Newbie

[culimerc]

Oh enwizzened peanut gallery-

Riding the GAP, coming from Pitts on the first day, Ohiopyle is @ mile 72. Which would seem like a good place to stop, I’ll be riding with riders that are maybe not as strong as some others. Considering the lack of choices in Ohiopyle, is it worth it to stretch the day out and ride 11 miles to Confluence, which is larger and would offer maybe nicer food and lodging choices.

Considering a 10 mph pace, plus breaks, we’re talking about a 9-10 hour day in the saddle. After the one long day, the rest of the days would be 60-65 miles ea.

[mstone]

starting from where in pittsburgh? you can chew up a lot more time getting out of a city than burning miles on a trail.

[eminva]

@culimerc 76571 wrote:

Those of you (us?) that have stayed in inns along the route from Pitt to DC; Any suggestions or recommendations on hotels or inns?

I’m planning my own Pitt to DC ride for the fall.

Sorry, I didn’t see this when you first posted. I will ask my husband who did the Cumberland to DC leg a couple of years ago and they did “credit card camping.” Don’t know where you plan to stop, but some locations don’t offer much of a choice.

@culimerc 76851 wrote:

Riding the GAP, coming from Pitts on the first day, Ohiopyle is @ mile 72. Which would seem like a good place to stop, I’ll be riding with riders that are maybe not as strong as some others. Considering the lack of choices in Ohiopyle, is it worth it to stretch the day out and ride 11 miles to Confluence, which is larger and would offer maybe nicer food and lodging choices.

I have this exact same question — would be interested in thoughts from others.

Liz

[KayakCyndi]

@culimerc 76851 wrote:

Oh enwizzened peanut gallery-

Riding the GAP, coming from Pitts on the first day, Ohiopyle is @ mile 72. Which would seem like a good place to stop, I’ll be riding with riders that are maybe not as strong as some others. Considering the lack of choices in Ohiopyle, is it worth it to stretch the day out and ride 11 miles to Confluence, which is larger and would offer maybe nicer food and lodging choices.

Considering a 10 mph pace, plus breaks, we’re talking about a 9-10 hour day in the saddle. After the one long day, the rest of the days would be 60-65 miles ea.

Personally, I think that would be pushing it and probably not how you want to kick off a trip with “maybe not so strong” riders. And as mstone pointed out just getting out of Pittsburgh can take a fair amount of time.

I’d aim for making day 1 short as opposed to long and with that in mind just go as far as Connellsville. That is a sizable town with several B&Bs and restaurants options.

[KayakCyndi]

I just had a notice that REI Baileys is holding a talk on cycling the GAP/C&O hosted by the Adventure Cycling Association. I’m guessing it is a bit of a sales pitch to take the organized ACA trip but they still might present some useful info for those of us who want to ride it on our own. Details on their events calendar.

[CaseyKane50]

I did a six-day credit card ride in October 2009 from Washington to Pittsburgh. I stayed in the following places:

Harper’s Ferry – Comfort Inn (it was a haul up High Street to get to the hotel. They had a hose out front to wash my bike and I could take my bike to the room.)

Hancock – 1828 Trail Inn (The inn is right off the trail. They had a storage shed to store my bike, a hose to clean it and a washer and dryer to clean my clothes.)

Cumberland – The Inn at Walnut Bottom (The inn is about a 1/2 mile from the trail. They had a shed to store my bike.)

Harnedsville – Hanna House Bread and Breakfast (The B&B is about a 1/4 mile from the trail. They had a hose to clean my bike and a shed to store it.)

West Newton – Bright Morning Bed and Breakfast (The B&B is right on the trail. Bike storage was in the basement.)

Pittsburgh – Courtyard by Marriott in Homestead. (The hotel is right on the trail. I was able to take my bike into my room.)

I rode 77 miles the first and then averaged around 60 miles each day, except the last day when I rode 43 days. I was beat when I got to the the hotel in Harper’s Ferry, especially with the last climb to the hotel. As others have suggested, going a shorter distance on the first day would be the best plan.

[Mikey]

Consider elevation change. I know that the GAP is a relativelly gradual incline, but you do gain some feet from Connelsville going up to Ohio Pyle (crossing Chestnut Ridge). I would error on the side of going under milage (I think there is more in Connelsville/Uniontown area) and then start up the hills toward the devide.
Now, I’ve never done this ride, and I’m only working off of what I’ve seen on maps and blogs, so take it for what it’s worth.

[sethpo]

FWIW, my near term bike bucket list includes this trip but I kinda want to do it camping style.

I have no plans. No dates. I don’t have the right bike for it. I don’t have a tent to use. But I have a dream…and someday…someday.

(I am sharing this non-helpful information b/c I learned somewhere that when you make your dreams and goals public they are more likely to come true b/c karma?)

[Geoff]

I did the C&O plus GAP a few years back. It was a great ride. Highly recommend it.

There are of course good resources on line, such as this one:
http://bikewashington.org/canal/

You can find others pretty quickly.

Both trails (C&O, GAP) go through long stretches where you will not be able to hop off the trail and get food / lodging / spare parts / etc. Even when a town is nearby it won’t necessarily be obvious how to get to it from the trail. Factor that into your planning. You may also run into detours where parts of the trail are washed out and you have to get off the trail onto streets, in which case it may not be obvious how to get back to the trail. I side-stepped both problems by taking a supported group trip where the organizer provided cue sheets, SAG services, and snack stops. Having said that, people do make the trip on their own; just do your homework and don’t expect to be able to pull into a town just any time you feel the need.

[culimerc]

I’m trying to keep it down to a 5 day tour rather than a six day.

[CaseyKane50]

@culimerc 76890 wrote:

I’m trying to keep it down to a 5 day tour rather than a six day.

If you can, I would recommend taking more than 5 days. There is a lot of nature to see along the way. In retrospect, I wish I had taken more than six days.

[Phatboing]

@Mikey 76884 wrote:

Consider elevation change. I know that the GAP is a relativelly gradual incline, but you do gain some feet from Connelsville going up to Ohio Pyle (crossing Chestnut Ridge). I would error on the side of going under milage (I think there is more in Connelsville/Uniontown area) and then start up the hills toward the devide.
Now, I’ve never done this ride, and I’m only working off of what I’ve seen on maps and blogs, so take it for what it’s worth.

Seconded. My second day from Pitt to DC was from the Roundbottom campground (just shy of Connelsville) to Myersdale (70 miles, maybe?), and even though the trail’s a 1.5% grade uphill, it’s still uphill, and the elevation change feels like a slow bleed on your energy. On the plus side, once you cross the Eastern Continental Divide, the 25 miles down to Cumberland will go by crazy fast (relatively speaking, natch).

@culimerc 76890 wrote:

I’m trying to keep it down to a 5 day tour rather than a six day.

This is reasonably doable. One note: Don’t do big mile days until you hit the continental divide – even though the downhill from Cumberland to DC is hilariously tiny, it’s still downhill. The added bonus of this is that you can take the first two days to get into the rhythm of being out on the trail. (I camped, and I’d not been camping outside of my special ladyperson’s supervision before this; maybe getting into the rhythm doesn’t apply to you)

Another challenge is that the C&O, with maybe 5 miles of exception, is bloody boring. I stopped after 60 miles on day 4 because I’d just had it with the same foetid swampy sameness with identical lockhouses everywhere. You have company; make sure you like them :p

[ShawnoftheDread]

@culimerc 76890 wrote:

I’m trying to keep it down to a 5 day tour rather than a six day.

But Bilsko has assured us that this ride can be done in one day. Is Bilsko just crazy?

[jopamora]

@ShawnoftheDread 76894 wrote:

But Bilsko has assured us that this ride can be done in one day. Is Bilsko just crazy?

I think he said a weekend right?

[eminva]

For those of you with an iPhone doing the C&O self-supported or semi-supported, please download the C&O Companion app; it got rave reviews from all of us on the scout trip last summer. Helps you find the nearest lodging/food/water/bike shop. It wasn’t available for other phones then but it may be now.

Liz

[Author]

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