The best B&B breakfast this morning: eggs benedict, cheesy hash brown casserole, baked oatmeal (like an oatmeal cookie!), pancakes, fresh fruit, Alabama tomato pie, juices and coffee. Wow!
Donna and Dave sat down for a chat as we finished.
A peek into a couple of the rooms:
Even in the morning fog, the pink bicycle outside was beautiful.
The best tip ever from Dave: ride the PAVED Western Maryland Rail Trail for 20 miles,
instead of the muddy dirt C&O on the other side of the canal.
Lunch in Hancock where we managed to avoid yet another rainstorm.
Except that later, we got completely dumped on and soaked. It would have been so much worse if we’d been riding the C&O. One more look at the beautiful paved trail,
before we go back to packed dirt and mud.
Built in the 1860s to divert water into the canal, dam 5.
We ended today’s ride in Williamsport. Miles = 38.
Author Archives: arletelouise
C&O: day 1
A rest day, cold medicine, two very good nights of sleep, and I was ready to ride.
The towpath is between the canal and the Potomac River.
Reconstructed barge that used to ply the C&O Canal.
The barges were 90 feet long and 14.5 feet wide with about 6 inches of clearance on each side. A $5 fine had to be paid if any part of the lock was bumped.
This path was more challenging: less-well maintained, hard-packed dirt and so many muddy sections. 
Turtle-spotting.
The totally dark Paw Paw Tunnel, 3118 feet long. We used flashlights and walked slowly attempting to avoid the puddles.
At the other end, I climbed the rather steep steps.
View from the top.
This tree fell after JD rode to meet us.
Mud accumulation by the end of the day.
Tonight’s B&B in Little Orleans MD – with a great bike washing station in the back.
The view from across the road.
Miles = 46
Fallingwater
This was a rest day – perfect timing for my cold and for the rain. We drove back toward Ohiopyle to tour Fallingwater – one of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s best known designs.
Built between 1936-1939 for the Kaufmann’s of Pittsburgh as their weekend retreat. The Kaufmanns owned Kaufmann’s Department Store which later became part of the Macy’s company.
Square footage = 2885 interior space + 2445 terraces.
Final cost = $155,000 including $8000 in architect’s fees.
The color palette was limited to two colors: light ocher for the concrete, Cherokee red for the steel.
Fallingwater is the only major Wright-designed house to open to the public with its furnishings, artwork, and setting intact.
GAP: day 5
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
GAP: day 4
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.
GAP: day 3
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.)
GAP: day 2
Goodbye to Lynn.
Dravo Cemetery.
Mailbox formation, so said the sign anyway.
A surprise lunch stop in Van Meter, at about the halfway point in today’s ride. A sign for bicyclists on the trail that said cold drinks, ice cream and lunch could be purchased. Just put the money in the can inside the refrigerator if no one is around. Two picnic tables too!
But there was someone around, Jeff, who brought us fresh-picked and lightly-salted cucumbers from his garden and a small bowl of wild black raspberries. JD said his bowl of chili was the best he’d ever had. Such friendly service, everyone should stop here!
We noticed a lot of caves farther down the trail which turned out to be coke ovens.
Riding into Connellsville, our end point for today.
Connellsville Inn B&B – the opposite of tacky. 
We were in the German room. Each room was named after an ethnic group who once lived in Connellsville. My little room with a single bed was through the far door.
Matching bicycle pajamas, Angry Orchard hard cider, a bed big enough for all of us to sit on and watch a movie (Cake) – life is good.
Miles=41
GAP: day 1
Our starting point.
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) does not begin until we cross the Hot Metal Bridge. This trail goes along the Ohio River towards downtown.
Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sand sculpture in progress. located under the bridge crossed.
Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Point: where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River become the Ohio River.
There are 446 bridges in Pittsburgh, more than any other city in the world and three more than Venice.
Ahh, a stop at Starbucks-my last for a good long while.
The Hot Metal Bridge.
Goodbye Pittsburgh.
The trail is decomposed granite and really well-maintained by volunteers.
The Youghshire Inn, the only option in (Little) Boston.
Lynn the innkeeper said her decorating style is “tacky”. Each room has a theme: Oriental, garden, Hawaiian (my room and I didn’t like always stepping on the too-long hula skirt/bed skirt), cell block,
and the Vegas room (Billie & JDs). It was the only room “with a view”-the wall opposite the bed was a wallpaper mural of the Vegas Strip.
Miles=25
Montour Trail
In the afternoon, the skies cleared up so we decided to ride part of the newly completed Montour Trail.
JD had some bad luck. First he discovered he had a flat and replaced the tube quickly. However, he put a bit too much air in and it blew up. So no riding for him, instead he had to drive to the bike shop to buy new tubes. Needless to say, he was not happy.
A tunnel with lights – this is a first! Sometimes it’s so dark, you have to walk your bike and use a headlight or flashlight.
The skies began to darken (again), so we headed back, loaded up and got in the van just in time. Not quite enough miles to work off that cake = 10 miles.
Bicycle Heaven
You can take the name of this bike shop literally. In addition to being a bike shop, there is also a huge museum of bicycles. Located in an industrial section of downtown Pittsburgh, it was really hard to find, but so worth it.
Pee Wee Herman’s bicycle.
Found on a farm in rural Ohio, two bicyles IN a tree.
Psychedelic 1960s bicycle room with black light and groovy music playing in the background.
arletelouise 