Day #8 (5/14/24) – Bike Across America

Lucy at the Connellsville Bed & Breakfast made an excellent breakfast! Blueberry pancakes, eggs, ham, fresh fruit, OJ, teas…the works. She even gave me seconds. She got up a little bit earlier, so that I could get on the trail sooner in hopes of avoiding the rain that was forecast for the day. We also had a nice conversation and she took my picture to post on her Facebook site along with my planned adventure. I think it’s a bad idea, and she’ll probably go out of business, but it’s her decision. 🙂

Also had a chance to speak with a couple other cyclists who were touring the GAP and C&O trails. They were heading towards DC, so I was able to give them some advice on the C&O trail. I finished packing up and was biking by 7:30, which was a little later than I wanted, but it was nice to chat with Lucy and the other cyclists.

Before leaving, I did a quick check of the weather, and it said it would start raining in 20 minutes. I left anyway, as I was sure to be avoiding rain all day. I made it two miles down the trail before I started feeling rain drops. So, I pulled into the next shelter I found and consulted the MyRadar app. Decided to sit in the shelter for a while to let the rain pass.

The GAP trail continues to be impressive with a great surface and wonderful views. This section had the Youghiogheny (I can’t pronounce that) River on one side of the trail.

I finally got a picture of a deer. They usually run off into the woods when they see me coming. But this one didn’t, and I figured out the reason why when I got closer – she had a fawn that couldn’t have been more than a few days old. You can see the fawn nursing in the first picture. The fawn was still trying to get its legs and actually let me take its picture when I stopped next to it.

Even though the trail was in great shape, they were working on it. I asked them if I could drive this thing, but they said, “no”. Maybe I should have offered them some money?

As I got closer to Pittsburgh, the trail went through several small towns. There were some nice Bearded Irises that I took a picture of (and to share with Elizabeth).

About 10:30, I spotted a gas station right off the trail and pulled in to replenish my snacks and buy a sandwich for lunch. Spent about 15 minutes talking to the cashier about a range of topics – it was a slow day for him. He told me that the sandwich guy just dropped the sandwiches off.

Now I had a decision to make. I was getting lucky avoiding rain and I could keep biking, or I could stop and eat this freshly made sandwich. I decided to ride for a while longer.

At 11:30, I couldn’t take it anymore and when I saw this nice pavilion next to the trail I decided it was time for lunch. while I was eating, it started to rain again, so I guess it was a good decision.

I’m really never sure how far I’m going each day until I get closer to the end of the day. But, since I was planning to take a day off tomorrow, I wanted to end up today at a hotel. So, that gave me two choices. Either stop after 40 miles in Boston, PA, or go 70 miles and stop in Canonsburg. The pavilion that I stopped at for lunch was just outside of Boston, and the weather app looked pretty clear. So, I made the decision to go the 70 miles and booked the hotel in Canonsburg.

In McKeesport I left the GAP trail and started riding on the Montour Trail. I had been spoiled by the C&O and GAP trails for the last 300 miles. They had lots of trail towns and lots of services for cyclists. A lot of people bike tour these two trails. I’m leaving that and can already see that my life will be getting a little harder.

After five miles on city streets, I was at the start of the Montour Trail. The Montour Trail was mostly rail trail, but also shared some of the local roads. There were some steep sections where I had to go into my easiest gear. I did 1,300 feet of climbing on the 30 miles after leaving the GAP trail.

Stopped a few times for shelter from the rain, but wasn’t delayed too long. This shelter was an Eagle Scout project.

Here are some view from the trail.

I stopped at a local bike store and looked for some new sunglasses. I lost mine after the first day, and have stopped at every bike store I pass. So far without luck. At least I got to talk bikes and bike touring with them.

My hotel was a steep 1.5 mile climb off the trail. I didn’t have much of a choice of hotels, so I just went into my granny gear and slowly made my way. At least it will be downhill when I leave in a couple days.

For the day, it was 70 miles and 1,300 feet of climbing. I managed to miss, or take shelter from, all the rain. And, no downed trees!