Boston PA to Cumberland, MD on the Great Allegheny Passage

June 5

Hello Friends and family.  We made it all the way to Washington!  Here is our adventure:

Mon    May 21

We are up early after kind of a restless night in the Oriental Room at the Yough Shore Inn.  Our hostess Lynn puts out a breakfast buffet at 7 am and we feast on bananas, cereal yogurt, bagels juice and tea.  

Then we check our packs, put everything extra in BEYOND load our bikes and at 9:am we hit the trail under a cloudy sky.  The weather forecast is good and we head off in the same direction as we rode yesterday.  We set a steady pace and we are off.  

There are fewer people than yesterday afternoon and we see lots of rabbits, birds, a beaver, muskrat, squirrels, and a few kamikaze chipmunks.  They run across the road right in front of you and barley miss being squashed by your front tire. 

The have the beautiful Youghigheny  River on our left and on the other side of the river is an active railroad track.  We are riding on a railroad track that was turned into a bike trail.  It was the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. 

It was built to bring coal and other goods between the East coast and the Ohio River.  It eventually beat out the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and caused it to be abandoned.  The towpath was turned into a bicycle trail as well and we will be riding it on the second half of our journey. 

We stop along the way for pictures and to read the informational signs along the way.  We pass two small waterfalls on our right.  One on which run down whitish rocks like a mineral was being deposited from the water.   The second waterfall runs down reddish rocks like it is depositing iron on the rocks as it falls.  Interesting how different they are!

Soon the sun is peeking through the clouds and we roll into our first town.  It’s West Newton, PA.  We deiced it’s too early for ice cream so we roll on.  We see a few other riders but not as many as yesterday.  T’s wonderful too be able to see the different moods of the river as we ride.  There are often train rolling along the other side of the river.  Quite a few freight trains.  We steadily pass houses, farms and fields and soon we are thinking about lunch.  

We decide to eat at the next town and ride on … and on.  There are no crossings here.  My GPS says there is a Pizza Hut half mile from here but there is no road crossing!  So finally we find a picnic bench and eat granola bars with peanut butter, nuts and dried blueberries and Nutella.  Glad we had some supplies!   

I call our hotel to tell them we are getting close.  We are about 8 miles from Connellsvile where we are spending the night.  After a rest we ride on in.  It’s good to see a town!  We have finished our first 31 miles and it’s 3:30 pm.  My phone GPS guides us to the Greenwood House once I get it set for bicycle it works pretty well.  It’s on the main truck route into town and pretty noisy.  

No one home so I call again and the owner says to go to the house across the alley and Ursula wil let us in.  I go over there and no one is home.  I am getting irritated and I really want to remove my bicycle shorts and take a shower and I am sweaty and my butt is sore.  Ursula rolls up in her car and let’s us in and it feels great to wash and sit in a comfy chair.  Ursula tells us that Bud Murphy’s across the bridge has great pizza.  

Our hostess shows up and we get settled and pay.  We are asking about how to get to a supermarket and Bud Murphy’s while watching the sky get very dark.  Our hostess offers to drive us to the restaurant on her way home and we can walk back past a super market.  It’s just about half a mile.  We go for it and soon are sitting in a booth at Bud Murphy’s drinking a cold Iron City draft and eating salad.  Soon we had a tasty pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza.  It was very tasty pie.  We took two slices to go and headed back.  

The rain was elsewhere so we walked to the supermarket for cheese and bagel thins.  We stopped at the Dairy Inn for ice cream and they gave us huge scoops for $4.  What a deal.  We walked back to the room and we were still the only people there.  The TV didn’t work but there were DVD’s so we watch The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then crashed for the night.  It was a good first day!

Tues.  May 22

The trucks started rolling about 5 am so I moved to the recliner in the living room and sleep for another hour and a half or so.

There was a small fridge and sideboard in the living room and all the breakfast stuff was there.  We had cereal, bagels, juice and fruit.  Not too stiff or sore this morning!  We load up and are back on the trail by 9 am under more overcast skies.  It’s almost chilly this morning but just out of town the trail starts to climb gently up the Allegheny Mountains.  We down shift one gear and head up.  It’s not much of a change but we are definitely going up.  

Today we are riding 29 miles today but we will climb all day.  There are lots of signs about the coal mining and the history all the railroad and we see the remains of a series of coke ovens up on the hill.  We have the trail to ourselves and can hear the rapids in the river.  We see a few canoes and fishermen along the way. Lot’s of birds, squirrels, chipmunks along the sides.  A few other bikers come along the other way but nobody going our way.  

Soon we cross a long bridge over the river and stop to watch rafts and canoe shooting the rapids below.  The sun has come out and warmed the air and it is a perfect day to be biking or running rapids.  We bike on into the town of Ohiopyle and stop beside their old train depot and our lunch.  Cheese, bagels, nuts, PB and granola bars.  I bring out the dried cherries today.  They are really great to put a bunch in your cheek and slowly chew on.  

We walk around town and find and ice cream store.  We drove through town on our way to see Falling Water.  This is a very pretty town.  They have god ice cream and home made dark chocolate coconut clusters!  After and hour we get back on the bikes and ride the 12 miles into Confluence, PA.  We have to ride across a bike- pedestrian bridge into a sweet town and down a quiet pretty street to the Parker House.  

There was no one there so I called an soon the owner drove up and showed us around.  It’s a big place and we are the only ones there.  We clean up and settled on the patio under the trees with a good book.  Soon we are both dozing so we go up to our room.  After a short nap we walk across another pedestrian bride to the other part of town to a local diver bar for a beer n burger.  The local characters have lots of opinions on the weather and questions about our trip.  We have a nice chat with them and walk back to the House.  

We are still the only ones there.  We find a TV room and settle in and watch the weather forecast and then watch Deadliest Catch for a while.  Then we head to our room and read until we fall asleep.  Another good day on the Passage.  We climbed all day but the grade is only about 1.5% and we made and are feeling good.  The weather forecast is good for the morning then possible afternoon showers.  Good night.

Wed May 23

We could hear the trains in the night but not too loud and we slept well.  Breakfast is not included here so we walk back over the bridge to Sister Café for breakfast.  I order pancakes and get three huge cakes!  I eat maybe two and am completely full, maybe too full.  We walk back, load up the bikes and get rolling.  It’s a beautiful clear morning and going to get warm soon.  We are riding through some grassy fields as well as forest today.  

We are continuing our climb as this will be 34 miles of up today.  We soon say goodbye to the Youghigheny River.  She has been singing sweetly in our ears the last few days.  I will miss her.  We cross some other bridges over pretty streams and spin our way up the mountains.  This is our longest uphill day.    We have to detour around the 849 foot long Pinkerton Tunnel as it closed.  They have huge equipment working ontop of the tunnel.  Soon we are spinning on up the trail. 

 Before we know it we are rolling into Rockwood were we stop beside the trail under a gazebo and eat our usual lunch.  There is a bike shop and hotel across the trail, which has a series of bicycle wind vanes on the roof spinning in the breeze.  Today has gotten warm and it’s nice to have lunch in the shade with a little cooling breeze.  I ly down and close my eyes for a few minutes then we saddle up for the 20 miles into Meyersdale. PA.  Up we go and soon some clouds start rolling in.  It’s cools a little and we feel a few raindrops, but  it’s just enough to cool us down.  

Soon we come to the Salisbury Viaduct which is a 1908 fott long bicycle bridge on an old train trestle.  We are way up over farmers fields, a highway and train tracks.  We breeze over a farmer spreading silage and the stink of manure wafts up to us.  We roll on dodging occasional raindrops and soon we round the corner and there is the old Meyersdale Depot.  

We park our bikes and walk inside.  They have historical exhibits, postcards and some cool train dioramas.  We get directions to Yoder’s Hotel and zoom down a steep hill and around the corner there it is.  Again no one is there.  I call and leave a message and we walk across the street to the Dongess Motel and Drive-inn and get big scoops on mountain berry ice cream.  As we are finishing them up I see a truck pull up to the hotel.  It’s our hostess.  We pay up, put our bikes in the basement and head up to our room.  It’s a very plain hotel with apartments as well.  Our room has a bed and a fold out couch.  I take the couch and we take a nap.  We are almost to the top!  Tomorrow we will cross over.  

After a nap we walk to Missy’s diner and decide to have the soup and salad bar.  I try the chili but it is very sweet.  I am not a fan of sweet chili so I go back and try the cheeseburger soup.  It’s okay but not my favorite either.  At the salad I pick some purple things which I think are beets but come to find they are hardboiled eggs that have been pickled in beet juice.   I try the Italian Wedding soup.  It’s a nice chicken veggie soup.  I have some canned fruit for dessert.  We walk around the town then head back to room and rest read and watch TV until bedtime.  

Most of these places have cable TV which I don’t buy at home so I get hooked into some of these program I don’t see at home like Deadliest Catch.  Soon we call it a night.  We just have a five miles more of up!  See you tomorrow.

Thursday May 24

We get up and cross the street to the Dongess for breakfast.  We have been warned that the pancakes are even bigger here.  I felt weighed down by the cakes yesterday so I choose eggs, bacon and rye toast.  It’s a good breakfast.  Just what we need to pedal back up this steep hill to the trail.  

Soon our bikes are loaded and we shift way down and head up.  This is much steeper than the trail and I am out breath when I get to the trail.  It’s a relief to be back on the gentle incline of the Passage!  It’s overcast again and threatening to rain on us this morning but we pedal on and over another high bridge then we see a short tunnel under a road it’s painted with a mural about the Eastern Continental Divde.  We made it!  We started our ride at 720 feet and just about 100 miles later we cross 2392 feet and preare to head down the 24 miles to Cumberland. MD at 600 feet.  

We stopped and talk to Henry from Chicago.  He started in Washington and is headed for Pittsburgh.  He says there is lots of mud and puddles between Cumberland and Washington.  We tell him that he will enjoy the beautiful ride down ahead of him.  Soon we jump back on our bikes and start the run down to Cumberland, MD.   We fly through the 3294 ft Big Savage Tunnel.  It has been renovated and has lights but it’s still a fast run in dim light.  Very cool!  I had fun taking pictures as I zoomed through.  

Then we have the 957 ft Brush Tunnel that is not lit.  This one is really fun but too short.  I think I have some pics from this one!  Soon we fly into Frostburg and stop for lunch.  We eat our lunch by the trail, then decide to walk the half mile up the hill into town.  We go up the hill and find the old depot where the tourist stem train out Cumberland stops and we check out the ancient turntable they use to turn it around for the run back to Cumberland.  

We find a store with ice cream and have butter pecan and walk back to our bikes.  We want to get down before the afternoon rains start.  We have a lovely run down along the steam railroad train tracks.  We are glad the train is not running today!  There are quite a few people riding up from Cumberland.  It would fun to ride up and zoom back down!  Be reach the bottom and ride along a river and cross a bridge and in in Cumberland.  With help from my GPS we ride through town and find the Holiday Inn.  

This is Memorial Weekend and we are going to take a rest day tomorrow.  So we pay for two night and learn there a manager’s happy hour in 30 minutes.  We clean up and head down for $2 draft beer and free pizza, wings and hot soft pretzels.  The hotel managers are there we ask them lots of questions about what see and where to eat during our stay.  After we eat I do a load of laundry and watch tv until it’s finished.  

Then I take a walk to a local bar for a beer.  It’s a good selection of beer but the place has no charm.  So I finish my beer and walk around the downtown.  It’s pretty well buttoned down for the night at 9:30 pm.  So I hea back to the room and soon call it a night!  We have now finished the Great Allegheny Passage!  We will rest tomorrow and on Sunday we wil ride the C and O Canal trail down to Washington D.C.  Hope you all had a fun Memorial Weekend!