Nine miles up: Twenty three miles down

Keystone viaduct 900' long Notice wind generators on top of ridge

Highest point:2375' Downhill from there on

Not my photo (RTC) Inside of Big Savage Tunnel
Inside of Borden Tunnel would be all black with a small white speck

Welcome to the Land of Dixie
Note: the Caution! sign does not tell Northerners to watch their backs in the south

Final Day: 32 miles Meyersdale 1988' to Cumberland 605'

The radar showed a heavy green patch moving slowly towards us. How far can I go without being drenched? Answer 17 miles as it turned out. I might have had a few more dry miles if I didn't keep stopping for pictures and rattle snake searching. I wanted to be on the road ASAP but I did, after some debate, have a Lions Club Pancake Breakfast complete with lots of Meyersdale maple syrup. I had to hand it to the Lions, they were efficient at moving us through. First challenge: a extremely steep hill just to get to the trail. I used my lowest chain ring for the first time and it was not enough. And we did a lot more climbing until the Eastern Continental  Divide. I spoke about the three tunnels before. It was an interesting ride to say the least and very scenic. Silly me, I actually stopped to put on sunscreen during a brief show of the sun. By the time I got to Frostburg (15 miles to go) it started to rain hard. Had to double wrap the iphone. Wish I did a better job with the camera but I think it eventually dried out. Heavy rain and mud and gravel equal ungodly mess. Plus with my narrow tires, I skidded quite a bit in the loose gravel while going down hill. I didn't enjoy this part. Temperature wise I was fine as it was 60 and not windy. I did carry a jacket but didn't need it.  I was just hoping to be upright. I am sure the scenery was beautiful (the expressway parallels the last bit) but all I saw was fog on my glasses and lots of mud.

I couldn't really enjoy the finish line stuff. Wish they provided showers (the Michigander does!!: all week I kept contrasting the rides..to be discussed in a later post). I tried to sponge myself off in a public restroom stripping down for all to see (well at least women).

But I am glad I did the ride..

And there's a wedding tomorrow.
How life changes!

Hanging with the Amish

Boy Scouts on the trail to feed us

Salisbury Viaduct: 2000 feet long

View below

Amish market next to our campsite

Lunch stop atop a steep hill

Love the rockers. Small one for $100 Brough Amish jam home on the front pack

Secret Amish photo

Day 4: Confluence (elev 1332) to Meyersdale (elev 1988) 31 miles. Most of the elev gain in the first 21 miles to Rockwood
Skipped the road option going over PA's highest mountain (Mt Davis at 3213) which was recommended for only 'strong riders' And I am weak. Plus steep hills and rain are not a good mix.

Most of the day, I was trying to outrun the rain, which I did. I was safely under the Amish Market shelter when the downpour began. My morning companion was a chirpy WV vet. She was a very good rider and had come with her husband. He however looked like he couldn't even walk a mile must less ride. He some how talked them into letting him ride only the last ten flatter miles. But it was fun riding  with her. The uphill miles went by fast. Main topic of conversation: setting limits for adult children which we both struggled with.

We took a break at the tent where cute cub scouts set up a rest stop for us. I stopped for coffee and peach-rhubarb pie in a converted Opera House in Rockwood (Opera...really?)

Right before the Salisbury Viaduct, there was a peacock farm, which I could hear from quite a distance. I stopped at the top of the Meyersdale hill at a not good sandwich shop that sold thin sandwiches for $7. This was the only place I felt that bikers were being taken advantage of. At the Amish market, I could have had a big bowl of chicken noodle soup for $1.25. Instead I bought various goodies that I needed like a hole in the head. They were very good and inexpensive. I brought some home for Steve along with several interesting jams. Who bikes with a load of jam on their bike?
We had a Meyersdale welcoming tent complete with goodie bags containing maple sugar candies (they are the maple capital of PA, who knew?), toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, ice cream coupon, potato chips, and my favorite: a coupon for a free video if we rent one (very useful on a bike ride). They also had an enthusiastic young singer on stage providing entertainment. As it was pouring outside, sitting under the Amish shelter seemed like a good idea. I met up with my vet friends (she had left Rockwood earlier than me to try to catch her husband.

Dinner this time was an easy walk and tasty vegetable lasagna. And free beer! After the shower truck...time for bed

.I'm on the far left with a blue shirt 6 rows up

Fallingwater

Lots of Rhododendrons in bloom all over the place. Saw only one late blooming mountain laurel

Sculpture close up at Falling Water

Fallingwater was designed to blend into the waterfall it was built over

Three state view. Somehow they look the same

On Day three, we had a day of rest. We could choose to whitewater raft the Yough (already have done that),milder white water raft (classI to II rapids) or kayak on still water. Or we could tour one of the two Frank Lloyd Wright houses nearby: Fallingwater or Kentuck Knob.

I chose the former. FLW was already 70 sometime in the 30s when he designed this weekend retreat for a wealthy Pittsburgh department store owner. This house jump started his career (fortunately he lived much beyond that).

The house was built over a waterfall in a very lush setting. Most of SW PA seems very lush. Have they ever seen droughts? We were not allowed to take photos inside even from the outside spaces, which were many. Almost every room had some deck access. The word 'organic' was thrown around a lot. Lots of original art work was still on the walls: Picasso and Audubon prints (is my Snowy Owl real? should find out). Tiffany glass all over the place. The furniture was designed by FLW too. The 'help' lived in a nearby guest house.

It was a very interesting tour. Afterwards we had a tasty but expensive lunch (with small portions, disappointingly as I let my fellow bicyclists in front of me with early appointments eat all of the food at breakfast. I had sat down next to a fellow with 2 yogurts. I had none. What's wrong with this picture? He gave me one)

The bus ride itself was a wild and crazy ride. This area is quite hilly and I was really hoping that the brakes had been maintained on our creaky old school bus. On the trail itself, originally graded for trains, the maximum slope was 1.5% (allegedly: from my calculations dropping 1200 feet over the last 15 miles is closer to 2%). But on the side roads: 9% is seen . Even the expressway had 7% grades coming into Cumberland.

Silly me thought I would run during my downtime. This did not happen. Instead I just sat around listening to raft upheaval stories. Seems like noone was able to stay in their raft. As I did not want another mystery meat experience, a group of us went for a nice dinner( including a tasty mango margarita for me) at The Lucky Dog. On our walk back, the sky was turning black. From The Red Tent of Misinformation: a strong storm was headed our way and that we were to secure our tents. I made sure the stakes were in well. The tent I had with me was 'water resistant' not water proof which already from last year's ride, even before we began in Mackinaw City proved to be a disaster. People with Verizon at least had service for half of the ride; others had absolutely none. I could see the storm bearing down on us. Very strong winds, lots of lightning and then it was over in 15 scary minutes. The tent held and I was dry. A campfire was then held outside my tent but I fell asleep only to awakened for a new round of storms at 4 am with just sheets of rain falling for an hour (I didn't call this post Fallingwater for nothing). I assume most of my leakage occurred around the opening. I had placed my stuff on waterproof islands in my tent while I more or less floated on my self-inflating mattress pad. Nothing came through the ceiling as I had staked the rain fly well. Fortunately when I got up for good, the rain was gone as nothing is worst than packing a tent up in the rain. As it looked by radar that it might return, I quickly put everything in the truck.

And this time, I had food at breakfast.

Beneath the dam

Overlook along the trail

Entrance to Connellsville

Rail bridge near Ohiopyle> I walked on this years ago when it had no railing and had broken boards

View from the bridge. If it were the weekend, the river would be full of rafters

Ohiopyle Falls

Another bridge into Ohiopyle for bikes

Campsite in Confluence: Outflow

The Yough early in the morning

The earthen dam that we camped below. With all the rain we had, hopefully it would hold . Otherwise, we'd be swept away. There were signs warning fly fishermen that river levels could change suddenly as they released water behind the dam.

Second day of riding: Whitsett (elev 795) to Confluence(elev 1332) 42 miles

This was the part of the trail that I  had been most interested in. I have camped at least 4 times in Ohiopyle to go white water rafting starting in 1981 when I was one week pregnant with Josh. Josh the blastocyst exerted so many hormones that I was overcome with a deep somnolence for the duration. The railroad bridge over the Yough at that time looked very scary as it lacked a railing and is about 400 feet off the river. It also had broken boards. However, to get back to our campsite would have involved at least 3 miles of walking so across the bridge we went. Fourteen years or so later, I noticed the bridge was repaired and part of a bike trail. Wouldn't it be cool to take this trail? Looking at a map, there is about 26 miles of trail miles between Connellsville, the big city, and Confluence with Ohiopyle somewhere in the middle. For most of the time, we ride on the edge of a gorge which at one point is 1400 feet deep. Very pretty. But as it turned out, I didn't need to worry about the logistics when I heard there was an organized ride. Sign me up!!!!

I started early this time in the cool air. I briefly considered doing yoga with Rash Sister but balked at doing downward facing dog on cement. Somewhere between Connellsville and Ohiopyle, we climbed to 1500 feet according to those equipped with altimeters (really). No wonder I was dragging. But the scenery was beautiful. I stopped in familiar Ohiopyle for lunch at the Firefly run by Jamaicans (!?!) and walked around town to see the waterfalls. Just as I was leaving Ohiopyle, the sky turned black and it thundered (but no lightning). Should I stay or should I go? It is 12 miles (by trail) to Confluence (and uphill!) with no shelter in between. Off Rash Sister and I went like mad to beat the rain, which we did. Later trail riders weren't so lucky. Rain was expected in Confluence too so the truck was not unloaded until the threat had passed.

We were to eat in downtown Confluence about 1-2 miles away. Dinner was awful with some sort of mystery meat and not real mashed potatoes. Good thing I had a good lunch not that long ago in Ohiopyle. I went up to the Confluence welcoming tent asking where a convenience store was that I could buy a beer (never mind that alcohol is prohibited in state park campgrounds, which the Outflow campground was). That would be no where. I forgot that beer is only sold in state stores, which Confluence lacked.

But fortunately Lucky Dog was on the way back just a half mile from the campground. I did get a drink there. It was a neat bar. The owner converts the fry oil to fuel for his car. And the place is just covered with dog portraits. The next night I brought a crowd with me to eat dinner. I was not the only non-fan of mystery meat. When I got out, I met a woman in tears. She was lost and not for the first time that day. She was trying to find the place for dinner. When I said it was a mile away, she became even more upset. Her husband said he would pay me to take them there as they really were not up to any more wrong turns. I wouldn't do that (I get extra woozy combining drinking and bicycling) but I did give them a map. What I didn't tell them was that they would be better off just eating at the Lucky Dog but maybe they like mystery  meat served in a steamy room.

It was funny how many people refused to bike to town. They had biked enough for the day but they were willing to walk 3 miles round trip. I met a woman who lives near a mail stop for the Appalachian Trail. A through walker is committed to hiking 2000 miles but often they balk at walking a few miles to town. When she is feeling especially benevolent, she picks them up to deliver them to town.

I slept well that night and extra bonus, I didn't need to get up early the next day to pack.

Dive bombing swallows and other weird bird behavior

Aggressive barn swallows: The other day, Sunny, Josh's half-time German Shepherd, was yelping and leaping in the yard. She was being attacked by barn swallows. When Josh went out to investigate, they turned their tiny attentions to him. Now he can't leave the house without five of them heading right for his face. At least they sound like barn swallows: forked tail, very adept fliers, dark back and a  light breast. He hasn't seen their nests but I suspect one is near-by. Presumably when the babies are gone, they won't be so protective. A brief internet search showed numerous hits of such behavior (seehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=151G0LT8LhU)

Mama finch can't take motherhood and its demands one more second: So she throws her six babies out of the nest one by one well before they were ready to launch. Or maybe it was another bird who wanted the nest for itself. Shanna observed this at her mother-in-law's house. Lots of birds there with a pair of bluebirds nesting around the yard someplace and an oriole (the oriole must be making a comeback).

Wobbly Robin: Shortly before the trip, I came across an injured robin in my yard unable to fly. I assumed this was the handiwork of the Murderous Cat that slinks through my yard. It was shaking its head side to side frantically. My presence in my own yard brings a pack of half-breed wiener dogs from next door to the fence barking wildly (they just never learn) which I assumed was upsetting the dying robin even further. Several hours later, I expected to find a robin corpse there but no, the robin seemed to half recover and was hopping on my patio on the other side of the house. It still was swinging its head side-to-side rapidly. It clearly had a neurological problem. Lawn poisons? (I stopped using them but maybe from someone else's yard) West Nile virus? I did an internet search and came up with honeysuckle berry intoxication. I have several of these bushes partially shielding me from the wiener dogs and their algae-filled pool. Perhaps the robin could recover before the Murderous Cat makes another round.

Suicidal Female Cardinal: Our yard has 2 pairs of these beautiful birds. Also right before I left, a female cardinal kept flying up to the window acting like she was trying to get me on the other side at my computer. Sadly this window is dirty so she just wasn't attacking her reflection which some male birds do. I was puzzled. I haven't seen her since I returned.

When Josh first told me he was being attacked by birds, I assumed it was by a red wing blackbird. I have been attacked by them in the past (like the Dexter Crow who dive bombed nearby bicyclists for a summer). He isn't very good at bird identification but said they were too small to be blackbirds nor were they all black. They also had a forked tail and could fly way better than a blackbird. Plus blackbirds don't work together. I remember that a picnic shelter at this UM family camp was just full of barn swallows. They are very cute with dark blue bodies and a reddish breast and a black mask. He had a fuzzy photo of one on his roof waiting to attack.They would fly right by our heads to return to the nests in the rafters, not afraid of humans. They did not attack but perhaps it was beyond breeding season then. They eat bugs so he should welcome them. Suffice it to say, he is not welcoming. I am surprised that they would so quickly turn a brand new house into barn swallow central.

I finally got many of my flowers in the other day so I can turn off my inner nag. A very late start but the flowers were now very inexpensive: $2.50 for a flat of impatiens (hopefully not full of impatiens virus but they looked very healthy). I bought one flat for Shanna, put one flat out in my front yard and used the other two to make 4 bags of hanging impatiens and 2 baskets plus a few more thrown into my container gardens.

I still haven't put away my camping equipment. It was hard to find a full day of sunshine to dry things out. And most of it will be put to use again in less than 2 weeks.

And in less than a week, baby boy will be married (again)!

Maya is 3!

cake

Happy to be three in her new tutu from her Aunt Shanna

The Great Allegheny Passage

Sunrise over Maryland rest stop high in the mountains on way to start of ride

Riders organizing their stuff in Cumberland before we are bused to Pittsburgh

Two trails start here: the CO canal goes 200 miles east and south to DC (thus the mule used to pull barges) and the GAP going north and west. This is the train station for the eastern terminus of the Western Railroad whose path we will take

Pittsburgh as we crossed the Monongahela on the Hot Metal Bridge

Hot Metal Bridge  Yes it was very hot

One of the many bridges we crossed that day over the Youghiogheny. I think this is in McKeesport

Waterfall along the trail once we got into the green area. Should have stopped for the all rust fall

The official name for this ride was The Greenways Sojourn, not very catchy. We left our cars in Cumberland MD and were bused up to the start in downtown Pittsburgh at Point Park in the Golden Triangle where all three rivers converge. Old Fort Duquesne is there along with a very nice water fountain which I wished I took a photo of. I was antsy to finally begin the ride after numerous delays.

I had a hard time sleeping the night before. Did I pack everything? (No you didn't Sue: one pair of sox for the week ? Where was the razor for the rider stimulating growth?) Will I wake up in time? (yes and even earlier). Will I get lost again? Will the car break down?

I took off at 4am for a 140 mile ride. Soulmate had packed me breakfast to go and all I had to do is hit a button for coffee. Alas when I went down to retrieve my coffee, it was just clear hot water and I  had no time to start over. Maybe somewhere on the way I could stop? As I did have a time cushion, I stopped at a hotel lots of riders stayed in with  coffee in the lobby and a nice bathroom. There was no place else (and I looked).

Our buses were late. Between packing them and unpacking and loading up trucks, it was high noon when we finally started our ride in Downtown Pittsburgh. They provided a sack lunch. I opted to eat it a bit at a time at rest stops keeping in mind the 90 degree heat was causing it to go bad fast.

I hadn't been in Pittsburgh since Soulmate was in med school there. It has a pretty downtown with lots of bike paths along the waterfronts, which led to confusion as to which of the many paths should we be on anyway. I went to my first opera there at the ornate Heinz Hall. Many happy memories! We rode on city streets for a mile then onto a river path then over the river to where the GAP, 4 or 5 miles later, officially begins. I was riding The Fatty, my rental bike for the week. It is much nicer than my own bike but it had fairly narrow tires that did not do well in loose gravel and through thick mud. Also the seat was very high, which I could not gracefully clear dismounting. I guess I could have lowered it. Maybe my inseam wasn't 32 inches as I told them. Also no odometer and very little mileposts so I had no idea how much farther I had to go other than to ask other riders. Really good brakes (that I had taken some extra hard stops with during the learning curve) and much easier to shift gears using the thumb to downshift and the next finger to upshift. But on pavement, I was speedy, which we had for the first 20 miles. Downside: no shade and it was incredibly hot. Along the south shore of the M river, birders gather to watch for eagles. A lady had one in her scope. Should have taken a picture of that.

We were now riding in Steel Valley, home of shuttered steel mills. I had gone there in the 60s to stay with a pen pal I had met in Florida in McKeesport. I remember being driven through Homestead, which was dark with steel mill activity during the day, home of the Carnegie Steel Mills and site of the Battle of Homestead where 16 deaths occurred to labor unrest. We went by Kennywood, which my hosts took me to for my first rollercoaster ride. And we probably went by a water park on the Yough that we also had visited with zip lines going into the river. It has since closed but there were several places it might have been. Steel Valley was unbearably hot and stinky. Going by decaying mills was not that interesting. But soon the trail morphed from Steel to Coal and we were in the shade and on gravel. Plaques discussing coal disasters instead. Waterfalls by the side of the trail and some weird rock formation, called The Post Office in which the cliff was left with honeycombs. I was too tired to stop as I now had been up 12 hours with miles more to go.

We eventually made it to Whitsett, a 'coal patch' town filled with company housing (not deluxe) and not much else.We camped on the edge of a dusty baseball field.  I was tired. On gravel, there is no coasting. We were also going slightly uphill the first day (all uphill the rest of the trip increasing the slope each day before we were treated to a screaming downhill on the last). We showered in a shower truck which was late to open as the Fire Department was out dealing with a fatality. So to dinner all sweaty. Some had jumped in the nearby river. But dinner was a tasty BBQ and my companions were friendly and we just had that joint adventure. Extra bonus: free beer! All was good. I fell deep asleep well before sunset. My new sleeping pad is especially comfy. Below are not my photos of the Post office and the Rust falls.As they are from the GAP website, hopefully I won't get some nasty cease and desist notice I got before