Ride the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal: Day 2

Well our B&B was quite a night last night. Our Innkeeper was Lin. She was a “hoot”. Her decorating was very different. Each room had a “Theme”. But she said a couple things you don’t want to hear your innkeeper say.

She said “Have you seen the outhouse door?” (Meaning what it looked like-it was a very primitive door that someone had discarded) and she said “When I am around disturbed people, they feel sane”. (Yes she was a “nut”). We had quite a time with her. Half the group stayed with Lin at the Yough Shore Inn and half at Trailside Treasures.

This morning, we let people ride at their own pace; since the trail east of Boston is pretty much a “no brainer”-you can’t get lost (Pittsburgh to Boston is not marked clearly in some places, but getting better). We basically had a group that rode faster and stopped less and a group of the opposite.

The first problem we encountered was a mud slide from the same rain storm that we had in Ohio last Wednesday. Close to 100 feet of trail length was covered with an inch of very wet mud, when the deluge plugged a drain under the trail. The first people walked and pushed their bikes thru it (it was too slippery to chance riding thru it) but by the time the last of us arrived behind Bob and Jenny, they instructed us to carry our bikes. That way only your shoes got muddy (they would anyway) but not your bike and tires. That was really the only trouble we had (not counting the 88 degree temperatures in the afternoon). The rest of the trail surface (crushed limestone) was excellent-dry and hard.

Dean, Tess, Gary and Janet arrived at the pickup point at 2:30 and got shuttled to the motel, The Melody Motor Inn. It is a 1950’s mom and pop motel, not plush but very adequate. Bob and Jenny arrived at 3:30 and Lee, Deb, JD and I arrived at 4:00. There was a “bonus ride” offered on the 2 ¼ mile long Sheepskin Trail that connects to the GAP, 2 miles beyond Connellsville. Lee and Deb “opted out” and went to the motel but Bob, Jenny, JD and I rode it and got picked up at the end of the Sheepskin in Dunbar. The mileage today was about 39 miles and the extra ride added about 5 miles. Tomorrow’s mileage is about 45 miles, so it made more sense to do it today, if you wanted to do it.

Since we rode late, we got cleaned up late and ate late. We went to Bud Murphy’s Sports Bar. It was good food, reasonable prices, lots of food and “The” busiest restaurant in town. Several of the group recommended it as they had eaten there before and said it was also busy when they had been there.

Tomorrow the “climb” is more than the last 2 days with something like 900 feet. It is not steep but a steady climb and more height than we have experienced yet. We will go thru Ohiopyle (where the white water rafting is done) to Rockwood.