and keep an eye on our bikes parked outside. We were the only ones and the bartender/server was very kind, heating up a kettle of hot water when we asked for hot tea.  I said, “You’re the only place open in town,” and she said, “Everyone’s at the fair in Bloomsburg. It’s the biggest one in the state.” I said, “Aren’t you going?” And she said, “No, too many people. I’m going to San Diego next week to visit my daughter and I don’t want to ruin it by getting Covid.” I asked if she was vaccinated and she said, of course. I told her we both were. So then we knew a lot about each other out here in the middle of Trump country.

Rob took a look at the menu and said, “Look at these prices.” A hamburger cost $6.95. We both ordered hamburgers, not my favorite meal, but they were terrific. And, since business was slow, we learned a lot about Alicia, our server who is also the manager, She grew up in the town, her family has been in the town for many generations and she listed all the places in town that have her family name. But she’s traveled all over the world because her father died from brain cancer in his fifties and never got to enjoy his retirement so she’s not going to let that happen to her.

She told us that Catawissa used to have several factories. One made T shirts and her mother and grandmother worked there. But they’ve all closed down. It’s not a coal-mining town, mostly farming. The local doctor just shut his office down. Everyone’s leaving, including her. She and her mother are moving to San Diego as soon as possible.. She showed us a picture of her daughter who is biracial and loves living where she is no longer a minority. 

After Catawissa we crossed the Susquehanna River and had ten easy miles to Danville where we had booked a room at the Doctor’s Inn Bed & Breakfast.. After all the distresssed towns we’ve passed through we were surprised to find our B&B on a street with beautiful old enormous houses. 

After showers and naps we walked down the main street of town to find a bike shop and dinner. With the darkness of the morning ride in the rain, I felt we needed more lights. The local bike shop had just what we needed. And the dinner was the best we’ve had so far on this trip. I had a lemon shrimp and pasta dish with an Italian cream sauce and a Caesar side salad. Danville was certainly our finest stop so far.

Neither of us had to walk our bikes up any hills today. We had some climbs but, overall, the hills were in our favor as we had a net elevation loss. The rain did not detract from a beautiful riding day, especially as I was continually intrigued with the movement of the clouds against and above the mountains.

DAY 6: Wednesday, 9/29/21

20 miles, Danville to Lewisburg

Our plan today was to ride 35 miles and camp at Raymond B. Winter State Park. The weather was glorious; the hill profile looked manageable; and I was looking forward to camping in what I hoped would be a lovely spot. That didn’t happen.

With a relatively easy day ahead we took our time leaving Danville, enjoying our B&B breakfast, talking with the innkeeper and learning a bit more about the town’s history. He told us about a major flood from the Susquehanna River in 1972 and again in 2011. The former inspired the building of a levy along the river which wasn’t done in time when the latter flood destroyed the middle school. He also told us that at one point the state wanted to tear down the beautiful historic homes to run the highway through the town. With the help of a lawyer they created a historic district that saved the neighborhood and the highway now runs through a tunnel underneath. You don’t even know it’s there.

After breakfast we went for a walk down the street to admire all the historic houses and then along the river to see the levy. As with so many towns, a block or two away from the beautiful historic homes, the houses were much smaller and rundown.

We started out the morning on a highway with a tentative shoulder and too much traffic. I was glad when I looked at my directions and saw that we would be leaving the main highway, assuming most of the traffic would be continuing straight when we turned off. But just as we were approaching the intersection, the dreaded sign appeared: ROAD CLOSED AHEAD. When we got to our left-hand turn, I stopped to wait for Rob. As he pulled up, I said, “The good news is, our road isn’t closed. The bad news is, we still have to deal with all this traffic.”

Rob replied, “Well, we’ll deal with the card we’ve been dealt. That’s what bicyclists do.” Just like he’s dealing with tackling hills while living with lung disease.

We arrived in Lewisburg at noon with time to walk down the main street, have lunch at a bagel shop, and work a bit on my blog. Lewisburg would be a charming town if not for the noisy traffic running right through the middle of it. It’s home to Bucknell University and whenever we are in a college town Rob likes to explore the campus. But this time he had another mission. He remembered that a neuroscience colleague is a member of the psychology department and wanted to see if he could find her to say hi. As chance would have it, Judy was in her office when Rob stopped by.

That’s when our plan for the day went awry, in a very good way. Judy was thrilled to see Rob and remembered meeting me once, probably at the only Neuroscience meeting I attended with Rob a few years ago. She graciously offered us dinner and a place to spend the night and we graciously accepted. Talk about rising to the occasion. Judy’s husband, Jimmy, acted like it was nothing for complete strangers to appear for dinner and to spend the night. An avid bicyclist himself, he was curious about our route and suggested an alternative bike path to get us out of Lewsiburg. I enjoyed hearing Judy and Rob share memories of their separate experiences with their common graduate school mentor.

DAY 7: Thursday, 9/30/21

61 miles, Lewisburg to Bellefonte, PA

Today was both our longest day of riding so far and most beautiful. We started out riding from Lewisburg on 7 miles of crushed stone bike path suggested by Jimmy, then about 4 miles on a country road to get back to the Adventure Cycling route. The scenery all day was superb: a mix of woods and creeks with an abundance of open farmland in Menonite/Amish country. 

What I had been looking forward to when planning this trip was seeing hillsides filled with beautiful fall foliage but – alas! – we are too early, nothing but green hillsides. But finally, today we started seeing more than just a hint of color. This afternoon I was entranced by the sky. Hovering over the open farmland was layer upon layer of cumulus clouds with the sun lighting up each layer individually.

Our change in plans yesterday basically forced us to ride a longer day today. Either that or we’d have had to stop at a state park campground after just 20 miles. It was a beautiful spot and I was tempted, but Rob gave a definitive no. We did have two lovely stops today, one in the morning at a state park picnic area after 16 miles and another this afternoon with 12 miles to go. We stopped at the Hublersburg Inn where we were able to sit outside on their lovely patio and had butternut squash soup and sweet potato fries. Rob wanted to order an IPA but I convinced him that it might not be a great idea with 12 miles to go and I wouldn’t share a beer unless it wasn’t an IPA. 

We had one long gradual climb that began around mile 13 this morning. Over 1000 feet, but it was spread out over 10 miles. Then downhill and rolling hills until a steep 500 foot climb after lunch. We both walked up that one.

We finished the day with a night at a low-budget Econolodge that cost under $75. No microwave but the room was clean and quiet. We cooked a camp dinner and breakfast on our stove outside.

I took a number of pictures depicting the Amish country we passed through. It’s easy to romanticize the simple lifestyle, until you realize that a child’s education stops at eighth grade. The teacher of the one-room schoolhouse is an unmarried woman who herself has not received an education past the eighth grade: http://www.exploring-amish-country.com/amish-education.html.

At Jimmy’s suggestion we stopped at a saddle and shoe shop. I was taken aback by the sign on the door basically saying, “Don’t wear a mask.” I kept mine on. Inside, all the shoes and boots were of a single style.

DAY 8: Friday, 10/1/21

52 miles, Bellefonte to Clearfield, PA

Today was brutal. We had about 10 miles of rolling hills to warm up before hitting another thousand-foot climb, but this one was over four miles with some steep sections that told me to get off my bike and walk. I’ve decided that this winter’s project is to get myself a new cassette that, like Rob’s, will let me comfortably ride under 4 mph. A granny gear for the granny.

After lunch, a 500 foot climb over two miles, then mostly rolling hills with a few steep ones thrown in for good measure. 

But the weather was fine; we’d made an early morning detour to a grocery store so had lots of good food to give us fuel; and we were looking forward to a night at a higher class Best Western.

I spent a lot of time hanging out at the side of the road, practicing tunes on my penny whistle, while waiting for Rob. 

A couple times the top of a hill coincided with houses that had lawn signs worth taking pictures of. Many, many lawn signs supporting the police (no Black Lives Matter in these parts). I took a picture of one that was next to a sign supporting health care workers and wondered if these Trump supporters (they had a huge Trump/Pence sign still out at the side of their house) were vaccinated. While I was still hanging out at the end of this driveway, the door opened and a woman asked what I was doing and why was I taking pictures of her house? I told her I was waiting for my husband and just took a picture of her signs. Another woman also came out walking toward me and said, “Shouldn’t he be waiting for you?” I said, “He has lung disease.” She started coming up to me and I asked if she was vaccinated and she veered away.

When I recounted the story to Rob later I said, “That’s just sexist, like a woman can’t be faster than a man. From now on I’m going to say that we have an equal opportunity marriage.” Rob said, “Just say, ‘He’s younger than me.’”

I was only a little worried that we wouldn’t make it to Clearfield by dark but we pulled into the Best Western before 5:30, with plenty of time to spare. I was sore and tired; Rob was wiped. I give him so much credit. When you think about lung disease you think about it affecting his breathing, but I think it also affects how much oxygen he gets to his muscles. Plus he’s on a medication to prevent his heart from going into atrial fibrillation, which means his heart may not be pumping hard enough for those tough climbs. So it’s no wonder he’s slower and more exhausted at the end of the day.

For dinner I cooked vegies and pasta in the microwave while Rob picked up chicken and beer from the KFC and convenience store across the highway. It was quite delicious. Then we enjoyed a hot tub.

Another note on lawn signs. And flags. Besides the ones supporting police, given the number of Trump/Pence signs, many people here seem to think the election is next month. Then there are the Trump 2024 and F*** Biden flags. Late this afternoon we rode through one of the most rundown towns yet and I saw a flag that said “God, Guns, Trump.”

We both agreed that the scenery wasn’t all that remarkable, nowhere near as lovely as yesterday, although we are seeing more changing leaves.

After tomorrow we’ll be seeing rain off and on for a number of days.

DAY 9: Saturday, 10/2/21

24 miles, Clearfield to Du Bois, PA

Twenty-four miles may not sound like much, but starting with a long slow grind up 1000 feet in four miles (does this sound like yesterday?) with a few more hills to follow, we were happy we planned a short mileage day. On top of all the past hills over the past few days, every muscle in my legs hurts.

Rob and I were both proud of how we tackled this last big climb. Not a country backroad, this was on a divided highway with, thankfully, a very wide shoulder and minimal traffic. What really distinguished this climb from the others was being able to see the road far ahead. I wondered if being able to see where the road was going made it easier for me to keep up the pedaling. Except that, as I neared what I thought was the top, I would watch a car as it went by me to see when it crested the hill. But it just seemed to go on forever. Rob said he saw the same thing. Fortunately I had the elevation profile in front of me so I could see that the top of the hill flattened out.

On the downhill I enjoyed seeing the many hints of changing colors. One entire hillside was a kaleidoscope of different reds. While I’ve been disappointed that the hillsides aren’t more alive with vibrant colors, I’m enjoying noticing the daily changes and thinking I’d rather see the change into peak foliage than the change out of peak. Trees with only a few leaves hanging on always make me sad, feeling like I’ve missed something.

This morning we began our day with a brief tour of Clearfield and ended our day with a brief tour of Du Bois. Both towns are tired. In Clearfield we visited a local museum filled with antique cars and stuffed game and mounted antlers. I enjoyed the cars and tried to ignore the rest. Then we walked our bikes through the downtown and had lunch in a park on a river.

We’re spending tonight at another Best Western on the edge of town. After checking into our room after 3:00 we showered, had a beer (they sell beer in the lobby of the hotel) and leftover chicken, and crashed for a couple hours. Then we went for a much-needed walk to stretch out our aching legs and to search for something for dinner. We didn’t find much. An Italian restaurant was packed, with no Covid precautions and every other dining establishment we passed was either shuttered or closed due to lack of staff. We settled for dinner in our room – soup and precooked pasta from the grocery store. It was delicious.

Du Bois was just another distressed town with boarded up buildings and few places to get a meal. Yet, check out the inviting gathering place tucked into the alley next to a run-of-the-mill pizza joint.

Tomorrow is our last 20 miles of hills.

DAY 10: Sunday, 10/3/21

40 miles, Du Bois to Hawthorne, PA

Rainy days get a bad rap. The forecast was for rain all day, and it began just as we were getting ready to leave the hotel. We put on our rain gear, made sure everything was wrapped in plastic bags, and turned on our lights. For the first hour or so the rain came down, not too bad at first, then a downpour, then not so bad, then another downpour, then not too bad, then it stopped and stayed stopped until just a mile before we got to our destination for the night.

Hunting is obviously a favorite activity in these parts. I saw a billboard that said, “Don’t miss your trophy buck. Get Lasik.”

And I saw a new Trump sign: “TRUMP: Resistance; 2020-2024.”

We had ten miles of rolling hills through beautiful farmland, then ten more miles with three or four grueling hills to Brookville where we stopped to have a beer and pizza and take a walk through the historic downtown. Some of the old buildings were obviously lovingly restored, some not so much, and on an adjacent street we could see majestic old Victorian homes. Next to the courthouse was a giant chess set, tables, and a fountain. The small city felt more alive than the last two we’d been through.

As we were getting back on our bikes, a fellow about our age stopped to chat. I asked him what he liked about living in Brookville and he said, “What’s not to like? It’s quiet, you don’t have the city crowds.” He moved to Brookville from Pittsburgh over thirty years ago and is finally no longer considered a newcomer. We told him we’d come from Du Bois which was pretty rundown and he blamed the Super Walmart for that, causing all the local shops to lose business and have to shutter.

The hills are behind us. Thanks to my cousin Andrew’s husband Stephen, we have a way to get to Pittsburgh that gets us off the Adventure Cycling route and onto two flat rail trails that follow the Redbank and Allegheny Rivers.

We started on the Redbank Valley Trail in Brookville and followed it for twenty easy miles to the Brick House Bed & Breakfast where we had a room reserved for $105. That was a bargain. We were the only guests and had the whole place to ourselves. The building has three floors with a nook on top, where I am sitting as I write this. It’s surrounded by hills and forests on an expansive piece of land and includes a treehouse and mine shaft replica (that you can sleep in). If this were located in New England we’d be frequent guests.

After showers we had tea, cheese, crackers, apple, chocolate, and naps in the living room. The rain stopped long enough for us to eat dinner on the outside deck. We cooked a simple meal of microwaved red onion, mushrooms, and pepper, tossed with noodles, Montreal steak seasoning, and garlic salt. It was delicious, far better than anything we could have gotten at a restaurant.

We’re going to have to make a decision about camping on the rest of this trip. We’ve been carrying all our camping gear and have only camped once. I’m sure we won’t camp on the stretch from DC back to Philly so we have to decide if we’ll be doing any along the Allegheny Gap and C&O Canal trails. The plus is saving money and having more lodging options and some campgrounds are much nicer than budget hotels. But when we stop for the day in the mid-afternoon, it’s really nice to be able to take a nap in a comfortable bed. And we do get a better night’s sleep in a bed. So, do we ship our sleeping bags and tent home from Pittsburgh, or keep carrying them?

DAY 11: Monday, 10/4/22

43 miles, Hawthorne to Kittanning, PA

While checking out of the B&B this morning I asked the innkeeper, “What is it about Trump that appeals to so many people around here?”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t know. People are just angry.”

We had  a nice switch today from all the hills and traffic, and the scenery was lovely. We rode next to a river all day, first the Red Bank, then the Allegheny. Fallen red and orange leaves sprinkled the path. We were surrounded by varying shades of green and yellow foliage, lots of wild rhododendron and evergreen mixed with deciduous trees. It was another day of dramatic clouds coupled with an occasional downpour. We had plenty of opportunities to take a break from riding with many benches and even covered picnic tables along the way. All day we only saw a couple other people on the trail. And lots of coal history.

Even so, after a while, I found myself ready to be done. It was peaceful and beautiful but maybe too much of the same thing for too many miles. I thought about the upcoming Allegheny Gap, which we will be on for many more than 40 miles, and hoped that it will be more interesting. I look forward to riding through towns, seeing what each has to offer: a lovely park? a coffee shop? or nothing but a few houses and maybe a church?

We rode forty miles before coming to Kittanning. We passed through New Bethlehem but  there were no signs directing us to a bike shop or cafe or ice cream so we didn’t realize we were past it until three miles later.

Forty miles on flat terrain should have been a breeze, but at the end of the day I am still exhausted.  Maybe it’s the toll of eleven days of hills. Or maybe it’s that we were riding on a dirt path all day, often bumpy, and slower going than on pavement. I definitely got tired of the bumpiness. Cruising along on smooth pavement brings me joy; bumping along on a dirt trail, not as much. But it’s a fair tradeoff for the peace and quiet of leaving the traffic behind.

Once we arrived in Kittanning we had to find the Quality Inn that we had booked. Googlemaps had us going up a steep hill (our tired legs walked into a residential neighborhood and I began to wonder if we were in one of those stories you hear about where your GPS takes you to a place that no longer exists. Turn down one residential street, then another, and I aslo wondered if we’d be able to find a restaurant nearby. We had nothing for dinner in our panniers so maybe it would be oatmeal. But then we came out onto a busy highway and the Quality Inn was right across the street with a restaurant two doors down. A really fine restaurant, too. We were happy with our dinners – beer, a caprese salad, fish and chips for Rob, pasta for me, both came with a side salad, all for $65 including tip. 

We sat on the back deck that was covered and surrounded by garage-like doors made of glass. A good thing, too, when the rain poured down. As we watched the rain and lightning through the windows, we both agreed it was a good thing we hadn’t planned on staying at the campground we’d passed along the way.

Cousin Andrew and his husband Stephen are picking us up tomorrow. Stephen grew up in Kittanning and wants to show us around. The part we rode through on our way to the motel looked rather downtrodden. Our server grew up here and she said there isn’t much going on in the small city. I wonder why she stayed.

“Pennsyltucky”

We were told by a couple people that the part of Pennsylvania between Philly and Pittsburgh is known as “Pennsyltucky.” If you were to believe the abundant Trump signs, either the 2020 election hadn’t happened yet, or 2024 was just around the corner. “Blue Lives Matter” signs could be seen in every town. (And not a single “Black Lives Matter” sign.)

These signs were in front of the same house in Belvidere..

I must have waited for about ten minutes at the end of the driveway of this house. A little boy was outside playing. The mother came out and stared at me for a while and never said a word. Unfriendly? Suspicious? It’s no coincidence that there were no Warm Showers hosts in Pennsyltucky.

DAYS 12-14: October 5-7, 2021

Kittaning and Pittsburgh

Tuesday morning Rob and I found a coffee shop in downtown Kittaning where we hung out, waiting for Andrew and Stephen to come get us. Then out to lunch at a local diner that served delicious, affordable food, followed by a tour of the town and its environs.

I would describe Kittaning as a community that has fallen on hard times with glimmers of a hopeful future. Stephen showed us the deserted apartment building where his grandparents once lived and the home where his father grew up. Still owned by his father (rented out) it sits on one of the only private lots on the river. Stephen is considering tearing down the house and building another where he and Andrew might live. His sister is considering moving back as well, building her own house on some farmland their father still owns. We stopped by an upscale restaurant in an historic inn, just to take a peak inside, and Stephen chatted with the owner’s son, who he knew. Stephen told us that he is likely related to half the county.

We enjoyed a couple days relaxing in Pittsburgh, where Andrew’s brother Ed and his wife Rose also live.. We’ve often stayed with Andrew and Stephen during our many drives back and forth between Colorado and New Hampshire over the last decade and their hospitality and Stephen’s cooking never disappoint. It was nice to visit during a lull in the pandemic when Ed and his wife Rose felt comfortable visiting.

On Thursday Rob and I took the train downtown for our own day of sightseeing. The biggest treat (for me at least) was riding up and down a couple of the remaining historic funiculars. (When I told my cousin we rode the funicular he said, “What’s that?” The locals call them “inclines,” but I love the word “funicular.”) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duquesne_Incline We also ate a wonderful lunch at the Grand Concourse, an old restored train station.

There are two remaining, restored inclines in Pittsburgh, the Monongahela and the Dusquenne. We rode up one and down the other. The cars are slightly different in each.

DAY 15: Friday, 10/8/21

42 miles, Pittsburgh to West Newton, PA

Today we began the second part of our trip. We’re riding the Great Allegheny Gap Trail to Cumberland, Maryland, and from there we’l pick up the C&O Canal to Washington, DC. It’s pretty much all packed something or other – dirt, crushed gravel – no pavement,no traffic, and no hills.

Already we have two worries. A bicyclist we met this afternoon told us about two treacherous detours on the trail. One where the PawPaw tunnel is closed, we have to climb up a steep hill and then down an even steeper hill, on a trail. It sounds like we’d have to walk our bikes. Same with the other detour around a closure for trail maintenance. We’re hoping we can find a way around the detours on some roads.

Other than those two worries, the riding has been fabulous. We took the train from my cousin’s place into downtown Pittsburgh where we started the trail at the fountain at Point State Park. The first 20 miles were not wildly fun, getting out of the city, then riding next to highway traffic and across the river from industrial noise. But once we started riding along the Youghiogheny River peace and quiet reigned supreme. 

We’ve never ridden anywhere before where there are so many cyclists riding long distance, camping or staying in motels or B&Bs. We’ve never ridden anywhere before where there is so much support for cyclists: benches and covered picnic tables, several free campgrounds, bathrooms, and terrific signage.

We passed several small towns but because we got a late start on the day, we didn’t stop to explore. We were able to get dinner at a trailside restaurant in West Newton, then rode a few more miles to the Cedar Creek Park Hiker-Biker Campground. Other than a shower it had everything we could possibly want and it was free. We went to sleep listening to the birds calling and throughout the night heard the screeching of countless trains passing by on the tracks across the river. 

DAY 16: Saturday, 10/9/21

39 miles, West Newton to Ohiopyle State Park, PA

If we had know nhow steep and treacherous the climb up the half mile trail (from the Allegheny Gap Trail) to the state park campground was, we would probably have biked on the road. Except when we checked in and told the woman in the booth that we’d bike out on the road, she told us that it’s extremely dangerous and we shouldn’t do it. She said that, although it’s paved, it’s got loose gravel and is narrow and winding. But we have no choice. There is absolutely no way we can safely navigate that trail back down.

Other than that, we had a fine day. Woke up to light rain, but our picnic table was covered so we had a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and hot tea. Given how late the sun is rising, we were only on the trail by a little after nine, and had a pleasant 20-mile ride to Connellsville, where we stopped for lunch at The Kick Stand. Rob had a club sandwich with delicious french fries that he graciously shared with me. I had seared mahi mahi on a bed of red cabbage and noodles which was also delicious and I didn’t share any of it with Rob because he declined my offer. We took our time over lunch as I worked on writing up my notes from yesterday and we both checked email. We also chatted with the numerous other cyclists who trickled in for lunch, folks we had met yesterday and folks we had met at our campground this morning. There were also cyclists we had been playing leapfrog with all morning, but we didn’t talk to everybody.

After lunch we stopped by the bike shop next door to check the air in our tires. I asked the woman at the bike shop, “Is it worthwhile riding across the bridge to see the rest of town?”

She said, “No. There’s nothing over there.”

We had 17 miles from Connellsville to the campground turnoff. By then the occasional rain of the morning had stopped for good and we enjoyed a cool breeze. But we didn’t enjoy the trail so much, as too often we hit gravel patches that were bumpy and no fun. As with the Armstrong trail we rode before Pittsburgh, I have to admit it got a little boring. As hikers say of the Appalachian Trail, we spent the day riding through a green tunnel. But, still, it was very lovely, especially with views of the river alongside us.

Although Ohiopyle State Park has gotten good reviews, I don’t think they’ll be getting any from us. Our campsite is covered in gravel and there is not a level spot. I’m afraid we’ll be spending the night hanging on for dear life, struggling not to slide through the back of the tent.

But, on the plus side, the showers were hot and it’s nice to be surrounded by trees and mysterious animal noises.

People ride for many different reasons. We met two women yesterday, from Colorado, riding just the Allegheny Gap to Cumberland, Maryland. We rode along with them for a bit and one of them, Michele (from Boulder), told me that she is riding as a way to memorialize her son. He went missing last winter and it took 38 days for them to find his body in a lake in Littleton, where he had fallen through the ice. He was 30 years old. Michele told me that she is riding 30 miles a day for 38 days.

DAY 17: Sunday, 10/10/21

44 miles, Ohiopyle State Park to Meyersdale, PA

The day did not begin well. When I went to the bathroom to retrieve the food bag I’d put there last night (our usual habit to prevent animals from discovering it), it was gone. Oatmeal, yogurt, raisins, nuts, a big hunk of cheese, potato chips, tea, powdered milk, a supply of Dove dark chocolates (the kind with clever sayings inside each individually wrapped piece). And a bunch of other stuff, along with the rear rack bag it was stored in. The good news was that all we lost was food and one bag. But still.

Then, the 3 mile ride downhill into Ohiopyle was every bit as scary as the woman told us, but not in the way she described. It was a narrow winding road, but quiet and there was good visibility. There were some uphills that we both chose to walk, and then some easy downs. But the last mile and a half had a quarter mile stretch that was steeper than anythiing I’ve ever ridden down. Even paved, it threw me way out of my comfort zone. 

We both made it into the little town of Ohiopyle alive, But Rob’s rear brake had seized up on him and it was a puzzle that I finally thought I’d solved by loosening the cable adjustment but we took it to a bike shop in the next town and it turned out that the problem was the cable attachement catching on the S coupler. Don’t ask me to explain other than it was a unique problem that took a while to figure out but had an easy fix.

Even though we struck out this morning with three problems, the day turned out fine, as they generally do. The riding was easy and lovely. We had breakfast sandwiches in Ohiopyle at the local town market where we also picked up some melon cubes, dark chocolate Reeses cups, and a snack mix to get us through the miles until lunch, which we thought would be in Rockwood, thirty miles away, but when we got to Rockwood the woman at the visitors center told us there was nothing worth going into town for as everything was closed on a Sunday.

Rob decided last night that two nights in a row camping was plenty and that we should spend tonight in a B&B. But all the B&Bs that he called were either booked or not answering their phones. Instead he booked a room at the Donges Drive-In & Motel for $60. It didn’t have a website, but the reviews we found said they had really good milkshakes. The owner had told Rob that if we arrived before 3, to look for her in the diner; after 3, she’d leave a note on the door of the diner with our room number.

So, after Rockwood failed to deliver on lunch, I was booking it to Meyersdale in the hopes of getting there in time for a chocolate milkshake and Rob’s only option was to try to keep up. We arrived at ten minutes before 3 o’clock. And it’s a good thing we did, since it’s the only game in town for lunch on a Sunday. Family owned for three generations, the owner, Melissa, was busy in front of the grill. We were happy to settle at the counter while we waited to place our order, then Melissa gave us the key to our room, exactly what you would expect for $60, and it suits us just fine.

There were two other women eating lunch and they noticed our bikes and we got to talking about riding the Gap and where they were from and all that. One of them lives in D.C. and I asked her about places to stay near the Capitol and she was able to give us a couple recommendations, plus a couple bike trails in D.C. to explore.

We ordered milkshakes and grilled cheese sandwiches which came to $12. It was perfect. I can’t wait for breakfast. She opens at 6.

After showers and naps, we went for a walk to explore the town. There wasn’t much to see. Not exactly a distressed town, but it still has its share of deserted buildings mixed in with some lovely Victorian homes. We had dinner at the only place in town open on a Sunday night, Take Six, a pizza and sub shop with no ambience.

DAY 18: Monday, 10/11/21

17 miles Meyersdale, PA, to Frostburg, MD

Breakfast of cheese omelettes and toast with hot tea for both of us at the Donges Dine-In & Motel cost eleven dollars. Then we got on our bikes for an early 8 a.m. start. The forecast said cloudy; we had a light drizzle most of the morning. But that didn’t take away from a very pleasant, easy, and interesting 17 miles to Frostburg.

We crossed the Eastern Continental Divide, which I didn’t even know existed until about a year ago when we got a text from our bicycling friend Will as he was crossing it on his ride along the Underground Railway route. But of course it makes sense. On the western side all water flows to the Gulf of Mexico and on the eastern side it goes to the Atlantic. I guess it’s just that nobody makes a big deal about it like they do the Continental Divide through the Rockies (which, notably, isn’t called the “Western” Continental Divide). 

The climb up to the divide from the western side is so gradual as to be barely noticeable. The eastern side, slightly steeper, gave us a pleasant cruise for the rest of our ride into Frostburg. 

But first we rode through the Big Savage Tunnel – over half a mile long.

Then we stopped at the Mason Dixon Line where some monuments marked our entry to Maryland. We all know the Mason Dixon Line as the official demarcation of the northern vs. southern states during the Civil War. It was commissioned by two English Colonial families to settle a land dispute and only a decade or so later they lost their land to the American Revolution. Too bad for them. Rob recently brought my attention to a song by Mark Knopfler called “Sailing to Philadelphia” about Mason and Dixon. It’s a great song, one I’d heard countless times (because Rob plays it in the car countless times) but I’d never really given it much thought.

We arrived in Frostburg around 10 a.m. and climbed up a hill to the Trails Inn & Campground where we had a room booked for the night. 

You can’t get off the Great Allegheny Passage without going up or down a steep hill. The hills here are much steeper and relentless than those out west. That, and all the bridges, viaducts, and tunnels have made me appreciate the engineering feat that created the railroad line that once occupied this trail. I’m also impressed with the work that has continued to maintain this historic passage through such rugged terrain.

After checking into our room we didn’t have long to wait before a car pulled up with my friend Kim and her partner Jane who’d driven two hours from Buckhannon, West Virginia, to meet us. Kim and I became close friends at Girl Scout camp back when I was living in West Virginia during those formative years of sixth through tenth grade. Camp Meadowlea was my two-week reprieve from being the smart girl with dorky glasses back when girls were not allowed to be smart and being pretty was a must. At Camp Meadowlea I could be who I wanted, loving the outdoors and trying my hand at camping, carrying a backpack, and learning how to paddle a canoe. Other than those two weeks, I hated West Virginia and when we moved to Connecticut the summer before my junior year of high school, I never looked back. But Facebook has allowed Kim and me to reconnect and we spent three hours over lunch catching up and getting to know each others’ life partners. Kim’s sharp wit and thoughtfulness hasn’t changed over these many years.

And, of course, how do you avoid talk of the pandemic and how each state is dealing with it? West Virginia started out full throttle giving the vaccine, but now with all the covid denial going on, it’s still below 50% vaccinated and 49 people in the state died of Covid just yesterday. Also interesting was talking about the economy and Jane’s comment that the people in the state just want the coal jobs to come back. They’re living in the past.

After Kim and Jane left Rob and I walked to the grocery store to fuel up for a couple days on the C&O Canal with no towns along the way. We didn’t have much to buy as Kim and Jane brought us supplies to replace the food that had been stolen at our last campground.

Then Rob faced the task of changing his front tire. This morning, just before we left he’d discovered it was a little soft. Hoping it was just a small leak, I suggested he pump it up so we could just get going and we could fix it on the trail. I figured it would be nicer to be outside fixing it than stuck in the motel room. Good thing that it lasted until Frostburg, as it wouldn’t have been much fun changing it in the misty weather we had all morning. The biggest challenge in changing a tire is trying to find whatever it was that made it flat in the first place. I tried my hand at it but gave up. Rob persisted and found a tiny sliver of metal that surely was the culprit.

After wandering along a trail past some fun bicycle sculptures down by the Gap trail, we walked back up the hill into town for dinner at the historic Hotel Gunter where we both had a light meal of corn and crab chowder and a small side salad. Here in Maryland crab is a local favorite, especially crab cakes. The chowder was delicious.

We were happy that our room tonight was not sharing any walls with any other room. Last night our neighbor had his television going all night. By one o’clock I figured maybe he’d fallen asleep. I had to knock loudly on the door before anyone answered. Fortunately, he turned it off and we had some peace and quiet after that.

Every night, and day, on the road is a new adventure.

DAY 19: Tuesday, October 12, 2021

46 miles Frostburg, MD, to the Paw Paw Tunnel (we think it’s in MD)

Today was a great day of riding. We flew downhill from Frostburg to Cumberland, the official beginning of the Gap Trail and end of the C&O Canal. But for us it was the end of the former and beginning of the latter. 

We stopped in Cumberland and found a cafe that served delicious omelettes and then we were onto the more rugged C&O Trail, which is actually a national park.

Every few miles we’d pass an abandoned, decaying lock and lock house. It’s very different from the Erie Canal where some of the locks are still in use. Many, maybe most, of the cyclists we’ve met won’t ride on roads so this is perfect for them. Not so for us. It’s lovely riding among the trees next to a river and the canal, but the rough terrain makes it hard to relax. We have to watch out for roots and ruts and the bumpiness makes for sore hands. 

Every few miles there is a hiker-biker campsite with a picnic table, fire ring, porta-john, and sometimes water. The one we’re camped at tonight has a water pump, so all our needs are taken care of. Not all our wants, though. We are missing a shower and beer. But three other friendly cyclists are sharing the campsite so we had some pleasant company after dinner.

We ended our day around 3. We stopped about a mile from the Paw Paw Tunnel. You can walk into the tunnel, but you can’t get out the other side. So first thing tomorrow morning it’s up and over. A 375 foot climb in just under a mile and then back down in six tenths of a mile. I’ve been stressing about this detour ever since someone first told me about it. Hopefully my worries will be for naught.

DAY 20: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

45 miles to a Hiker-Biker Campsite 8 miles past Hancock, MD

My worries were for naught. After a restful night’s sleep (for me – Rob complained that one of the cyclists sharing our campsite snored loudly all night) we began the 1.5 mile detour at 9 a.m. The national park website said it would take an hour and a half to two and a half hours. It took an hour.

We climbed, pushing our bikes up a dirt path for .66 miles and 375 feet. Then a descent on a dirt service road that mountain bikers could enjoy. But we’re not mountain bikers so we kept walking, keeping our brake levers pressed down on the steep sections. And I actually enjoyed the morning walk over the mountain with interesting historical signs pointing out the location of the school that served the children of the tunnel laborers and where the slag from the tunnel was dumped.

The thirty miles to Hancock was nothing special and neither was Hancock where we got a shower at the bike shop and then got sweaty again riding to a restaurant for an early dinner. Rob probably would have been happy staying at the Hancock Motel or Super 8, but I couldn’t stomach a cheap motel. I’d rather camp. The weather was fine, the campsites decent and free. We shared our site with a single male cyclist heading in the other direction who had no interest in talking to us.

We did enjoy passing along an aqueduct.

Over dinner we tried to find a B&B or local inn for Saturday night in Harper’s Ferry but had no luck. Neither did we have any luck finding a place for tomorrow night in Shepherdstown. So it looks like we’ll be camping our way to Georgetown, two or three more nights.

DAY 21: Thursday, October 14, 2021

46 miles to Shepherdstown

A pleasant day overall. Two charming towns, some beautiful scenery along the way, and a stop at a local cafe for a second breakfast.

We were on the trail by 8:25 this morning, but the bumpety-bump roots and rocks and divets slowed us down so it took us almost two hours to ride the 16 miles to Williamsport and the Desert Rose Cafe. It was refreshing to find a business that takes Covid seriously, having folks place their orders via an outside window and the staff wearing face masks. But we were able to sit inside to enjoy our backon, cheese, and egg sandwiches on a croissant. As we lingered and caught up on email, Rob realized he had a message that a room was available for us in Shepherdstown, 27 miles down the road. We grabbed it, and enjoyed a more leisurely afternoon ride knowing we had a place to stay, looking forward to showers and a comfortable bed.

While Rob and I are both very tired of the rough riding we’ve had for so many days, today did provide some interesting terrain. We were again routed off the towpath for a detour but this time onto rolling hils and paved roads through some open farm countryside, a nice change from the constant tree canopy of the canal path. Then immediately after we rode on a cement path hugging rock cliffs as the canal was designed to make use of a calm section of the Potomac River when the engineers realized they would never be able to blast through the rock. So they built a dam instead to control the water level of the river.

Finally, several miles before arriving in Shepherdstown, the trail surface changed to a smooth soft something that seemed like a crushed asphalt/sand mix. We’re wondering how long it will continue. Hopefully all the way to Georgetown. It was a joy to ride on.

The Mecklenburg Inn was not like anything we would have expected. The owner rents out only one room and it’s really a suite on the second floor of a historic building. No shower, but an old-fashioned tub for a hot bath. A beautifully antique-furnished living room overlooks the main street and there is a pub below us in what was once a post office. As I write, it is hard to ignore the very bad music of an open-mike singer/guitar player who can’t hold a tune. Thankfully the bar closes at 11 on Thursday nights.

Shepherdstown is a sleepy, liberal, quaint college town. Bakeries, book shops, cafes, and restauants line the single main street and the buildings are all well-maintained. After cleaning up we had tea and a pastry sitting outside on the main thoroughfare, then after a walk had dinner at a Thai/Japanese restaurant.

Our plan for the next couple days is to get an early start for the 12 mile ride to Harper’s Ferry where we hope to linger for a bit. Then, with rain in the forecast for Saturday, we’ll probably chug along as far as we get and stay in one of the many hiker-biker campsites along the last 60 miles to Georgetown where we have a room booked and dinner reservation for Saturday night.

DAY 22: Friday, October 15, 2021

44 miles to Chisel Branch Hiker-Biker campsite (near mile 30 on C&O Canal)

Today was going to be an easy 24 mile day. But it didn’t happen that way. We didn’t find much worth stopping for so we just kept chugging along until we found a campsite that suited us.

This morning we enjoyed breakfast in our suite of rooms overlooking the main street of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. I noticed a local craft shop across the street. It wasn’t the only shop I would have liked to poke around in. The problem with staying in sweet little towns is that all too often we arrive just as shops are closing their doors and leave in the morning before they open for the day. At least the book store was open late enough yesterday for me to buy a book.

We had an easy 12 miles to Harpers Ferry, which turned out to be a disappointment. It would be a great place to visit for Civil War history buffs, but that’s not us. We were looking for a second breakfast and streets to stroll up and down. I’d been to Harpers Ferry before, but really had no recollection of it. 

The first problem was we couldn’t bring our bikes into town. Well, we could have, but didn’t want to. We would have had to carry them up a metal spiral staircase to get onto a railroad bridge with a pedestrian walkway that took us over the river. We opted to leave them locked at the base of the bridge.

The second problem was that we couldn’t find anyplace to get the second breakfast we were hoping for. There were only a couple coffee shops and no restaurants that were open.

The third problem was that we couldn’t find anyone who worked for the park service to give us information about what to see and do. The town itself is just a few streets with most of the buildings taken over by the national park service. Many were open for viewing with informational signs. But during our time there we didn’t see a single park ranger, not even at the Visitors Center. 

After walking all the main streets in town and climbing a set of stone steps to a beautiful old Catholic Church, we decided we’d seen enough, walked back over the bridge to our bikes, and rode another six miles to the sleepy town of Brunswick. At the recommendation of several folks we’d met along the way, we stopped at Boxcar Burgers for burgers and fries. They were doing takeout only, which was fine as there were several picnic tables across the street. The burgers were delicious, the fries too salty and soggy.

While we were eating another cyclist joined us, a single older gentleman. He told us that the newer smooth trail would last until we got to lock 23, which was around mile 20 out of DC. He also said that we could expect a mile or so of rough access road to a commercial campsite on the edge of Brunswick.He was definitely right about that. It was awful.

Unlike many of the cyclists we’ve met this trip, this wasn’t his first rodeo. He told us he’d done a cross country trip with his wife back in 1980. He didn’t say anything more about his wife, but he’s single now. He said he’d brought a female friend on the Gap trail, but because of orthopedic issues she couldn’t even ride it with an e-bike. So he’d decided to do part of the C&O trail on his own. 

He said he envied us having each other for company and that he’d do more riding if he had someone to ride with. I think we both appreciate how lucky we are. Whenever we have hard days when I have to stop and wait for Rob, I know that it’s worth it for the companionship, the encouragement he gives me, and the fact that he makes sure we don’t miss important turns. Besides that, we share carrying the camping gear and setting up camp and researching places to stay. And while I spend time waiting for him to catch up to me on the hills, I get to play my penny whistle.

Aside from that rough mile, we had smooth riding the rest of the day.. By mid-afternoon we were passing campsites every four miles or so. We figured we’d stop when we got tired or got to a campsite that was particularly nice and had water.

And here we are, at the Chisel Branch hiker-biker site that has a lovely view of the Potomac River, two picnic tables, planes flying overhead every few minutes, and walnuts raining down on use whenever the wind blows. The last is only partly true. The walnuts are raining down, 4 or 5 at a time, but not directly overhead, only over our path to the porta-john and pump.

Shortly after we arrived, a father and two young children showed up, ready to spend the night. Dad said they’d biked here in the spring, eight miles, and then realized there was a parking lot just a couple hundred yards down the path. So this time they didn’t bike, just used a cart to bring in their tent, cooler, and firewood. The kids, age 3 and 5, are really cute.

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, but not until early afternoon. We should be in DC by then.

The sunset over the river was lovely.

DAY 23: Saturday, October 16, 2021

31 miles to Washington, DC

Even though the planes stopped flying overhead around 10 o’clock last night, it was still not a quiet night. Around midnight someone started shooting fireworks across the river and they went off intermittently for about an hour. I wasn’t sleeping because I was immersed in a good book, but they were worrisome as fireworks have been known to start fires and there we were camped in the midst of trees.

Camping is always an adventure.

With only 31 miles and the rain not predicted to start until the afternoon, we were in no hurry to get on the trail. Travis, the dad of the two cute kids, Wren and Finn, offered us pancakes and eggs and we didn’t turn them down.

Our morning ride was uneventful. Around Great Falls it got very crowded with walkers. As expected, when we hit lock 23 the trail was no longer fun and seemed worse than we’d had yet. So when the paved Capital Crescent Trail began to parallel the C&O, we took it. And before we knew it, we were in Georgetown and totally missed the last couple miles of the towpath. Maybe we’ll look for mile 0 on our way out of town.

Just after we checked into our Georgetown hotel the heavens broke open. Our timing was perfect.

DAYS 24-26: October 17-19, 2021

Washington DC

We spent three days playing tourist in DC. We visited the new Museum of African American History and the National Gallery, bicycled to all the monuments on the mall and Tidal Basin, met our niece for dinner, explored several new neighborhoods that have sprouted up in the past couple decades. We were able to connect with our niece Erika for dinner one night and another night had a remarkable meal at Chloe, a restaurant in the Navy Yard.

Rob did a postdoc at NIH in the eighties when we lived in the suburb of Gaithersburg for three years and spent many weekends exploring all that DC has to offer. But, as we’ve learned on occasional trips back, there is always something new to see. We’ve seen the Holocaust Museum but not the American Indian History one. We stopped by the building and explored the grounds around it which are beautiful. But visiting DC on a Monday or Tuesday is not a good idea as most of the museums are closed. We were glad that we arrived a day earlier than planned and were able to get timed entry tickets for the African American museum on Sunday. It’s amazing. We started on the upper Culture and Community floors and didn’t even finish those so we never made it to the history part. And we were there for four hours. We will definitely return.

DAY 27: Wednesday, October 20, 2021

64 miles, Washington, DC, to Catonsville, MD

Back to the hills. Our longest day so far and very challenging. We started out trying to find mile 0 of the C&O Canal but the way suggested by Google was blocked off with construction so we gave up. Our Adventure Cycling route had us riding out of the city on the Capital Crescent Trail; then, after a short detour, we rode about ten miles on a trail through Rock Creek Park. It was very pleasant and only a little hilly. After thirty miles we were back on the roads with rolling hills but soon enough they got pretty steep. We walked parts of a few of them. 

Even though we were so close to a major metropolitan area, our route took us along back roads where there were no towns of significance and no services. We stopped for lunch at a restored historic African American cabin that was closed but had picnic tables set up outside. We stopped for water at a bar that was closed but someone was inside getting ready to open. We rode through a charming town, Ellicot City at the end of the day. I would have liked to stop but with the shorter days and our long mileage, we didn’t risk it. 

The last ten miles took us along Frederick Road which leads directly to Baltimore. The last few miles were busy with traffic and cluttered with potholes, not a fun way to end a long day. But we had a reservation at a Bed and Breakfast right on our way. We arrived (by 5:30 – after a 10-hour day) exhausted and happy that we were able to use the kitchen to cook a simple and delicious dinner of noodles with sauteed vegies. Olive oil, Montana steak seasoning, and garlic salt dressed it up nicely. 

DAY 28: Thursday, October 21, 2021

5 miles to Baltimore, MD

Our host at the Paradise Bed and Breakfast had a prior commitment and couldn’t fix us breakfast, but gave us a $40 discount on the room and let us use her kitchen to make our own. That worked. 

I just thought she had figured a nice name for her B&B, but it turns out it is located in a part ot town called Paradise. 

I have a rule that anything under ten miles doesn’t count as a riding day. Today we rode straight into Baltimore’s inner harbor on Frederick Rd., through some pretty sketchy neighborhoods, boarded up row houses all along one side of the street.  

We had a booked a city-view room in a Sheraton Hotel but they gave us a room overlooking the harbor. It was pretty nice.

After checking in we wandered around the inner harbor looking for lunch and exploring, then back at our room we tried to figure out plans for the next few days. That always feels like it takes more time than it should. 

In the evening we connected with two of Rob’s former students for dinner. Leon and Jessica met in Rob’s lab back in the late nineties, fell in love, married, and now both have PhDs, two teenage children, and jobs they enjoy in Baltimore. It was fun visiting and catching up after so many years.

DAY 29: Friday, October 22, 2021

59 miles, Baltmore to York, PA

Another long mileage day, but definitely easier than the last one.

The first twenty miles took us along city streets out of Baltimore, this time through nicer neighborhoods than the ones that brought us into the city. Carefully maintained row houses with front porches and pillars. On one street I noticed many had the wood trim and pillars all painted different colors for a cheery effect.

Then we rode on the Torrey C. Brown/Northern Central Railroad Trail through the rest of Maryland. I wondered who Torrey C. Brown was, but none of the signs gave any information about that. I figure if you’re going to name something for someone, you should at least let people know what that person did to deserve the honor.

Bumpy and boring is how I often characterize rail trails. They are generally not paved and not smooth and rarely go through any towns or even let you know where the town is so mostly you are just riding through a tunnel of trees. However, given the traffic we’d had to deal with for the first twenty miles, and given the hills we had to deal we on our long day out of Washington, we were both happy for the quiet and relative flatness of the rail trail. Even so, we agreed that this one was taking us uphill..

At the Pennsylvania border the trail became the York County Heritage Trail. This section was smoother than the previous one and shortly after it started we began a long descent that took us to our Warm Showers hosts in York. Along the way we passed the Rail Trail Cafe in New Freedom where I insisted we stop for a cup of tea, if only because we’ve found so few cafes on this trip I wanted to stop and savor this one.

We did finally find Warm Showers hosts to take us in for the night, our first this trip. We’ve been riding through a Warm Showers desert for the past month so finding Jane and Paul was a bit of heaven. They live right next to the rail trail in a condo community next to a golf course with a restaurant where they pay to be part of a dining club. They had meal money they had to use up and graciously let us help them spend it. We had a great evening sharing stories of our travels and bicyclists we’ve hosted or met in our travels. 

Jane and Paul ride self-supported on a tandem and have ridden across the country and in Europe and Canada. Paul is the motivation for their travels. Jane is passionate about quilting and only began riding with Paul when he convinced her to ride on the back of a tandem. She doesn’t even own a regular bike.

DAY 30: Saturday, October 23, 2021

27 miles, York to Lancaster, PA

This was a low mileage day because we didn’t want to feel rushed and it was either 27 miles or another long day, over 50 and not knowing how hilly it would be.

Jane cooked us breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and homemade toast and Paul rode with us for the first five miles through downtown York, stopping to show us the many historical buildings in town. He told us of the many industries that had once been in York, including the makers of York Peppermint Patties. He said, “They’ve all left, but the people have stayed and figured out a way to make a living here.” (I should not that Paul and Jane are both from New Jersey and made York their home ten years ago when they retired.)

Paul told us that he goes on regular morning rides that always include a coffee stop and today’s would be at a bakery. He invited us to join him and the sticky buns were fresh out of the oven. 

Then we were on our way to Lancaster, twenty miles of not very fun riding on a highway with too many stoplights and too many cars and very little lovely scenery. But the bridge over the Susquehanna River connecting Wrightsville and Columbia was pretty amazing, over a mile long and over ninety years old, listed on the national register of historic places.

We arrived in Lancaster in time for lunch but first left our bikes at the Holiday Inn where we are spending the night, right in the historic downtown. We set out to find lunch and got distracted by several art galleries. It turns out that Lancaster is home to a thriving art community. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Prince St. Cafe (I had a falafel bowl with rice and vegies and Rob had a chicken and rice bowl with avacodo and other stuff) then visited two more art galleries. Every one of the galleries we visited had an impressive variety of artwork. We also stopped in at the small Lancaster Art Museum where they had a juried exhibition of “functional pottery.” I was not impressed. But what do I know? Many of the pieces, from artists all around the country, had already been sold. I still think that much of the pottery I see in craft shops is a lot nicer.

Day 31: Sunday, October 24, 2021

Today was a pleasant day of riding through Amish country. We passed, or were passed by, about a dozen horse-and-buggies out for Sunday church or visiting.

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When all was said and done, we both agreed that we were glad we did this trip, but it really was not our favorite riding. Traveling through Pennsylvania along the I-80 corridor the steep hills were relentless, the scenery unspectacular (fall foliage was late so it was mostly just green), the towns and cities distressed, and the people not very friendly.

The cornerstone of our trip, the Allegheny Gap and C&O Canal was nowhere near as phenomenal as people had led us to believe. Rob and I agree that riding on unpaved trails is okay, but not great. Our experience with rail trails has been that they are mostly rides through a long green tunnel, flat, bumpy, and boring, and this one was no exception. We’re basically road warriors. We love finding quiet country roads and rolling hills, don’t mind highways with smooth wide shoulders, and revel when we have a smooth long downhill. Traffic and crappy road conditions are all part of the adventure. And they often take us through quaint little towns that rail trails will bypass.

The C&O Canal is a national park with numerous remains of old locks, lock houses and aqueducts. Once you’ve seen one of each, all the rest were pretty much the same. We didn’t find it nearly as much fun or interesting as the Erie Canal. Parts of the trail were newly graded and fun riding, but more of it was rough and miserable.