Between Trees & Stars, I Ride
When I told my coworkers, friends, and acquaintances that I would take time off and do a 350 mile bike ride, some of them had a surprising reaction. It seemed like they weren’t sure why would one do that during their time off, but that’s what I happily signed up for the 4th of July week this year. I was actually looking forward to celebrating the holiday far from the city noise and enjoy quiet nature instead.
Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area several years ago, I discovered the joy of riding bicycles. I realized I like the freedom and advantages that it brings to my life: I decide my path and I decide what I can do for the day. Since me and the group (my boyfriend bike enthusiast and bike enthusiastic friends) made a plan to do the entire C&O trail and GAP trail leaving from Washington, DC, to Pittsburgh, PA, in 7 days, we made realistic daily goals for ourselves. However, we also adapted as we felt during the trip, and I believe the flexibility made everything easier and smooth for everyone.
Day 1
I live in the San Francisco, where the temperatures in the Summer usually stay between 60–70F (15–21C). But there’s a real Summer season in the East Coast, which is usually between 80–90F (26–32C). We landed in Washington with our bikes boxes, assembled them in the airport, left them in a hotel, and walked around the White House and Washington Monument after a nice dinner. On the next day, it was fun to start from the mile 0 (which is located in an awkward spot), but the first day was actually the hardest one for me for three reasons. The heat, the humidity, and some level of jet lag were hard to beat, but we did the planned 60 miles for that day as we had a location to stay along the C&O Canal townpath: the lock house number 28.
Day 2
It felt like we went back in time since the lock house was designed to make you experience life as a lock keeper in the 1850’s. There was no power and no potable water around. The furniture was selected to make you feel like time hasn’t passed inside of this house. The contrast turned out to be funny while we were asleep and we could hear (and literally feel) a train passing by from a short distance between the lock house and the train tracks close to the bike trail.
The next day, we kept going for another 60–65 miles to get to our next destination: the lock house number 49. We stopped for lunch at a little town called Harpers Ferry, where there was a connection with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. I learned that this hiking trail one goes from the state of Georgia to the state of Maine and the Harpers Ferry town has a population under 300 people according to data from the 2020 United States census. This trip was a short exploration of many tiny towns in the remote areas of the Unites States that aren't usually in the tourist books.
Along the trail, we saw several animals such as squirrels, deer, and birds, but that night was special. We went through some detours along the bike trail as it was under maintenance, and we were still riding after sunset. After the last detour, we stopped by an incredible big owl in the middle of the path. At first, it looked at us but it didn't look frightened at all. Then it looked away as it was trying to figure out what's next in its journey. Finally, it took a look at us once more before taking off. It was the closest I've ever been to a wild owl.
One of my friends told me a owl is a symbol of wisdom. After that beautiful encounter, we arrived at the lock house number 49.
Day 3
This lock house was bigger and it’s furnished in the 1920s time period, but it had electricity and potable water. We left after coffee for another 55 miles to our next destination. Along the way, we stopped at a restaurant with a dog-circus-vintage kind of a theme and I ate deep fried pickles for the first time. Later, I had a blast going through the Paw Paw tunnel, a mile long tunnel with uneven terrain and totally dark inside. I was supposed to walk my bike but riding through the tunnel was more fun and challenging. By the end of the day, we arrived at Paw Paw and stayed at a cabin with comfy beds and air conditioner.
Day 4
By next day, we finished the first half of the trip when we arrived in Cumberland and began the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) bike trail. It was paved partially but it turned gravel after a few miles on it. We encountered a family on the trail and one of my friends became instant friends with a little boy (7–9 years old, probably). We chatted while riding bikes together and we ended up camping in a town called Frostburg. The catch: to arrive at the town, we had to ride over a hill on switch backs(or "zig-zag") gravel path. Some people ahead of us walked their bikes, but I loved this extra little challenge and rode my bike up the hill. When we arrived at the campsite, we met a very friendly kitty that the group of kids name it "Cheddar".
Day 5
We camped close to the city’s 4th of July event: kids doing downhill (derby?) races with custom wooden carts. After leaving Frostburg, we crossed the sign that divides the state of Maryland and the state of Pennsylvania, and we also got to the Eastern Continental Divide, a geographic landmark and the highest point along the Great Allegheny Passage and the entire Pittsburgh-to-Washington, D.C. trip.
We stopped in Meyerdale, another tiny town along the GAP trail and stayed in a campsite. We met an old cyclist who has done this trail in the past and he “hyped up” about a town called Ohiopyle, around 35 miles from Meyerdale. Unfortunately there weren’t restaurants open besides a Subway and a Sheetz at a gas station nearby, so I ended up eating terrible food for the 4th of July. At the end of the day, we celebrated the holiday by shooting fire crackers with a slingshot targeting a bottle, and we also lighted some sparkles together before falling asleep in our tents.
Day 6
The next day started with a beautiful view we got from crossing the 1,908-foot Salisbury Viaduct, which soars 101 feet above the Casselman River just west of Meyersdale, according to the gap website. There were beautiful surrounding forests and farmland views far away from the highway traffic below us. Approximately 36 miles after, we arrived in Ohiopyle and stopped for lunch. Between all the previous towns we passed by, this one had more diversity by far with tourists visiting and enjoying the nature around. We took an extra time to soak at the natural water slides in the Ohiopyle State Park and it was worth it. After changing back to bike gear, we completed our plan to ride 72 miles (around 115km) to make to the last campsite we stayed.
Day 7
We packed up our bags and started riding our bikes to arrive in Pittsburgh by 3pm. A friend of a friend lives there and she was waiting for us. I could feel the temperature increasing as we approached the industrial areas surrounding the city, and some people shouted Congratulations! to us on our way, assuming we were traveling from Washignton, DC. They were right and that was a nice gesture that boosted my mood as we were arriving to our final destination, the Point State Park:
"The GAP’s western terminus is within Point State Park, at the confluence of the Monongahela River and Allegheny River, which is marked with a large bronze medallion set into the stone at the very tip of the park." (Source)
I met my friend’s friend for the first time and she welcomed us with cold water and delicious chocolate chip cookies. She picked us up in a car with a 4 Bike rack that fit our bikes perfectly and we stayed in her place for the night. I found out she is also a bike enthusiast and works for a bike shop, so we dropped off our bikes to ship back to our homes in the Bay Area and ate pierogi pizza for dinner. Pierogi is a staple food in Pittsburgh and I needed to try it somehow. Conclusion: I recommend it on pizza!
Last Day
We got breakfast at a somewhat famous spot called Dor-Stop, where one of the episodes of Guy Fieri's TV Show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” was filmed and aired in 2008. From there, we drove by Canton Avenue, the "steepest street in the US", and explored the city by visiting the Mattress Factory Museum, a Contemporary Art Museum that has nothing to do with mattresses. It was a cool experience to walk from building to building, discover different types of exhibitions, and read a little bit about the history of Pittsburgh.
Later in the day, I took my bike panniers+helmet and hopped in a flight back to the San Francisco Bay Area. Smooth flight!
362 miles was the total mileage counting the detours on both C&O and GAP bike trails, and it also includes our stops to get food on the way and a few times we got lost and passed our destination. During this trip, I accomplished a few centuries in the metric system (100km or more a day) and I forgot about checking the internet for a while.
If you ever want to do this ride, I recommend stopping by Big Belly’s in Point of Rocks, the food is great, the chef is kind, and he makes his own spicy sauce. I recommend bringing bike gloves because I forgot mine so the palm of my hands got swollen after the third day, but I was able to shift my hand positions with my drop handle bar and I did ok. I personally needed bug spray, bugs were annoying me while riding during sunset. I didn't need a sleeping bag for camping, a light blanket in the Summer was enough to keep me warm throughout the night. And I had waterproof bags, but we got lucky that it didn't rain while we were there.
I wrote this article as a way of remembering this trip in a year or in 10 years from today. Just like a diary brings memories, I hope to remember how the breeze felt while I rode my bike under the green shaded path crossing the state of Maryland to the state of Pennsylvania. And I hope to remember the times my friends and I laughed about the silly things, like having shots of Maple Syrup from Vermont and having Baja Blast Mtn Dew soda. The last one wasn’t good, in my opinion. Well, we live and learn.
