Early morning start.

A rare iron bridge built in 1871.

The windmills are on the top of the Eastern Continental Divide.

Handlebar visitor during a “butt break.”

The creek kept getting smaller and smaller.

Ever closer to the top.

The Eastern Continental Divide.

What was accomplished:

A nice downhill run to Cumberland ahead:

Big Savage Tunnel.


The Mason-Dixon Line, the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The small town of Mt Savage.

The Western Maryland excursion train coming from Cumberland on its way to Frostburg.


The Brush Tunnel: bike riders are warned not to enter the tunnel if the train is coming because the smoke becomes quite thick and sparks fly everywhere.

Lover’s Leap: where an Indian princess and English trapper leaped to their deaths because they could not marry – according to the legend.

Mid-afternoon lunch in downtown Cumberland.


When I woke up this morning, I had a terrible sore throat but otherwise felt ok. By the time lunch was over, I was miserably stuffed up. After we got into our hotel room, I crawled into bed without even changing clothes, took a couple of decongestants, and fell asleep. Yuck.
Miles = 34

One of the best parts of B&Bs is meeting the other guests at breakfast and learning about their ride and where they’re from, like this family from a small town near Ottawa.
Today we rode to Meyersdale.

Now we’re following Casselman Creek upstream. We have been gradually climbing toward the Eastern Continental Divide since we left Pittsburgh.

The Pinkerton Tunnel was closed.

A 2-mile detour around the mountain.

Getting the scoop on the construction.

The project should be finished by the end of July.

Each day, Billie and I start out riding the trail while JD drives to our next destination and rides back to meet us. His riding has somewhat curtailed by a fall a couple of days ago, one knee is really banged up.

Lunch in Rockwood.

We stayed at the Morguen Toole Company in Meyersdale. While the restaurant is on the second floor, the salad bar is on the first floor and our room was on the third floor. That would be 40 steps to climb several times to get all our stuff into the room. JD was spared multiple trips due to his leg injury. We were in the FOE Tap Room named for a previous use of the building during the Prohibition era. FOE stands for Federal Order of the Eagle (not Evil).

Miles = 33.

Most of the B&B-keepers depend on bicyclists, usually 50-75% of their summer income and many close up after the fall colors are done. Locked storage areas, hoses and bike rags are common (just don’t bring those bikes inside).

Our goal today is lunch in Ohiopyle, B&B in Confluence.


We were told this June has been the extremely wet, just 3 days with NO rain. For us, this meant an abundance of waterfalls. You could tell there was one to look for just by the sound.

We rode upstream along the Youghioghenny River – and how do you pronounce this word? The locals say, “YOCK-uh-hay-nee”.


As we crossed the bridge into Ohiopyle, we saw a large group of rafts readying to run the rapids.

The first raft was successful.

However, the next raft lost 2 passengers who had to swim to the raft and be pulled back aboard. One oar was never recovered. Billie, “And that is why I will never do a whitewater rafting trip.” The third raft made it through without losing anyone despite what it looks like.

The confluence of the Youghiogheny, Laurel Hill Creek, and Casselman Creek-hence the name of the town.


On the way to dinner, Billie pulled over to the side of the road because she recognized a bicyclist we’d met in Connellsville. At about 7 pm, Sharon was walking her bike and still 20 miles from her Rockwood destination.

They loaded Sharon and her bike in the van and drove to Rivers Edge Restaurant. (I walked the half mile so there was enough room.) Sharon had had about 3 flats that day and was WAY behind schedule. Billie and JD worked to fix the flat, then we all had dinner together.
Sharon, a retired school teacher and librarian from Oregon was riding Pittsburgh-Washington DC by herself on a rented bike. We were thrilled to become her Trail Angels – so many people have helped us in the past with our various bicycle touring difficulties, it felt good to pay it forward. After dinner, Billie and I drove her the final 20 miles to her B&B in Rockwood. (NOTE: in the following days, we learned there was a small piece of metal in the tire which caused continual flats, the bike rental company arranged to have the tire replaced and for the next transportation rescue so she could keep on schedule. Sharon arrived in Washington DC on July 6 and plans to do the same ride next year – with greater success and fewer flats.)