Allegheny Highlands Trail Cumberland to Frostburg
 

I am looking for some info on this portion of the trail. I want to do a round trip east to west and back with my wife. I plan to do it on a mountain bike; she on a hybrid. She doesn't ride much. Is this going to kill her? Any thoughts?

While never steep, it is a steady uphill all the way from Cumberland to Frostburg. Since she doesn't ride much, it is probably too much for her. Conversely, the ride down to Cumberland is very easy. The tourist train will take you and your bike from Cumberland to Frostburg, then you can cycle back. Check their schedule at http://www.wmsr.com/ . Since you want a longer ride than she, you could cycle up to Big Savage tunnel while she shops in Frostburg, then you ride together to Cumberland.

My parents ride walmart type bikes and hardly ever ride short of on the C&O towpath occasionally and they apparently did this segment without any problems. They didn't set any land speed records, but it was doable in a day. They actually also did the part from Frostburg to Myersdale which is even steeper. It's 20 miles of somewhat difficult uphill, but followed by 20 miles of easy downhill.