alan s 

indyfabz

With all this GAP talk, I have half a mind to throw something together quickly, before the weather turns. I have a friend who lives just outside of PGH. If she's in town I could leave my car at her place and ride maybe to the divide and back over a few days during the week and then drive back home. She's retired so she may even be willing to drive me to the start from her place.

DropBarFan

I had planned to ride GAP 1-way in two days but ~3 days seems more relaxing with time to see sights & no need to rush. After all, folks say the GAP has pleasant but somewhat monotonous scenery, IMO it makes sense to see the historical things as Altair 4 mentions. After all, it wouldn't be right to arrive at Bicycle Heaven tired & frazzled!

trekkie820

ive taken my boys to our local KOA many times and its been great! They'll even deliver a fresh pizz to your campsite for 10 bucks

spinnaker

There is a pizza shop that delivers to the Connellsville too. I don't care if they spell it with a Z the Connellsville KOA is an excellent campground.

indyfabz

I've stayed at some nice KOAs. The one in Missoula is very nice and has been pretty quiet every time I have stayed there, especially considering its size. And it's a 5 min. walk from REI so I can ship my bike there for the start of tours. The next closest place to town is miles away. Other KOAs, not so much.

As for the K, it's likely for trademark reasons. "Campgrounds of America" is possibly too generic to trademark.

jpescatore

Trekkie820 - I'm not a camper, but have done the GAP staying in hotels. The 90 miles east to Confluence is definitely do-able in a day. I'd certainly recommend at least a few 50 - 60 mile rides in advance to make sure your butt is up to it but you can stop every 15 miles and give your butt a break and still do it in a day. From Connelsville to Ohiopyle will feel like more of an uphill slog, the last 11 miles to Confluence is essentially flat.

I've done the Confluence to Cumberland ride 3 times in the last three years - the first 32 miles are a slight uphill grade to Meyersdale. The next 5 miles or so are a bit more uphill until you get to Deal, then it is 25 miles of downhill. It is an easy ride overall.

edthesped

Wait, where are the fossil beds in Rockwood. Definitely going to check that out next time I go through. There's something to be said for the view of downtown Pittsburgh and though I've lived here on and off my entire life I never tire of it..





My recollection, though it may be flawed, is that the Connellsville KOA requires a 2 night minimum stay for tenters... That being said, the Adirondacks at Connellsville can't be beat. There's a Martin's grocery store within a couple hundred yards of the camping area where you can stock up on everything you need. As for hammocks around the adirondacks... I did see a guy set up a hammock in the woods on the edge of the park area one time I stayed there, I don't know how comfortable he was but he was still there when I was leaving in the morning. Also, as a side note there are a couple of outlets at the maintenance building near the adirondacks that people use to charge their phones...

spinnaker

Not for hiker biker. At least that didn't used to have a minimum.

Adirondacks in town are a poor choice for reasons already discussed. I would pay for a hotel in town before I would stay there.

How could you tire of a view of the point? I have lived here for almost 60 years and still get a shiver when I ride into town and see the point and the skyline. Or did you mean you still don't tire of it because your statements seem contradictory.

edthesped

I did mean never tire, I corrected, I have company issued Surface Pro and my thumbs are constantly rubbing on the touch pad causing my cursor to move around the paragraph when I type...


As for Adirondacks I guess like many things it all comes down to an individuals risk tolerance, my mother in law locks her second floor windows at night so no one will break into her house with a ladder... I've stayed at the adirondacks at least 6 times and never saw anything out of the ordinary and generally had a good time with other cyclists staying there, My daughter and her friend rode to DC from Pgh when she was 17 and was fine when she stayed there, then when she rode it again this past summer, now 22, she stayed there and witnessed an ambulance carting away a local who OD'ed. She stayed the rest of night without issue. Every time I've stayed in the adirondacks every one was full so you could say there's safety in numbers... That being said, on one of my daughters trips she booked a room at the Trail Inn in Frostburg and her bike was stolen off of the porch area in front of her room, no she didn't lock it but she does now, her bike was recovered by the local police the following day. It was a good lesson as she no longer leaves her bike unlocked.


I have little fear for myself but sweat when my child does these things and worry more about her in the hiker biker areas of the C&O than anything as there's often no cell service and no where to run... Then again she spent a few months alone in Ecuador so maybe I'm becoming callous..


The best advice I can offer is the same that I give my kids whenever they travel.... Maintain good situational awareness and if something seems off move on... I also had them read Gavin de Becker's Gift of Fear when they were young...


" True fear is a gift.

Unwarranted fear is a curse.

Learn how to tell the difference. "

indyfabz

IDK. The condomless Adirondack shelter was o.k. Really appreciated having a large selection of groceries right there as I like to cook nice meals. I did not have a lock with me so I brought the bike inside and slept in front of it. No way someone was going to be able to steal it without waking me up.

alan s 

indyfabz

It's not just any risk of loss he's referring to. As I noted above, shelters are sometimes used by the locals for sex, but I'll bet that's less likely during busier times like you mentioned. I rode it the weekend after labor day and the place was empty on a Saturday night. Suspect I was there during an off period--right after the unofficial end of summer and before foliage season. The entire 2.5 days on the trail I saw one person fully loaded, another small group who appeared to be credit card touring and then one family of three chugging up the hill from Cumberland. Everyone else looked like day riders.

indyfabz

Certainly plenty of room for tents. I was all worried about them being full. Turned out the place was completely empty. Great to have shelter if there is a threat of rain. Back in June I did a tour from Vermont home to Philly. Stayed at a couple of state parks in VT that have shelters for only a few dollars more than a tent site. Both nights there was a chance of rain so I ponied up the extra money. Still had to pitch the tent inside due to bugs.

Places like Connellsville that afford public can present some issues, but I usually don't mind taking the good with the bad. A few years ago I had to chase an itinerant meth head out of the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, MT. I'd still stay there again in a heart beat.

edthesped

Hey Alan S, didn't we meet in Ohiopyle a few years back? I think you were eating breakfast and I left due to a ridiculously long wait for food...

I guess that's a possibility, but were you uneasy enough when you stayed there that you'd recommend that someone stay somewhere else?

Also, a quick search looks like there is a minimum stay if you plan on tenting during a weekend, from the KOA website...

indyfabz

Not at all, although I would recommend a lock because of the ease of public access. Being able to bring the bike in the shelter was fine for my comfort level, but if I had had to tent I would not have been uneasy about not having a lock.

alan s 

Altair 4

There are (or were, the last time I looked), a series of signs along the trail as you leave Rockwood heading southeast towards Garrett. These signs correlate to an educational program https://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/cs/group...r_20032467.pdf about the geology of the area. Marker GR-5 is the location of the exposed fossils in the Wymps Gap limestone bed. The local water authority sometimes sends a backhoe to scratch a bit at it on occasion to expose new layers. It's chock full of small brachiopods (had to look that up). It's okay to dig a bit and take a piece - it's encouraged. I took my kid on a ride to it from Rockwood (it's maybe 4 or 5 miles, I don't recall exactly) when she was in 5th grade to dig. She loved it and took her samples to science class the next day.

Here's a short page about the findings at each of the markers: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/...5-2daf0d1c623c .

Here's a small example I keep on my desk at work:


Edit: View of the fountain at Point State Park:

edthesped

Next time... we too have been kind of hit hard with flooding and mud slides... Actually part of the path between Boston and Mckeesport was washed out last week... Between the rain and moving kids to universities across the country my distance riding has been severely limited this summer.

edthesped

Thanks!!! I never saw the signs, or maybe better to say, I never paid attention to the signs. To think it's the part of the GAP I like the least, now I'm looking forward to riding through there.

spinnaker

And maybe a cable lock for your gear. I would be far more worried about bike and gear than my safety.

An upside of the site, as mentioned, is the proximity to the stores.

A major downside for me is no showers. I usually try to find campsites near restaurants so I don't need to cook so he stores are not a big deal for me. I have no issue spending the extra cash for my comfort. I am too old so it takes a bit to get me comfortable anymore. I have no problems going as far as staying in the hotel in town. Which is an excellent hotel btw. Plus my old boss lives right on the trail so I could probably stay there anyway.

RidingMatthew

I rode the GAP from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. Once I climbed the continental divide it was supposedly all down hill. I did not think it was much of a climb. It took me 4 days but I was not in a hurry. [47 miles first day, 32.6miles second day, 39.3miles 3rd day and 45.12miles the 4th. i totaled 164.2 miles] I camped with my hammock each night. first night was husky haven, toot toot train coming every couple hours. I got up and rode to Ohiopyle. My dad had driven up from VA to camp with me in a site there. Then the last two nights were on the trail. both nights were okay. i did not stay in the Adirondacks. I slept in my hammock.

It was an awesome trip. carrying my own stuff i was able to roll along pretty good. i could not imagine the friction a wet path would be. I would recommend riding some longer rides and not trying to cram it all in 2 days. (I hear your reasons but I think you would enjoy it more)

how difficult is it to work out the train with Amtrak? I was looking at that for the Erie Canal and or the C&O but have not found the time schedule very convenient.

spinnaker

Just be sure to book early. There are a limited number of RORO spots.

Katamaran

The Hiker/Biker sites are separate from the regular tent sites and allow one night stays. They're $13 or $14, I think. You have to call to reserve them since they can't reserve those online. Also, you can't call the general KOA 800 number, you have to speak to someone specifically in the office at that campground. It's a bit of a hassle, but it works. I had my site reserved and ready to go in August and had to cancel my trip at the last minute. I lost that night in reservation fees since it was under 48 hours notice.

spinnaker

No reservations for hiker biker. At least there was not before. Reservation sort of defeats the whole idea.