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One of the best riding days was the last part of the upward push on 2% grade to the Eastern Continental divide and then what many cyclists call “The Glide” down hill and into Cumberland, MD.
Eventually we betray the north and head over to the otherside
We passed over more trestles and through the Big Savage tunnel
The thirty miles to Rockville was another hot day. Even though chugging water on the trail, I struggled with thirst. That said the 2% climb upwards was slightly easier and a bit more entertaining; Alone somewhere in between the middle group and the last group I saw something big black and hairy enter the water from my side of the river and immediately recognized it to be the biggest black bear I’ve seen in the wild yet and watched it swim across the rapids to the other side and lumber out onto the shore.
Midpoint of the days ride I hooked back up with Andrian and Bruce and shared lunch in Ohio Pyle and getting much needed relief from the saddle and pressure from the handlebars (breaking in a new Brooks saddle is NOT recommended on a multi-day tour btw)..
From there we continued up and up, constantly pedaling until finally we arrived at Rockville, PA, a very Pensylvanian town, quite and quaint where the locals gather at the corner coffee/pizza/local baked goods store called the Opera House. Listening to “horror” stories about the booked campground where the fast group had arrived a few hours earlier, we started questioning whether or not we wanted to stay there. Over heard by one of the cafes owners he recommended that we stay at his hostel which was not officially opened but would take us never-the-less. The three of us jumped on the opportunity much to the chagrin of the others as we were not looking forward to the hike from the campground to the showers which were on the otherside of the train tracks. The hostel was well worth the risk to being left on the side of the road by some of the others (they did it anyway).
Hot day today. Somehow the 40 mile day seemed longer than the previous day of 60 miles. Heat, wrist issues continuing, saddle-sore (continuing), and jet lag which finally caught up to me all felt like an all fronts attack on my endurance and psyche . Never-the-less, I made it to the Riverside Camp ground which was fortunately a nice place to relax a little and get cleaned up before the next days continued climb up the Eastern Continental Divide.
Making for an almost 60 mile first day we start on the Montour trail in Pittsburgh. And though by the days end we refer to it as Detour Trail, because of the many more detours than any cared to mention and making for a very long day, everyone makes if never-the-less it to Boston, PA, the start of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). Group photo (By Bruce S)
Left to right: Rob, Neil, “big” Dave & Joe, Bruce, Andrian, Brian, me, Joel, and “little” Dave. On the way we passed over several trestles and ride through two tunnels (though more spectacular ones are to come shortly.
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