I've ridden the entire GAP-C&O trails twice. Both times we took the train from DC to Pittsburgh, riding in the dark to our hotel. We all had good headlights and tail lights and took the route that Spinnaker recommended to our hotel near Hot Metal Bridge. It's about a 4-mile ride and took about 20 minutes. Traffic was not bad at all but good lights are a must, and they're good to have for the tunnels on the trails as well.