The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

GAP and C&O Trail Ride 2017

September 30th to October 11th

Ride Director: Judy De Santis
Ride Co-Director: Marnie Rawles
Ride Driver: Jan Bruneske
Report by: Keith Topliffe

Canals, Rivers, Bridges and Tunnels

BAC GAP & C&O Canal Ride 2017

If you want to hear what an absolute calm and still forest sound like, cycle the

Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal tow path and the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) for a

total of 338 miles from DC to Pittsburgh, PA in early October. God has a way of

speaking to our inner soul in this setting as His marvelous creation is revealed to us in a

personal and private way. John F. Kennedy said, “Nothing compares to the simple

pleasure of a bike ride”. He got it right!

At an elevated pulse rate for 4 to 6 hours each day, you can imagine the blood pumping

in your veins and arteries with hundreds of pedal strokes per hour needed to

accomplish the nearly flat cycling adventure. There is that familiar sense of “endorphin

high” we all experience and love from cycling, coupled with the rush of adrenaline

experienced by being outside in nature….. all day. I miss it already as I write this.

The soft sound of the nearby Potomac, rustling of the trees in the warm air and an

occasional squirrel or chipmunk racing across the pathway (at their great peril) dodging

our spinning wheels. We also observed incredible trees arched over our pathway, water

turtles, and deer which were slowly wandering down for a cool drink at river’s edge.

In many areas the C&O Canal (commissioned by George Washington) is filled with

leaves, and growth over many years of inactivity (canal use was stopped in 1924) but

its original outline is very obvious for the entire 184 miles from DC to Cumberland,

Maryland. It was a terrific accomplishment in those days by thousands of workers from

1828 to 1850. The original canal route has become a National Historic Park and is being

preserved for generations to know its history. The Leonardo De Vinci designed locks are

still in place with a small attendant house built at each lock. This scene provided a

journey back in time to a wonderful, slow paced, shipping route where entire families

would work and live on their own canal boat. On the C&O there was an inconvenient

detour around the Paw Paw tunnel (tunnel will reopen mid November 2017) which

demands that one go up and over the tunnel as a mountain goat might journey. We,

however, had with us a “trail angel”, Felix Smith, who lugged many of the bikes up to

the top on the steepest parts of the trail and won the admiration of all on our trip.

On the 153 mile GAP which started for us in Cumberland, Maryland and ended in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the path is mostly smooth, hard packed with crushed gravel

and paved in select areas with gorgeous vistas and plenty of wide open areas to view

the changing of the leaves. While the C&O Canal Tow path was a little rougher with

assorted surface roots and potholes, both are manageable on any good touring bike.

We were all pleased to be cycling on the GAP with the adjacent Youghiogheny River

running in the same direction which meant we were cycling with a downhill slope for

most of the way to Pittsburgh after a modest climb out of Cumberland.

Pittsburgh’s steelmaking history was highlighted as we rode into town alongside

mammoth, idle, rusted factories which during its heyday had made over 1/3 of the steel

for the American WWII effort. This was in stark contrast to the scenery we enjoyed over

the past 6 days.... but nevertheless very impressive.

With long days most of us were pretty well worn down by the time we hit either hotels

or B&B where we could soak in a warm, welcomed shower. We had nearly perfect, mild

days with only soft intermittent rain showers on two of the seven days. There was the

ever present threat that Hurricane Nate would show up but this did not happen. Those

of us without fenders were very pleased at the end of those showery days to find a

hose to prepare our bikes for the following day. Fenders are definitely recommended.

In addition to the natural beauty and great riding, there were great history lessons all

along the way. We learned a lot about the history of the Civil War and spent an

emotional afternoon visiting the historic Antietam Civil War battlefield in Maryland just

up the river from historic Harpers Ferry.

Many thanks to Judy, Jan, and Marnie for organizing this ride and providing all that we

needed for our comfort and nutritional needs. I am particularly grateful for the

abundant supply of creamy peanut butter!!

Please enjoy one of my favorite riding quotes.

“I don’t ride a bike to add days to my life. I ride a bike to add life to my days.”-

Unknown author

J. Keith Topliffe

Participants:

Felix Smith, Len Friedman, Ronald Guidotti, Nancy Mcaravey, Miriam Joscelyn, Randy

James, Ruth James, Marse Lear, Keith Topliffe, Julie Topliffe, Jan Dudley, James Dudley,

David Flanagan, Candace Winkle, Philip Sanderman, Karen Sanderman, Lori Gard, Jim

Taylor

Ride Leaders: Judy De Santis & Marnie Rawles

Van Driver: Jan Bruneske