On my way home

DC at last!

Right outside the U-Street metro stop, about a block from Gigs' place were these guys giving away lemonade. They told me that they tried to sell it but no one was buying it. I'll have to get them talking to the kids with the lemonade stand along the trail. It was nice getting another cup of lemonade and fun to see these guys having a good time giving away lemonade in the middle of the city.

Everytime I visit Gigs in DC, he makes sure that I don't get to sleep before 4am. The last time I was here I had 3 hours of sleep but he made sure that I was going out that night. This time, after riding several hundred miles he wouldn't allow me to have any rest. Heading over to Chinatown with some friends, we were out and about until the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, he has to work during the week so he lets me go to sleep a little bit earlier on the weekdays.

Winchester to DC

This was looking ahead at the final large moutain I'd have to climb on my trip. Part of the Blueridge Mountains, the Appalachian trail passes along the summit.

To be quite honest, I didn't want to do this anymore. I was sick of riding on Route 7, the only way over the hill. The shoulder was terrible and the motorists weren't too friendly. I'd find another way if I could do it again. I ended up walking up most of the mountain because the gravel shoulder was terrible for riding and my legs were worn out. I was just looking forward to getting to Purcellville, where the W&OD rail trail started that would take me the rest of the way to Falls Church, VA where I'd be catching the metro.

Top of the hill, only a few more miles to Purcellville...

What a great start to riding on the trail! Less than half a mile into a trail I ran into this lemonade stand. These kids are brilliant, they're probably making a killing. Organic lemonade no doubt! This kids are sophisticated. I bought a cup of lemonade and cup of granola for 75 cents. Best deal in town.

Now I was on the nice bike trail, it was nice not having to deal with cars. There were so many road bicyclists on the trail, it was culture shock for me. When coming back from another country it usually takes a few days to adjust, same with bike riding in the middle of nowhere. After several days and several hundred miles, I hadn't seen a single bicycle. Now all of a sudden I was surrounded by bicyclists. It was nice to see other people, but I had come to expect not seeing anyone most of the trip.

I met Teresa, in the middle, at a rest stop along the trail. She was along with her bike club on a Saturday ride on the trail. They were headed to lunch about 10 miles away and encouraged me to come along. Riding with them pushed me to keep going, we were doing between 15 and 20, much faster than the meandering pace of 11mph that I was going before. After 60 miles of riding and all my gear, I really didn't want to go very fast. I was glad that I had to though, otherwise it would have had the energy to keep going on.

We stopped at a brewpub tucked away in an office complex off of the trail. I still had 20 more miles to go, it was good to get a nice meal for the final stretch.

Ugh! The final stretch was wearing on me. It was along power lines and there was no shade. Today was definitely the hottest day of the trip and I was getting tired of being baked as I rode along. My ankles only hurt more and more, I just wanted to be done. Finally, after a boring and hot final leg, I made it to the Falls Church Metro! It was wild seeing it, I couldn't believe I actually did it. Did I really just ride this far? Am I sure I just didn't get dropped off here via a car? Was this all a dream? The throbbing pain of my ankles assured me that yes, I really did just do this.

Winchester, VA

Once I made it into Winchester, I stopped at Napoli's, a local Italian sandwich and deli joint. Pete, the guy on the left runs this business alongside his father (not pictured) and his son Jeremy, on the right. They were great guys, we chatted for awhile about my bike ride and Winchester. If you're ever in town check them out, great sandwiches and great guys

Winchester is a great little town, with a beautiful pedestrian center and some nice parks on the outskirts.

Daniel was the one I mentioned before who was playing music on the street. I didn't have a place to stay in Winchester, so he let me crash on his couch. He even made me a pizza for dinner! Being a computer guy, we had a good time chatting about different Linux distributions and other computer geekish stuff.

Run for the border and Winchester (Day 6)

I realized I had no photo with a sign whenever I entered WV, so I faked it with this one going in the other direction. You can also see that we're pretty high up at this point



Now in VA.

Under 100 miles to DC!

Anyone know what these things are? I saw plenty of them growing alongside the road.

Miles upon miles of pavement... after the gravel road, I was still happy to see anything remotely paved.

The mountains gave way to flat land and it was smooth sailing for 20 miles into Winchester. This picture was taken looking behind me. Storm clouds were coming and produced some strong winds. Fortunately, they were going in the direction that I was going in and I was able to sustain riding at 25mph for a good amount of time.

About 10 miles outside of Winchester I started seeing McMansions. I think that was the first time I was glad to see suburban sprawl, as I knew I was getting closer to DC. However, after about 10 strip malls and 30 developments, I was over the 'burbs once again.

Crush your smokes, it's day 6!

After 2 days of resting in Lost River, it was time to finish get to DC. Day 6 would be from Lost River to Winchester, VA. This would be my shortest ride, at 60 miles. However, it wouldn't be without its complications. Each time something goes wrong on my trip, it tends to happen within the first 25 miles. Day 6 was no exception. I was taking some backroads to get to Route 55 that would take me into Virginia. It was a nice ride, I actually ended up in George Washington National Forest for most of the ride. Partway through the ride, I see a sign that tells me to take a left to get to Wardensdale, a town I needed to get to. There were no street signs, so I had no way to know it was the road I wanted, but I figured it had to be right. As soon as I got on it it turned into a gravel road.

Oh and it was up on another hill too. This is West Virginia after all, I've just come to expect it.



It wasn't a good feeling. I knew that it wasn't a question of if, but when I would get a flat tire. Every piece of rock looked like it was waiting to stab into my tire. I intently focused my concentration on the thousands of rocks, endlessly scanning for anything that looked remotely pointy. About 4 miles into it, I heard it. That terrible hissing sound was coming from my back tire. Sure enough, no matter how much I didn't want one, it still happened. I sighed, got off my bike and quickly got to changing it. Thanks to the several trials the other day with bicycle tubes, I was able to replace it in only a matter of minutes.

However, this was my last spare tube I was carrying with me and the patch kit wouldn't hold the pressure of my tires. Now more than every I felt the weight of every rock, worried that if I got a flat my ride could potentially be over. What would I do? I'd have to find a park ranger and somehow find a way to the nearest bike shop... in Winchester 40 miles away. Would I hitchike? Would people pick me up? All these thoughts haunted me till I made it till the end of the gravel road, about 45 minutes later. It was such a joy seeing a paved road again and I was soon on 55 making a break for the VA border. Only I needed to climb another mountain to get to the border.

Views From Around The Cabin

Chris and Sarah's Cabin is beautiful. The cabin was one of the reasons I decided to plan this trip (along with my love for bicycles and DC). It was wonderful being able to have a silent retreat for a few days. I didn't even see anyone for two whole days!



I posted pictures from the cabin in a flickr photoset, check them out here.

Time for some updating at Big Bear

I'm here at Big Bear Cafe hanging out for the afternoon. It's nice during the summertime with all the big windows open and fans running. I got a wonderful shot of espresso that was well prepared, one of the reasons that I often come here.

I made it!

I'm now here in DC, just wanted to give everyone a quick heads up. It was toasty out today and it definitely felt like a long ride. Each day of riding compounds on the other days. I'm heading out with Gigs now (my host and former fraternity brother). I stayed with him in March and had such a great time that I decided I needed to come back again.

I'll be updating the blog tomorrow, there is so much to post about! From standing on tops of mountains, (more) flat tires, prefab architecture living, to meeting so many great people along the way, I look forward to telling you all the stories.

Where we're headed, we won't need gas

3 Days of nastiness

No showers, slugging through mud, fixing greasy chains, sitting in the dirt, and riding 200+ miles for 3 days didn't make me smell or look very good.

The driveway wasn't kind to me

I finally made it to Lost River, after a tough 80 mile ride. I had ridden through swamp waters, climbed mountains and descended into valleys. Now was the last task, to make it up the driveway. This isn't any ordinary driveway, it goes up the side of a hill and is all gravel. I contemplated sleeping at the bottom of the driveway, but figured that probably wasn't the best use renting the cabin. I was here but it felt so far. Digging my feet into the gravel, I slowly pushed my loaded down bike up the hill. It probably took me a good 15 minutes to make it up there, but it felt so good once I made it. I was now home for the next two days.

Time to start heading up!

This is a photo of me getting onto Route 55, a new highway in West Virginia. The climb was long and grueling but I loved the bike lane, which was about 6 feet away from the road. Route 55 was a quiet road that very few people were on. This was one of my favorite roads to be on, as it lead to spectacular views and I feel in love with the bicycle path. I think I'm going to write to the engineers or someone to thank them.

This was the view looking back towards Moorefield, the county seat. The town is down in the valley a few miles away.

I need a flash on this camera. It was really bright out that day, but still not very hot, only in the 70's. Unfortunately my back got burnt along the way, the price to pay for looking cool and not wearing a shirt.

This was near the top of the mountain I climbed. A lady slowed down with a bike rack on her roof and gave me a thumbs up and smiled. I found several nice outdoorsy people along the way that were happy to see me out on the road. It makes all the difference when it feels like the motorists are with you rather than conspiring to run you off the road.

To give you an idea of how high this mountain was, Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh is 367ft high. This mountain is 1,200ft. That's like 3 Mt. Washingtons stacked on top of each other! While it wasn't nearly as steep as Mt. Washington, it surely had it beat in height.

They keep getting bigger

The hills quickly rise to a peak and drop off, as if their sole purpose is to split the landscape.

Here come the mountains

This doesn't convey the mountains that I skirted between that seemed to force themselves out of the flat land from nothing.

Funky bridge into WV

One of the few remaining privately owned toll bridges in the country, this is the only way to cross the river in the area. Apparently it sometimes shuts down when the water level is too high, and after the storm from the night before I worried that this could be the case. If it was closed, I had no idea what I'd do. The next bridge was 15 miles out of the way. Fortunately it was open and the toll bridge lady didn't even charge me. I saved 50 cents, which would soon go towards the price of an ankle wrap for my throbbing, busted leg.

The nice part of the C&O

I was glad to leave Cumberland, after being there for only 10 hours (and sleeping for 6 of that). It has a bad vibe to it. So bad that I saw a buzzard circling overhead downtown Cumberland looking for food, perhaps me. It feels like a mix of industrial wasteland, rust belt town meets the wild west. And just when I thought I was escaping, I only came upon something worse...

The C&O canal was nice... for about 10 feet. Shortly after that it turned into a soup of water, dirt, and rocks. My little 20 centimeter road bike tires weren't happy with this and neither was I. The 19 miles I was riding on the trail took twice as long as I had hoped. The trail bruised and battered my ego, how was I going to get to the cabin 80 miles away if I can't get done with the first 19 miles? It felt like it would never end, as I was caked with layer upon layer of mud trying to dodge the worst mudholes. Several hours later, I made it to the bridge in Oldtown, MD to cross into WV. I was excited, but by this point my ankle was burning and aching to an almost unbearable level. I knew that the only way to fix my ankle was rest, which would be 60 miles and 6 hours away from where I now was.

Crossing into Maryland

Once you hit the Eastern Coninental Divide, there are several important things within a few miles. You've got Big Savage and the Mason-Dixon Line. Also, it's all downhill until Cumberland. I took this picture around 7PM and had about 20 miles left to my 100 mile day. I was tired but had to get to Cumberland before sunset, as there's no lights on the trail. With about 10 miles left, my bungie unhooked and Proceeded to wrap around my rear cassette and hit several spokes... while I'm chugging along at 20mph. I was worried that my spokes would be bent beyond repair, my derailler would be stuck in one gear, or not work at all. Fortunately, it all worked fine, except for one of the middle cogs skips, which isn't a big deal.

So I make it into Cumberland and I need to find the house I'm staying at fast, it's getting dark, windy, and I see lightning off in the distance. This isn't good. I know the house is up on a steep hill, the last thing I want to do after 100 miles. By this point it starts POURING and I can't find any street signs. As I'm pushing my bike up a steep hill, the directions to the house come out of my hand. With all the wind, it is soon completly gone. I'm just left guessing and using my phone when I can. After 30 minutes in nasty rain that I didn't want to deal with, I finally find the house. I was glad to see it but frustrated it took so long. As I had an 80 mile ride coming up the next day, I quickly fell asleep so I could be on the road riding by 6AM.

In Winchester

I just met Daniel, playing guitar on the street. He's playing a blues riff while I update the blog. Winchester is a smallish town, with a wonderful pedestrian center.

After Big Savage

Big Savage

Big Savage Mountain was named after a group of surveyors, who in 1736 got stranded and were quickly running out of supplies. John Savage, one of the surveyors, offered himself up (or was forced to) as the main dinner course. Fortunately, a rescue team arrived and John got a mountain named after him for his heroic act.

Big Savage!

My bicycle at the entrance to an engineering wonder, the Big Savage Tunnel, 3,294' long.

The Divide!

The rest of the ride for the day was downhill. Only about 23 miles left to go!

I spit on each side of the divide. So regardless of if you're in the Gulf of Mexico watershed or The Chesepeake Bay watershed, you may have a small amount of my spit in your drinking water. Cool, huh!?!

Booooring!

By the time this picture was taken, the espresso had worn off and I really didn't want to ride anymore. I had already ridden 70 miles and had another 30 to go. Within those next 30 miles would be cool sights such as the continental divide, the big savage tunnel, and riding down into Cumberland. But first was this stretch. It was nothing but a path that followed a pretty boring flat part of land for about 10 miles. I hadn't seen anyone in a couple hours and it was a desolate part of land. I knew I had to make it to Cumberland soon, so I pressed ahead while LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk provided the soundtrack to my ride

One of the many bridges

Heading for the great divide!

Rockwood Mill Shops

Stop out there if you get a chance, they have cheap food in a cool space. And the teddy bears holding American flags made me feel a bit more patriotic.

Why Obama didn't win Somerset County

So I decide to stop in Rockwood for dinner/lunch at this cool little shop area that houses a pizza place, a coffeeshop, and a ice cream store all under one roof. I decide I might want a shot of esperesso for the next 50 miles, so hoping for the best, I ask for a shot of espresso. I start chatting it up with the barista, a friendly middle aged lady with a young daughter helping out around the store.

So we're chatting it up, talking about how I'm biking to D.C. And how there all these great things to see there. While originally from Rockwood, she moved with her husband to the Arlignton area for a few years. We're chatting about the museums, Arlignton cemetery, Jefferson's home, when she drops something completly out nowhere. Here's her exact quote:
"I wouldn't want to live in DC now, with all the blacks there and that."
I was dumbfounded, she didn't even bat an eye upon saying it, to her saying that was along the same lines of talking about the Smithsonian. I wanted to tell her that it's not because they're black, it's because they're living in poverty. It's because they've had a screwed up family life. I wanted to break out charts and graphs. I wanted to tell her that I've known plenty of great black people over the years. I just wanted to do something, but in that moment all I could say was "hm."

I don't think I could blame her for saying that, it's probably all she's ever heard in her town growing up. Unfortunately, the sins of our forefathers are still with us today. Not just with her, but certianly in my own life too.

Alternative Energy

Somerset County is becoming one of the largest wind energy providers in the country. I hear many of the residents aren't stoked about it, but it's pumping money into a county that doesnt have a whole lot

It cleared up!

The Passing Storm

This photo can't describe how awesome of a scene this was. I get to this bridge and see blue skies to my west, it was a great sight to see. The bridge is pretty high up above the Yough as you're following the river up the mountains towards The Eastern Continental Divide.

Day 2 - Riding on the raindrops

So I finally make it out of Ohiopyle and I can tell day 2 is going to be much different. First off, it's quiet. I might see a person only once every 10 miles, if that. Some spots I went upwards of 30 miles (approx. 3 hours) and not seeing anyone. Maybe its because it's pouring down rain...

I was worried about the rain when I first left Ohiopyle. I though I would feel like a wet, slimey dog by the end of the day. But it actually ended up being really enjoyable. Taking advantage of no one being around, I showed off my farmers tan to the various squirells, deer and birds I passed, just wearing my spandex shorts. It must have scared them off because they kept running away. I must say, growing up as a BMX kid, I used to make fun of "the spandexers," but they're a must have for long distance and riding in the rain.

So by 4pm the rain finally let up, and as you'll see it got to be quite beautiful out. The trail in Somerset county has to be one of the most beautiful and enjoying parts.

Day 2 - Dawson to Cumberland 103 miles

So day 2 was a looooong day. I left my Aunt and Uncles house at 6:15am, knowing it would be a long day of riding. I didn't expect it to take me until after sunset to make it there. Things were going smoothly from Dawson, I was making good time and cruised through Connellsville and was headed for Ohiopyle. That's when trouble struck. About 4 miles from Ohiopyle I heard it happen, I got a flat tire. No worries, I thought, I have everything I need to fix this problem, I have both a patch kit and a pump. So I get started on taking the tire off, which is always a pain on this bike since they're on there really tightly. The tires are only 20 centimeters wide, practically the smallest tire you cab purchase. After lots of yanking and frustration, I finally get the tire off. Find the hole and quickly patch it. Put the tube and tire back on and start pumping it up. Only to find that it will only pump up to about 30psi, about a 1/4 of what it usually is. I figure I'll just ride lightly, make it to Ohiopyle and pump it up there. Only it goes completly flat after half a mile. I give in and just walk it another 3 miles. By the time I make it to Ohiopyle I'm running an hour and a half late.
In Ohiopyle I stop at the outdoor store I was at the day before to pick up some items I needed anyway. Then I go back to fixing the flat. Thinking that I didn't have the tube roughed up enough, I try applying another patch. Still doesnt hold. So by the third time, I give up on that tube and go for a new one. Finally it works, but by this time it's already noon, I have 80 miles to Cumberland and it's starting to rain. This is my start of day 2...

Sorry I haven't updated much, the Internet has been having hiccups here. It's working alright now, so hopefully I'll be able to post up day 2 stuff.

Me and my uncle Dennis

So I made it to Ohiopyle by the end of day 1. Not knowing where I would sleep, I decided to eat some food in Ohiopyle and head off from there into the woods to sleep. However, I found out from talking to my parents that evening that my uncle Dennis lives in Dawson, about 20 miles away. I ended up getting ahold of him around 9Pm and by 10 had a nice bed to sleep in. The one problem was that I passed Dawson 20 miles earlier on the trip, which meant I'd have to retrace my ride and add 20 miles to day 2, making it a 100+ mile ride. I'll gladly take an extra 20 miles to get a nice bed.

Mmmm Dinner on the trail

Ohiopyle

What it looks like on The GAP

The Great Allegheny Passage Trail, which extends from Pittsburgh to Cumberland is really well maintained. The surface is a nice crushed limestone and any fallen trees are quickly moved, as I witnessed on the first day. The C&O, which goes from Cumberland to DC is a whole different story as you'll see in a few posts

"Behind every success is the help of many."
- Kim Jong Il

Okay, so I just completly made that quote up, but I think it sounds good. I wouldn't have made it this far without the help of tons of people along the way.

Alicia is one of those people. She's always up for going on a 30 mile bike ride to random places like East Palestine, OH. And she was the first one to help me out on my trip. She saved me from riding 20 miles to the trail on suburban Pittsburgh roads and gave me a ride at an early hour of the morning when people shouldn't be awake. She is one of the many who I hope to mention who went out of their way to help me.

Wildlife on the trail

So far on this trip I've seen several deer, plenty of chipmunks, and even wild turkies. I saw this deer in Ohiopyle. It must be used to bikers since I got within five feet and it didn't move. I heard rumblings about bears on the trail but I haven't spotted any.

Day 1 - Connellsville

I made it!

I'm finally here after riding 90 miles through the West Virginia wilderness and mountains today. I have so much to write about, I'll be updating tonight after I clean up and get my grub on.

What a beautiful ride

Riding buddies

Riding with others

In Cumberland!

I'm now in Cumberland after a 100+ mile ride today. I don't feel too
bad except to get to the house I'm staying at I had to climb up some
massive hills when a massive thunder and lightning storm came in (and
it was dark out). I was franticaly trying to find the house only to
find the piece of paper fall out of my pocket and lose it. It was a
mess.
All is now well, I am dry and ready to do some blog updates.

Start of the big trip

This is me in Mckeesport this morning. While there was a sleeping bag
in this picture, it soon fell off. Along with everything else. My rack
was a terrible idea... Until I got to Connellsville. There I stopped
at Bikes Unlimited, and they hooked me up with everything I needed.
They completly fixed my rack and now I have some sweet panniers as
you'll see in my other pictures.

A Road Bike Turned Touring Bike

Here's a picture of how my bike looks before the trip. The small
racing saddle has been replaced with a Brooks saddle and a rear bike
rack added on with some zip ties and plastic pieces from the local
hardware store. It's currently raining out, which means the trail may
be a bit wetter than I hoped when I leave tomorrow morning. Rest of
the week looks great though!

The Trip Details

This blog revolves around a bicycle ride. Not just any bicycle ride, but a 364 mile bicycle ride that will crisscross the Appalachian mountains, visiting towns time has forgotten, staying in a house that's making history, and finishing in the District of Columbia. I'm going to see things and meet people that I would never see or meet in a car. I look forward to the unexpected and I hope that this blog will allow you to be a part of my life over the course of this next week.

I'll be updating on my iPhone over the course of the trip and when I can, upload pictures from my camera.

Here's the itinerary:
Sunday June 15: Get dropped off in McKeeseport, at the start of the rail trail that will take me to Cumberland, MD. My first day will take me 60 miles along the Youghiogheny River to Ohiopyle, a state park known for its white water rafting and camping. I'll be going off the beaten track, doing some stealth camping along the way in a hammock. Inbetween my starting point and destination for the day lies several towns that were once some of the wealthiest in the nation and are now shells of their past. I'll be going through the railroad town of Connellsville and West Newton and checking out the history and the future there.

Monday:Ohiopyle to Cumberland, 74 miles. This day will be climbing to some of the highest peaks in the commonwealth as I pass over the eastern continental divide and head south of the Mason-Dixon line. Along here lies few towns, but I'm excited to end in Cumberland, the largest city along the trail. I'll be couchsurfing that evening and enjoying some fine food and sights in the city.

Tuesday: This will mark the first day off of the trail for a significant portion as I dive deep into WV to arrive in Lost River, WV after 80 miles. What's in Lost River you ask? A PreFab Project! This is bleeding edge architecture and design theory that I get to live in for three days. I'm not looking forward to the 1,000 foot gravel driveway up a hill, but am excited to see the project at the end of it. Chris has been detailing his project on his blog for several months now and just finished the house about a month ago. I look forward to the silence and peace in the woods, something that has never happened in my life for this extended period of time.

Wednesday, Thursday Time spent out in the cabin.

FridayTo Winchester! Virginia that is. Separating me from Winchester is some massive mountain ranges, one which I will be climbing up my bike on. The mountain is known as Devils Hole, rising 1,500ft above its surroundings. I have no idea what this will be like riding up, but I'm sure experience will soon let me know! After that is a (relatively) uneventful 35 mile ride to Winchester, VA.

Saturday Winchester to D.C. Most of this route will be on a paved bike trail from Purceville, VA to D.C. That will be the easy part, while Winchester to Purceville, about 25 miles, will be a roundabout ride through the exurbs of D.C.

Saturday + 1.5 Weeks: Crashing on couches in D.C. and taking in the city for all it has to offer. I'll be spending lots of time at Big Bear Cafe, what I consider my favorite coffee shop in D.C. After my week and a half there hanging with friends and enjoying more bike riding, I'll be taking the train back, for a lovely ride that will parallel some of my route on the way there.