Pittsburgh to DC... almost

Wow, it's been almost 3 months since I took my trip. Where has the time gone?

I did manage to get all my pictures of the trip up on flickr, http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvvHDUt. 

Trip report:

Travel Day: Sunday, July 24, 2011. Left Virginia Beach in a rental car around 10am and headed for Pittsburgh, PA. The trip was fairly uneventful. It rained off and on the whole way. I got to the Pittsburgh airport around 5:30 pm, dropped off the rental car and loaded my bike and gear into my hosts (Steve, Donna, Steven, Matthew & Andrew Dziadyk) mini van. On the way to their house, we took a tour of downtown Pittsburgh as well as a trip to Mt. Washington. The views were absolutely amazing and I had the best tour guides, thanks to Steve and Donna's boys: Steven, Matthew and Andrew.  That evening we hung out and caught up. I didn't get much sleep, too excited about the next day.

Day One:  Monday, July 25, 2011. McKeesport, PA to Confluence, PA. (71 miles)
Donna dropped me off at the port right around 9am in the middle of a huge thunder storm. It took about half an hour to put my bike together and get the bags on. I waited another 15 minutes for the rain to let up and the lightning to pass.  Finally got on my bike and started out along the GAP.  I had read on numerous blogs and trip reports that McKeesport was not the most aethesticly pleasing place to start a trip. It must have been the excitement of getting on the trail as well as the fresh rain, but I enjoyed the ride out... at least for about 5 miles. Another storm rushed in with some of the most intense lightning and rain I have ever seen and I was forced off the trail on several occasions.  I spent the better part of day one ducking into picnic areas along the trail or hiking my bike through areas of the trail that were washed out. I was thoroughly soaked 10 minutes into my ride and had resigned myself to the fact that I would just remain that way for the rest of the day.  The storm did pass and the sun eventually came out right about Connellsville, PA. I decided it was too much of a hassle to change into dry clothes and just set my sights on reaching Confluence. This was a decision that I would regret and one that would have an adverse effect on my entire trip.  I made it to Confluence around 6 in the evening and headed straight for the Outflow Campground. I checked in at the main gate, got my spot for the night, set up camp and took a hot shower (Outflow Campground has a shower house, with warm water). After putting on dry clothes I made a quick dinner of freeze dried noodles and I was in my tent and asleep by 9 oclock.

Side Note - I never doubted my decision to ride the GAP and C&O on a single speed. Spending the day in mud and rain only confirmed that I made the right choice.  There were several other riders in camp the first night and every one of them were complaining how difficult it was getting through the day and how much time cleaning and lubing they were going to have to do.  

Day Two: Tuesday, July 26, 2011. Confluence, MD to 12 miles past Cumberland, MD. (75.2 miles)
Awoke around 6am eager to get my tent packed and on the trail. Breakfast consisted of instant oatmeal and a cliff bar.  There was a heavy dew all night, so my clothes never really dried out. I stuffed them in a wet bag and into my saddle bag. I brought two sets of bibs and two jerseys, planning on washing one pair at night and letting them dry out and wearing the 2nd pair the next day. Now, because the 1st set were still soaked, I was looking at potentially having both sets wet at the end of day 2. On top of this revelation, I was starting to feel the initial stages of saddle sores and chaffing. Awesome!  Great call on not changing into dry clothes after the rain stopped! Anyway, I had the bike packed, got dressed with a generous lubing of chamois buttr and I was on my way. The ride out of Confluence was great. I didn't see a soul for the first three hours of the ride. I did see a ton of wildlife, mostly deer and a few turkeys.  I stopped at the Pinkerton tunnel to snap some pictures and eat a cliff bar before getting back on the trail. Right after I completed the Pinkerton bypass, I ran into (she caught up to me) my first person of the day. Beth, a rider from Minneapolis, who was also riding a Surly. A robin's egg blue cross check to be exact. Not only did she ride a Sulry, but she works in the HR dept. for QPR, the company who owns Surly, Salsa and a few others.  It was great to finally have some company. We were near Rockwood, MD when we met up.  Beth wanted to check out the town and find the B&B where she planned on staying on her way back through. After finding the B&B, we stopped and had a great breakfast sandwich at the old opera house (a restored mill) before we got back on the trail. We rode together until the Salisbury viaduct, several miles later. Beth had places to be and my hind end was hurting pretty bad, so we decided to part company. I had applied buttr at every stop, but it was too little too late.  I left Confluence around 6:30 am and arrived at the Salisbury viaduct around noon, 5 1/2 hours in the saddle + not preparing your posterior = a pain in the ass. From the viaduct on, I decided to walk a 1/2 mile every 5 miles. I figured the time off the bike would at least provide a brief respite and possibly help slow any further damage down.  I kept up this up until I went through Big Savage and across the continetal divide. From the divide into Cumberland, MD was all downhill (20+ miles) and I figured I could stand and cruise most of the time. I arrived in Cumberland, MD around 4 and stopped to snap some pictures and fill my water bladder. As I was getting ready to start the C&O, I ran into Beth again. She had been in Cumberland for a few hours, had a mechanical issue fixed and had gotten something to eat. We decided to grab a couple of beers and I wanted to get something to eat. We sat outside on the porch at the Crabby Pig and were able to park our bikes right next to us. They had a great selection of micro brews and the best mushroom and swiss burger I've ever eaten. Full and feeling great (thanks to a few Loose Cannons), we decided to head down the C&O and find a campsite.  We went about 12 miles and stopped at Spring Gap for the night. We set up camp, took care of some personal stuff and bike maintenance and settled in for the night. I wouldn't recommend staying at Spring Gap. It is fairly close to the road and the site allows car camping. We were next to a group of boy scouts, which was great. However, several cars rolled through the campsite during the night, which was sort of sketchy. I would recommend going down a few miles to Pigmans or Town Creek, both of which are remote hiker/biker sites.   

Day Three: Wednesday, July 27, 2011. 12 miles past Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD. (48.1 miles)
Another 6am/sunrise wake up and both of use where slow getting out of our tents. The night was extremely hot and muggy until around 2:30 am, so neither one of had gone to sleep right away. My "wounds" had gotten so bad that they were seeping and despite a rather copious application of vaseline the night before had stuck to my cotton camp shorts.  None the less, I put on the driest pair of bibs, buttred up and we were on our way. We rode about 10 miles before we decided to stop in Old Towne, MD for breakfast.  The only true place to eat in Old Towne is the Old School Kitchen. The Old School Kitchen is actually inside the cafeteria of an old secondary school that was closed by the state a few years ago.  The rest of the school houses an antique car restoration place and a garage. Hands down, the best home style cooking on the trail. The prices were unbelievably inexpensive and the ladies that ran the restaurant were fantastic. They even drove Beth to a local general store to purchase some medical supplies. The place definitely should be a stop for every rider of the C&O.  We left Old Towne and headed towards the Paw Paw tunnel. About a mile or so from the tunnel my rear tire hit a sharp piece of shale and ripped open the tire and punctured the tube. I swapped out the tubes and used a boot to plug the rip in the tire and got back on the trail and made it through the Paw Paw before the pressure from the tube pushed through the boot causing a second blow out.  We stopped and this time I not only put in a new tube (thanks Beth) but swapped the ripped tire from the back to the front and used a dollar bill (thanks Beth) as a boot instead of a piece of tube.  Beth decided this would be a good place to head back towards Cumberland and the GAP. We said our good byes and headed our seperate ways. At this point, I was over it. Two blow outs and a complete tire swap on top of the fact that I had pretty much been peddling standing up all day. I looked at the map and figured that Hancock, MD was the nearest town. They also happened to have one of the most recommended bike shops on the C&O.  So, that is where I headed. I made it the C&O Bike Shop by mid afternoon and decided to stay there for the night. They have an extremely unique biker bunkhouse behind their shop with hot showers. It's sort of an open faced barn type structure with mosquito netting across the front and bunkbeds inside. I purchased a new tube and tire and they allowed me to use one of their bike stands and tools to swap out tires and clean up my bike.  After, I took a shower and headed down the street to Sheets to get some dinner. At this point I was seriously contemplating calling it quit as there really wasn't a way for me to reach DC in one day (I was due at my brother in laws the next afternoon). The shop owner was still at the shop when I got back from Sheets and I  talked to him about various travel arrangements to DC. He mentioned that he had contacted a transportation service earlier to pick up a guy the next day in Harper's Ferry, WV and take him to the 0 mile marker in downtown Georgetown. The rider was leaving his car in Harper's Ferry, taking the shuttle down to DC and riding back. All I had to do was get to Harper's Ferry by noon and I could split the shuttle cost with the other rider.    

Day Four: Thursday, July 28, 2011. Hancock, MD to Harper's Ferry, WV. (64 miles)
Woke up with the sun and started packing up my things.  I knew that the 60 or so miles to Harper's was going to be rough on the bum, but having a solid plan in place and a deadline to meet helped to spur a sense of urgency. Also, I knew that there was a detour around a section of the trail near Big Slackwater that would put me out on some main roads. Nice break from the towpath's gravel and ruts. The weather on the trail was great and like the previous mornings there wasn't another rider or hiker to be found. On several occasions I ran across groups of deer eating along the trail. Most of them didn't even move as I approached. I was making really good time and stopped at the Sheetz in Williamsport to get a sandwich, fill my water bladder and re-lube. I hit the the Big Slackwater detour at MP88 by mid morning. I spent a lot of my planning time searching for info on the detour, almost to the point of obsession. I found out that the route was clearly marked and not too difficult on a fully loaded singlespeed. The 5 miles went by extremely fast and before I knew it, I was back on the C&O. I could tell I was getting close to Harper's Ferry as the amount of riders, joggers and hikers increased with each mile. I arrived at MP 60 around 11:30am and quickly found the shuttle service that would be providing me a lift to DC. After I took off my saddle and frame bags, they loaded my bike onto their racks and we were off. The trip to DC was uneventful and took about an hour. They dropped off the other rider at the mile 0 marker, just outside of the boathouse of the National Capital Water Sports Center, across from the original Watergate hotel. It was another 20 minute trip into China Town to my brother in laws office building on  Massachusetts Ave.  Kenneth met me downstairs and offered to help me navigate the metro back to his apartment in Crystal City.  Another big obsession for me in the pre-planning dept was the metro ride. I was more than happy to take him up on his offer. No one said a word or batted an eye about a guy covered in trail dust and sweat lugging a fully loaded bike on the subway.  It was a quick 2 block walk from the metro station to Kenneth's place. It was extremely surreal being in the city after having just spent the better part of four days away from civilization. My priorities once in the apartment were bath and beer. I must have soaked in the tub for an hour at least. Afterwords, I ordered moo shu chicken and two heinkens and took one of the best naps of my life. It took about 2 weeks for my saddle sores to completely heal and about a month before I got back on the bike.