GAP Trail

For Erin's birthday I planned a bike-packing trip along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail(GAP Trail) from Cumberland to Pittsburgh - but not in that order. I found out you could bring your bikes aboard the Amtrak Train so riding the whole thing in one direction would be possible - 150 miles. The problem was the time of the trains didn't work out with our schedule - so I came up with a solution. We parked in Connellsville on Tuesday morning and rode 60 miles into to Pittsburgh, the next morning we caught the train to Cumberland and spent the next two days getting back to the car. With some side stops we ended up riding 172 miles and really enjoyed all the great scenery and small towns along the way. I brought my Canon 6D and 50mm lens which has become my bike riding go to - its a great balance between size and quality. A lot of people combine this trail with the C&O that picks up in Cumberland and goes to DC - that is something we would love to try eventually if we have the time. 

Day one was hot! Moving on the bikes does give us a nice breeze - we just made sure to drink lots of water.

Going through my photos I thought some were somehow missing - like the ones from the beginning of our trip - but I realized I did something I often do these days when shooting for myself(as opposed to working) I made Instagram posts/stories with my iPhone then never shot an image with my dSLR. On top of that I'm always still trying to find the balance between my hobby photography, social media posting, and simply enjoying myself and my company.
The trail was very well maintained in PA - much like the Towpath Trail - crushed limestone.

Our first big stop was in West Newton - we had some decent sandwiches and local beer.
Serious Selfie

Proper Hydration

Road Pop

We had saved the road pop for a bench with a pretty view - this mid-day shot doesn't do this overlook of a bend in the river justice.

!!!

This was a quick water stop on the backside of McKeesport.

We didn't roll into town here but it did look like it might have made for an interesting stop if the timing had been right.

One of the best things about riding rail to trail paths is the cool old train trestles you cross along the way.

The ride became increasingly more industrial as we approached Pittsburgh and there were some cool photo ops - but wanted to get to the city, cleaned up and head out to dinner so we kept moving. This is Erin in Point State Park at the end of the trail.

61 miles on day 1


We shot out photos, made our posts and took in the scenery before heading off to our Airbnb.

My trusty French creation - I've put over 1,000 miles on this since I built it up in April - I think Josh would be happy about that.

Erin's birthday wasn't until Wednesday but we decided to celebrate in Pitt at Cinderlands Brewery.


The beer and food were both fantastic here.

Sample Love

We walked the Lawrenceville neighborhood before stopping for one more drink - this was a salted cucumber cider!

Taps

Grand Central or the amazing European stations this was not - but it was functional. This isn't our train either - our was a much bigger double decker. It was delayed over an hour which wasn't terrible since I had my text notifications on and we were able to grip an extra hour of sleep.

We loaded our bikes in the special car and then sat in our seats...but it wasn't long before we were off in search of a coffee and some breakfast. Our seats had tons of leg room but when we saw the observation car(café was on the first floor) we decided to move here and ended up staying for the whole ride.

These seats were pretty awesome and every Amtrak employee we encountered was fantastic. Unfortunately we got delayed by freight traffic another hour. Basically the freight haulers break the laws left and right - but that is a discussion for another day.

Mile Zero. We did have another quick cup of coffee in Cumberland and would have liked to explore the city a bit more - but with the train delays we decided to get moving.

Our first stop of the day was in Frostburg. We were tired and hungry. It is a 25 mile climb out of Cumberland to the Continental Divide - it isn't steep but it is very noticeable. It was steep up into Frostburg however - they even built a switchback for bicycles. We had a very good lunch at a coffee shop before heading back to the trail.

The Mason-Dixon Line. Erin's bike is in Pennsylvania and mine is in Maryland.


The long tunnels were cool - literally - you really did get the chance to cool off. Also it gave you a break from having to pay so much attention to the trail - it was mostly cinders here with some soft spots you had to be aware of. The views were beautiful and I did snap a few phone photos as we were rolling - but we were also on a mission to finish the climb and we didn't want to linger too long and lose steam.

This map makes the climb look much more dramatic than it actually was - but we still felt pretty accomplished after half a day of it.


"Its all down hill from here"

We stopped for a snack and a drink Meyersdale - this was a pretty cool bar under a hotel/Airbnb.


Our Airbnb was about 4 miles off the trail from the town of Rockwood. We made a loop around the town to check it out and when we were done our Airbnb host had messaged us asking if we would like a ride. The light was fading fast and we took him up on the offer. His place was a pristine basement apartment on a dairy farm. It was easily the nicest Airbnb I have ever stayed in. Not only had he picked us up but he made us sweet corn and couldn't have been nicer in every way.

He was up and off milking the cows in the morning and we stopped to take a few photos off his bison herd.


The country roads back into town were very pretty. We were also extremely lucky as a storm had rolled in over night but was all cleared up by the time we were back on the bikes.

Back in Rockwood and ready for another cup of coffee and other fuel.

Breakfast sammies and some backed goods!

One of the best bridges on the trail.




We explored the town of Confluence before settling on this awesome café for lunch. Every thing on the menu looked fantastic and our food was terrific.

Our final stop was in Ohiopyle - we locked the bikes and walked around the small town.



I would like to stop here again and check out some of the hikes and waterfalls - this would be a good camping spot too.

We rode straight through back to the car from Ohiopyle and loaded up the bikes. We stopped at Yellow Bridge Brewing on the way home for a celebratory beer.

We stayed dry, we didn't make and wrong turns and I think the daily mileage was right on - all-in-all a fantastic trip.