Best bike ride in America
I will probably get dissenters, but it would be hard to beat the Great Allegheny Passage / Chesapeake & Ohio Canal as the best bike trip in the USA. The final section linking the two was completed last November so there is now a continuous trail of 316 miles from the outskirts of Pittsburgh to Washington DC (Georgetown).
The scenery is beautiful, you don't have to worry about traffic, and the grades are moderate. There is also the opportunity for historic sights such as Antietam, Harper's Ferry, and Fallingwater (Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece). My friend and I did the C&O Canal last year and the Allegheny Passage this month. Here is a short report about this year's trip:
During the week of May 14th my friend Wayne and I cycled the great Allegheny passage. We started in the middle, at Ohiopyle, because we wanted to end our trip near Fallingwater. On Monday we had an 8-hour drive from Toronto. On Tuesday we cycled to Meyersdale, on Wednesday to Cumberland. Thursday morning we were shuttled to the western end at McKeesport by Freedom Trail Riders, then cycled to Connellsville. On Friday we had a short ride back to Ohiopyle, which left the afternoon for the tour of Fallingwater and a start on our drive back to Toronto.
Our first day we had beautiful weather but we had showers and cool temperatures on the remaining three days. We were carrying rain gear and I kept quite dry, but Wayne’s gear was not as good. The rain was heaviest on the final day, I got a bit damp and Wayne got quite wet, and both our bikes were filthy by the time we finished. Of course the sun came out about 2 hours after we finished.
Now that the passage has been completed to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at Cumberland, I think it will be attracting a lot of cyclists wanting to do the entire distance. We met a few, including two couples who had flown in from Colorado, and I expect it will get quite busy this summer. Wayne and I had cycled the C&O Canal from Cumberland to Great Falls in May 2006.
We also met two young guys from DC who had been driven to McKeesport and were cycling home. They had only two small panniers each and I said “you are obviously not camping” to which they replied “yes, we are”. They couldn’t have had much rain gear or warm clothing so I wouldn’t be surprised if they abandoned when it turned cold and wet.
We stayed at Burgess house in Meyersdale, Walnut Bottom B&B in Cumberland, Victorian Rose B&B in Connellsville, and at Laurel Guest House in Ohiopyle. They are all recommended. Victorian Rose is a few miles out of town along narrow roads, but the proprietor takes you and your bike up to the house, returns you into town for dinner, picks you up again when you’re done, and takes you back again in the morning.
The trail surface is generally excellent and the scenery is beautiful. Despite three days of rain and cool temperatures we still enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend it. The surface of the C&O Canal is rougher but we had no difficulty on either my touring bike or Wayne’s hybrid. The total distance from end to end, from McKeesport near Pittsburgh to Georgetown in Washington, DC, is 316 miles. You need to add extra distance to get to accommodation and restaurants, particularly along the C&O Canal, and we also cycled to Antietim, Harper’s Ferry, and Leesburg Virginia during last year’s trip. We took six days last year, four this year, but we are in our early 60s and wanted to enjoy the sights along the way.