mrtuttle04

This thread is for those of us who ride or intend on riding all or part of the C&O Tow Path and/or the Great Allegehney Passage. You can talk about past trips, future plans, trail conditions or anyother related subject.s Here is a little bit about myself.

I am a 51 years old living in Pittsburgh. I Ride the GAP on a regurlar basis and have ridden all sections multiple times. Meyersdale PA to Frostberg MD is my favorite section. A couple of years ago I try to ride the entire length from Pittsburgh to DC but had a major allergey attack just out of Cumberland (I must be allergic to Western Maryland). I ended ridding my bike for about half the distance of the C&O Tow Path and rode in the car for the rest. This year I did a one day ride from Ohio Pyle to The Point in Pittsburgh which is 76 miles.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Mark

ever1ast15

Hello all. My goal is to ride from Pittsburgh to Maryland (just the Allegheny) this coming spring. I live in Northern NJ, so I have to figure out the logistics of getting to Pittsburgh and also getting my car to MD for the finish. I plan to leave Pittsburgh on a Friday and finish on Tuesday. Again, this is my goal. Looking forward to other posts on this topic.

JT

indyfabz

There are various shuttle services, although some are for groups:

https://www.atatrail.org/pv/shuttleservices.cfm

Maybe You could park in Cumberland, get shuttled to PGH and ride back to your car.

While I realize that people travel at different paces, four days seems long. I rode it in September fully loaded as part of a tour from PGH to PHL. Finished in 2 full days and one morning. Camped in Connellsville and Rockwood. Once you cross the Continental Divide (with about 24 miles to go), it's a pretty fast ride to Cumberland.

bktourer1

Rails to trails does this from Pittsburgh to Cumberland MD. I did it in 2013 with them. You drop
Your car in MD. They shuttle u to Pitts. And you ride back to Cumberland. We had about 300 riders

coney462

Could you please share the cost of the shuttle from MD to Pitts ?

bktourer1

I don't remember the firm name Rails to trails used.wilderness outfitters? I believe all was included in price

indyfabz

He's talking about an organized ride, the price of which included, anong other things, the cost of the shuttle. Call one of the businesses listed in the link I posted for a price quote. These people seem to get good reviews:

https://www.ctcbikes.com/

BTW...They recently tested roll on bike service on Amtrak between Cumberland and PGH. Maybe it will be up and running this summer, but I would not hold my breath.

Shamrock

I'm looking into this gap ride.Is the gap 100 percent off road?I m asking because my wife may go and she will not ride on the road.thanks

Papa Tom

I have become very interested in this ride since reading about it elsewhere. Being from Long Island, I have the same issue as others with regard to getting to a start/finish point, but it does seem like there are some options.

My main concern is overnight stays. As much as I'd love to camp, I do not own camping gear, have never camped in my life, and don't plan to make the investment this late in the game. Are there decent places to stay along the route?

tyoungs

Papa Tom,

I grew up on LI (Farmingdale) but have lived in Pittsburgh for 20 years. I rode the C&O / GAP last September. I too do not camp but found five fine places to stay along the trails. If you decide to make the trip you are welcome to drive to Pgh, park at my home, take the train to DC (as I did), ride the trails from DC to Pgh and then retrieve your car to head home.

Tom

indyfabz

Look at the official web site:

https://www.atatrail.org/

I have heard people say they enjoyed stays at the hostel in Connellsville. Have also heard good things about Rockwood. The couple who owns the campground along the trail also have a guest house in town with free Internet, etc.

https://huskyhavencampground.com/

I think there are two or three other places in town. A couple of B&Bs and a hostel.

mrtuttle04

There is a short section (less than a mile) just outside of Pittsburgh. It is a dead end access road and has almost no traffic. Other than that it is all trail.

Paul J

For some fun winter reading go to https://www.crazyguyonabike.com and search C&O Tow Path or the GAP and read some of the Journals. We are thinking of riding it this summer or next on our tandem. This was a good one for us, https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?..._id=11247&v=2f

euclidpb

thanks for the thread mark. the wife and I are going to do A longer ride this summer.and we hope to find a good map of the gap trail and c&o Trail. Can you recommend something please? thank yoU.
Paul

indyfabz

Have you looked at the official web sites?:

https://www.atatrail.org/tmi/maps.cfm

https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisi...-bulletins.htm

indyfabz

You may have to leave the trail to get to some services, such as lodging and food sources. You will also have to cross active roads.

WestMass

I have developing plans to ride from DC to Pittsburgh this summer. My wife is having a family reunion in Pittsburgh and she and a friend want to go to DC beforehand. I'll be loaded up with panniers on my tourer/gravelgrinder/commuter that I'm doing a bunch of upgrades to right now. This is the bike now, before anything is changed up. Pretty excited - adding new wheels, dynamo lighting system, new chainrings, handlebars, fork, front and rear brakes.

rm -rf

One of the local bike club riders had this book: Trailbook. It looked good, and has a waterproof map included.

RhinoDave

I did the GAP and C&O back in 2008 and am planning on doing it again this coming Sept with a small group from our bike club. We'll be using Amtrak from Toledo to Pittsburgh and again from DC back to Toledo. The train time schedules are very favorable when riding from Pittsburgh to DC. I bought the trail guide book and it is very helpful but doesn't list every option so you might want to do some research. CGOAB has been mentioned and I also did a journal about the trip there. We have a couple of side trips planned so we are taking eight days to complete the trip.

BruceHankins

Yikes! Lots of DC to Pitt people! My plans are a little shorter, from Shepardstown to the W&OD out to Reston and back in a day. Hopefully sometime in April or early May.

euclidpb

Good/looking bike. Enjoy your trip! Maybe we'll see you...

Shamrock

Starting to plan this trip.does anyone know how long it takes to drive a car from Cumberland to Pittsburg.That would be a week day morning.

indyfabz

According to Google Maps, a little over 2 hrs. maybe build in and extra 30 min. if you go during rush hour. Getting to the Point can be murder during peak travel times.

mrtuttle04

I just completed riding the Steel Valley section near Pittsburgh. The paved sections were in good shape with some snow in shaded areas (mostly near Kennywood). Unpaved sections were muddy impassable.

Shamrock

Thanks for the Mud Report.This is the first time I'm reading about this situation.Do you think mud is always a problem after rain or is this a result of the winter snow melt down.I plan on riding end of April or Begining of May.

I guess I'm asking if it rains Tues and Wednesday,I arrive on Thurs would mud be a problem.