Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) / C&O Trail 2023 bikepacking/touring
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- Join me on the ride to complete the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O trails in part 2 of my "Great Lakes to DC" tour riding from Buffalo to Pittsburgh to Washington DC. I rode 615 miles over 9 days on this trip, and would love to share the journey with you.
00:00 GAP Day 1 (tour day 5): 78 miles to Connellsville PA
06:02 GAP Day 2 (tour day 6): 64 miles to Meyersdale PA
13:00 GAP Day 3 (tour day 7): 81 miles to Indigo Neck campsite MD
19:30 GAP Day 4 (tour day 8): 95 miles to Calico Rocks campsite MD
24:00 GAP Day 5 (tour day 9): 55 miles to Washington DC
Not much footage from the last day. Tropical Storm Ophelia dumped a lot of rain that day so my main goal was to stay dry. I managed a few shots when the rain let up a bit but otherwise it was a wet slog getting to the train station.
Love the C&O! I find myself doing it slower every time I 'm out there, just SO much to see. I have even resorted to walking my bike at times, just to soak in all the natural beauty!
Agreed on the beauty of the trail. There's a certain "zen-like" aspect of pedaling through miles of a tree tunnel sometimes. You get lost in the moment. Combining the GAP and C&O makes such a great time - I'm returning for a fourth through-ride this year.
The Great Allegheny Passage trail is awesome. Lots of stuff to see.
It is! I've completed it little less than two weeks ago and I already want to go back :-)
Cool. Thx for posting.
Glad to. I love sharing the journeys - it's like you all are on the ride with me
Wow! Nicely done!
Thanks. I found this trip very peaceful. In 2015 I rode through in 6 full days. Here I did it in 5. It's not as if it was a race, it was just being in the moment spinning the pedals and enjoying the journey. I thought as I rode along I'd like to do this each year but there are more trails to explore before I get back to this one. Cheers!
The Pawaw tunnel was closed for a couple years and I forget how dark it was... last year I was lazy I didnt feel like digging my light out of my bag. not even close to making it, few minutes in and ended up turning around and fishing the light out LOL
Agreed. This year, shot video walking in to show how dark it became so quickly. You look into the tunnel and see the light at the other end and think “that’s not too bad” not realizing it’s something like 3300’ through darkness. I plan to post this years trip on the C&O through the heat wave when I get home and download all the vid clips
Enjoyable video, thanks
Thanks for checking in. Happy to share the adventure with you.
The comical part is the plaque about the gentleman on the world bicycle tour back in the 1800's. If you look at his bike and then you take a look at a Jones bikes , custom select bike , they look a lot alike.
Yeah - we tend to think of old bikes as penny-farthings or something, and this rider over 100 years ago was riding something very similar with what we're riding today. Maybe time travel IS a reality? :-)
Stay tuned to the channel - I have more adventures coming up this year, including a ride from Cincinatti to DC and Empire trail from BUF to ALB to NYC
Coincidentally, my wife and I were just on a (car) road trip, and we stayed in Cumberland for two nights so I could ride a bit of the GAP. Rode from Cumberland to Frostburg and back. It has me itching to go back and ride the whole thing.
Definitely do it. I hadn't been there in 7 years and forgotten what an awesome trail it is. The scenery is so nice and it gets so peaceful hearing the gravel under the tires, the wind in the trees, the water flowing through rapids. Already I want to go back. Sorry we missed each other - I would have ridden a stretch with you
At 13:30, a revisit to Dan Aykroyd in the Blues Brothers. Very good!
YES! So happy you got the pop culture reference! I only wish I was riding with someone else and they could have provided the "Hit it!" line.
Long live Jake and Elwood!
Love love love it !! New sub
thanks for checking in. I have some more adventures planned so stay tuned :-). love it when people comment and enjoy the trip.
Uh-oh! A touring idea! I am an avid cyclist and native Pennsylvanian. Oh, do I miss the Keystone State!
The combined distance is about 350 miles. Figure a 7-day ride at 50 miles/day, or 6 days around 60 miles. I did this last bit in 5 but as you saw in the video there were some long days. You're going to love every mile. And with Amtrak servicing a train line parallel to the trail, you can choose hop on/off points as your schedule dictates. Cheers!
Very nice video! Cycled this stretch in 2021, in the opposite direction (DC -> Pittsburgh). Really enjoyed it and took it a bit slower than you. IMHO, the C&O is more interesting than the GAP (but others will disagree - of course). 😁
Oh, wait! The paw-paw tunnel is now open? You missed out on the great adventure: the paw-paw tunnel detour (push bike up big hill, ride your brakes down the other side). 😉
Yeah, the Paw Paw opened about 2 weeks prior to my ride. I had planned all throughout the summer for going up and over. I had gone through the tunnel in prior trips so I was actually looking forward to pushing up and over and seeing something different. But, I will say I was happy when I was able to walk through because that was an 80-mile day with the day after 95....
I think we camped in front of you in the shelter at Connellsville
Were you the group that came in and set up hammocks? I wanted to make sure you had enough space since I was the only one in my lean-to. That would have been Sep 19. Pretty cool if we crossed paths and didn't even realize it at the time.
Yep! That was us! Yea you offered up some of your real estate to us. Funny to find your ride on here. Glad you had a great trip!
Glad to have run across you guys - you looked as though you were really into the adventure. Only other time I connected with another rider was a guy following my tour journal (before the CZcams channel) and as I rode through his area, he called out my name and then we rode together for a bit. He knew the Erie Canal route and figured I would be heading through section X on such-and-such a day.
If you're ever in the Atlanta area, look me up - I have some good routes in the area.
@@AdventuresWithPaul Erie Canal is a good one! Maybe we'll make it down to Atlanta sometime.
Enjyoyed every minute. Planning to do this late in March, when the Big Savage tunnel is likely still closed. Do you perhaps recall any information or signage for a possible detour? Or could one hike the bike over that hill through the forest?
Hmmm...never thought about that. I took a quick look on Google Maps satellite view over the tunnel and it looks like there are some fire roads/unimproved passages that parallel the tunnel - most likely for access to the windmills on top of the ridge. www.google.com/maps/@39.741517,-78.896165,1606m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e3?entry=ttu. I don't know if any of that is on private land or if there are gates, etc, so you'd have to make the call to go that route. Looking at the roads, the detour doesn't look like a good option either - you'd have to get off the path at Deal trailhead, head to CUmberland Hwy, ride into Wellersburg, then Barrellsville, and then reconnect with the GAP on Woodcock Hollow Rd.
Hi Paul...
¿Are the GAP and the C & O Trails doable with road bike tires?
I'm planning to do this trip in August '24.
Thanks, Dave
I think it's going to depend on you and what you're comfortable with. My road bike is a 24-year-old Merlin and the largest tires I can put on that are 700x25. Would I do the GAP on that? Yes, if I were trying to do it in one day (which is something I may do). I did the GAP on a Nova Randonee with 700x28 and that worked OK - the C&O has rougher patches and I would probably want 700x30 for that. The packed dirt is doable on 28's or 30's (again, that's my opinion with my bike handling confidence) but larger sizes will make the ride more comfortable. On this last tour in the video I rode 38's for the entire ride and I was completely fine. Hope that gives you enough information to go on and stay in touch and let me know how the ride goes!
@AdventuresWithPaul Thank you for responding so soon, Paul.
Much appreciated.
I have a Fuji Roubaix, and I'm not sure of the tire size.
The bike is in the shop for a chain replacement and tune-up. I'll be picking it up on Tuesday AM; I will know the tire size when I pick it up.
I understand that overnight accommodations along the GAP are plentiful and not so much along the C&O.
¿Is this true? If so, I may just bike from Pittsburgh to Cumberland and then turn around for the return trip to the Steel City.
¿Have you ever biked Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park?
Yeah, C&O you have to do a bit more planning if you're not camping. If you hit Cumberland, then Hancock, then Brunswick, then DC, you're doing around 60 mile days. That could be doable or not for you - don't know. If you out-and-back the GAP, try to mix up the days, so on the way back you're staying in different towns than the way down. That way it will feel new to you. Cheers!
@AdventuresWithPaul
Thank you for your time Paul.
Have a great day.
Dave