alan s 

Or just rent a car and drop it off in the morning. There are car rental locations downtown and at Allegheny airport. Why go to all the hassle of taking a bus or train that arrives at some ungodly hour?

spinnaker

Sounds like the OP on a budget but yes, that is an option.

And you can also drop it at the Pittsburgh airport too. There is a bike bath which connects connects the airport parking lot the Montour Trail which connects to the GAP. as an alternate you can go north on the Montour to Coraoplois then on into the city.

If you decide to head south the trail is very pretty. Rivals much of the GAP in my opinion. Three tunnels and countless bridges. One of significance at McDonald and the newly opened Library trestle (but the path leading to and departing from it still needs a lot of work). There are two campsites on the trail. One about 10-15 miles from the airport at Boggs and one near Hendersonville.


And I live close by the PIT airport and I am happy to assist with a pick up.

spinnaker

Do your homework if you take the Montour. Lots of detours past Library. I can act as guide if your ride starts Saturday morning (gives me Sunday to ride back).

As an alternate, you could hop on the transit into the city from Library. You would have done the best part of the trail anyway (except for a section a few miles long somewhat south of Library).

dwrz

Just want to thank everyone again for all the help, and exploring options.

Has anyone done the trail both east to west and west to east?

Going from Pittsburgh to DC feels like it makes more sense. But the bus options line up a lot better the other way: I can take a bus that gets me into DC around noon, and then catch a midnight bus from PGH (that gets me back in NYC around 7AM).

spinnaker

You will get a lot of argument for both ways. I have only done Pittsburgh to DC but it seems to make sense to me to go that way too. You have a significant climb outside of Cumberland but that is a nice "glide" into Cumberland.

But lots of people don't like the constant climb leaving Pittsburgh.

Tourist in MSN

Do what works best for your schedule. When I did it, we wanted to finish in DC so we could spend a few days of sightseeing in the area.

Wind, not really a factor in the decision.

I enjoyed the downhill ride into Cumberland, but I would have enjoyed the downhill run on the other side too. In DC you are close to sea level. You peak out at maybe 2,400 feet of elevation just west of Cumberland. Pittsburgh is around 700 to 800 feet. So, going east to west is a slight elevation gain instead of loss. But over that distance and over the amount of time it takes, having a small elevation gain instead of loss is not a big difference.

We stopped here for lunch and to get out of the rain.

capejohn

Two of us will be leaving Pittsburgh for our ride to DC on June 2nd. Maybe our paths will cross.

indyfabz

The photos up to the one with the caption "Back in PA" were taken during my GAP ride of 2013:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57635548910265

The one showing the Adirondack shelters was taken at the camping area in Connellsville. Rockwood has a welcome booth, but I don't know if it's staffed during the week. (I was there on a Sunday.) Mia and J.J. will likely be in school so their refreshment stand might not be open. They were nice kids and had the old skool version of Mountain Dew made with real sugar.

alan s 

Definitely hit the BBQ joint in Confluence and Bill's Place in Little Orleans at mile 140 on the C&O.

indyfabz

Only open Fri-Sun. He's starting on a Tuesday so he'll likely miss out. When I stopped in it was the first Sunday of the NFL regular season. People were coming in to pick up huge orders for Steelers parties. The next day my Birds beat the 'Skins on Monday Night Football.

irwin7638

I had ridden with a group from Cumberland to Ohiopyle before taking the Pittsburgh/DC trip this spring. I must say, the climb from Cumberland to the Divide is a bit, but it's over in less than a day. The climb from Pittsburgh to the Divide is 2 days of hard work or 2 1/2 of lighter work. I don't think the wind would be much of a factor going down to Pittsburgh from the Divide. Either has it's advantages.



Marc

alan s 

Last summer I rode from Cumberland to Connellsville on Day 1 and back on Day 2. Aside from my legs being a bit more tired, the gradual uphill climb on Day 2 was more draining because it never lets up. You don't really feel like you are climbing, more like a constant headwind. To give you an idea, I was able to maintain about 18 mph on the downhill to Connellsville, and 14 mph on the uphill on the way back. On the steeper portion between Cumberland and the Divide, it was more like 12 uphill and 20 downhill.

indyfabz

As with many profiles, that one looks worse than the actual climb is. Unless my math is wrong, the average grade from Cumberland to the divide is about 1.5%.

tarwheel 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the climb going either direction. Base your decision on which direction to go on other factors, such as convenience, train schedule, etc. I just finished riding the entire GAP-C&O trail for the second time, and we averaged about 12 mph every day regardless of whether we were climbing or not.

I enjoyed the trip more the second time due to better weather and having wider tires with tread on my bike. We were extremely lucky with the weather both trips, but it was cooler this time, which I prefer. We had one rainy day, but it was it was light sprinkles and not heavy enough to soak us. The Clement LAS 33 tires on my bike this time were a huge improvement over the Paselas 32s I used last time. The Clements had a more forgiving ride and handled much better in mud and loose gravel.

We still encountered more difficulty finding food and water on the C&O portion, between Cumberland and Hancock, and between Harpers Ferry and Georgetown. Once again, we arrived at Bills Place in Little Orleans with empty water bottles, but that was the rainy day and we weren't dehydrated. On the Harpers Ferry to Georgetown leg, I resigned myself to drinking pump water and it wasn't as bad as I expected.

Confluence was nearly a food desert as apparently the town shuts down on Tuesdays, when we rolled through. Fortunately, we found one restaurant (Sweeties) that had remained open for dinner. My biggest disappointment was that Firefly's in Ohiopyle was closed for remodeling, where I had the best sandwich I ever ate last summer. GI Dayroom in Meyersdale and Desert Rose in Williamsport had excellent food at reasonable prices. We splurged at the Old Angler's Inn just south of Great Falls, which apparently is the only restaurant near the trail between Brunswick and Georgetown. Expensive, but worth it as a reward for finishing the tour.

bgraham111

As far as direction, I think either has it's pros and cons. Probably more to do with logistics. I've done it Pitts-to-DC, and I'd like to do it DC-to-Pitts next. I've heard it's kind of neat to start in DC and travel forward through time until you get to Pittsburgh. If you've done a 200k brevet, the hill is nothing. You COULD do 80 miles a day, but I'd recommend spending more time seeing stuff and taking time off the bike. But that's me. I struggle with that - I need to remind myself to stop and talk with people along the trail (and there will be many people to talk to), to visit the stores, and stop in the welcome centers. Also - Antietam and Harper's Ferry are worth wild side trips if you are into the kind of thing.

Here's my log of the trip.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/bgraham2013

Andy_K 

I'm planning a Pittsburgh to DC ride starting this Saturday. It looks like rain nearly every day, at least part of the day. That'll make me feel right at home.

I'll be riding a Long Haul Trucker. Right now I've got 26x1.95" Kenda Happy Mediums. Will these be OK for the kind of mud I'll see on the C&O or should I bring my 26x1.6" Marathon Supremes?


For anyone wondering about riding the other direction, I grew up in Cumberland and a few years ago while visiting family I rented some heavy comfort bike and rode from Cumberland to Frostburg. It's a long hill that never really flattens out, but it's not particularly steep. I suppose it might be a little harder if you're riding a fully loaded touring bike, but I definitely wouldn't choose my direction just to avoid that climb.

Also, someone asked about grocery stores in Cumberland. There's a full sized market just a couple of blocks off the trail. From Canal Place, go up Baltimore Street (known locally as "the mall") until you see a McDonald's on your left. There's a "Save-A-Lot" grocery store in that shopping center. That said, I would never even consider passing through Cumberland without getting a couple of hot dogs at Curtis' (known locally as Coney Island) -- a tasty treat and about as cheap as anything you'll find in the grocery store.

Andy_K 

Also, I just asked this on the Northeast sub-forum but it seems like I might get a good answer here. How important is it to make reservations for camp sites? Specifically, I'm thinking about Ohiopyle as my first stop and the trail book says I should make a reservation there on weekends, but it looks like there are about 129 sites up for grabs right now and with the weather forecast it seems like I'd be OK. I just don't want to get stuck with no place to camp. Are there enough alternate options that I can just hope for the best?

spinnaker

DO NOT DO NOT stop at Ohiopyle! The campsite is pretty much straight up a steep rocky path that is basically unrideable. Instead stop at theKOA in Connellsville or ride on to Confluence. There is also a free site in Confluence. No showers but the river is not far off and there is a food store nearby.


For the paid sites, no reservations are needed if you arrive by bicycle.

For the free sites it is pretty much first come first serve but you should not have an issue.

Let me know if you need help or want a tour at the Pittsburgh end.

spinnaker

The Bicycle Cafe was not the best? and the company was so good too!

Andy_K 

Thanks for the tip. I had read that it was a steep path to the Ohiopyle campground, but I can live with that. Rocky and basically unrideable is a little worse.

I'm planning to ride from Pittsburgh to Cumberland in two days, so Ohiopyle seemed like a natural halfway point. Connellsville would make for an easy first day, and since I can just about push off and coast from the continental divide the distance from there to Cumberland probably wouldn't be bad either. On the other hand, Confluence would split the elevation gain more evenly. Do you have a strong recommendation between these two?

spinnaker

It is a long way from Connellsville to Cumberland IMHO. Why the rush? If you insist then I would push on to Confluence.

Andy_K 

My brother, who lives in Pittsburgh BTW, is riding with me for that part of the trip and he only has Saturday and Sunday available.

Philly Tandem

Where is there a free site in Confluence? I don't recall ever hearing about that. Are you thinking of Roundbottom primitive CG west of Connellsville (MP 99)?

For the OP, have you seen the list of CGs on the GAP site at Great Allegheny Passage - www.gaptrail.org

I rode the GAP east from Cumberland to Pittsburgh, figuring to just get the climb out of the way the first day. Overnight at Rockwood (hostel) and Roundbottom CG. It wasn't bad, just long and mentally tiring. On another trip we rode from Ohiopyle to Cumberland (overnight in Rockwood), and it felt like more of a slog going that way. It didn't feel "uphill" exactly, but I did feel it.

My GAP tour journal: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/BrianGAPtour
My C&O tour journal: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/cando-tour

aquateen

thinking of hitting the C&O for a S24O this weekend if the rain holds out. How many days should I wait for things to dry out without it being a total mudfest?

alan s 

No easy answer. If the ground is saturated from previous rainfall, and then it rains again, I can take a couple days to dry out. If it hasn't rained in some time, it can be fine the next day. I will add that the towpath has been resurfaced in many of the muddiest areas from DC to Monocacy at Mile 42. I haven't ridden beyond that this year. In the newly resurfaced areas, the towpath drains nicely, there is little mud, and it is fairly smooth (more like the GAP).

Also, as of two weeks ago, the vegetation was starting to get out of control in some areas, so unless they have cut back the grass and branches, lowriders on the front could be a problem.