Biking the Great Alleghany Passage - Day 3 Afternoon
Day Three Afternoon Experience on the Great Alleghany Passageway via bikes
End of the GAP Bike Ride of the Fearsome Foursome
Afternoon of Day 3 </b>
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$8.79 and all the breakfast you can eat
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Without a doubt, one of my favorite meals on the trail. An iconic barstool diner with delicious food.
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You got to love the bottom comment of their bulletin board.
After brunch, we kept slogging uphill for another 10 miles to the top of the continental divide of the Eastern US.
The Eastern Continental Divide was the highest elevation of our trip. It is all downhill from here!
Elevation:2,392 feet above seal level. And a gain of a couple thousand feet in elevation to get here.
C. Hirst stands on both sides of the continental divide with a celebratory beverage.
As we biked to the divide the rivers flowed from our right to the left towards the Mississippi River. After the continental divide the rivers flowed from left to right toward the Atlantic.
It is all downhill from the top of the continental divide to Cumberland
The doors are closed during winter.
The white dot in the bottom right of the below picture is the other end of the tunnel.
The three longest tunnels we went through were Savage, Brush and Borden.
Rob needs a water break
This mile marker was a long time coming. After 148 of these markers, finally number 1
THE FINISH LINE
Just like the medallion in Pittsburgh, PA, the four bikers rejoice in victory in Cumberland, MD
Exhausted and Exuberant
Where we started and finished: WheelzUp Bike Shop
Rob recorded that over the three days we trekked 158.8 Miles and put in 13 Hours of bike riding
EPILOGUE
Carl's Final Thoughts
Rekindled my spiritual connection to nature. Reinforced the importance of living a balanced life. Seek the adventures beyond your routines. Sharing an experience with an awesome group of guys.
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C. Hirst's Final Thoughts
It's not always how fast or far you go, as long as you embrace the experience. Some new experiences for me was riding 150 miles on my mountain bike. Little harder than I imagined, plus the gear that was carried on the bike. Saw some amazing views that kept your mind of the long days pedaling. A variety of animals, waterfalls, bridges, scary high bridges, and tunnels. So many memories shared between the Fantastic Four.
Epilogue: wouldn't change a thing or do anything different other than try going in the other direction. In three days: biked 157.35 miles, climbed 3124 ft, burned 6231 calories!!! Ate my share of calamari and over indulged on gluten. You know what?? I felt fine, except I'm a little sore.
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Rob's Final Thoughts
The trip from Pittsburgh to Cumberland on the GAP was truly a great one which brought a great sense of accomplishment with all of the miles ridden, but I have to say that this trip was one measured in friends rather than miles. All of the people we met along the way made me realize that most people are good at heart. At one point we stopped to speak to a man who was walking the trail. I casually mentioned to my cohorts that I was out of water. This man then reached down into his cooler and gave me a fresh ice cold bottle. Before we rode on I said to him, in all sincerity, "It's great to be a part of your life, and now you're a part of mine. Thank you. He then smiled, nodded, and we rode on.
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Mark’s Final Thoughts
This was an epic trip across a beautiful swath of America. We traveled through a story of the steel industry long gone and mighty railroad companies that came and went. Yet we witnessed a life of Americana that has endured…
The ride on the GAP enriched my life and as Carl elucidated, our journey was life awakening in three ways: Spirituality, Mentally and Physically.
Mentally, it is good for the soul to be around the beautiful flora and fauna of nature and the creatures we met: the chipmunks, the birds, the guinea hens, the snakes and the deer.
Physically, biking 150 miles is an exhausting experience that makes us realize our mortality yet at the same time what we’re capable of accomplishing. The tiredness I feel is a reward for persevering the challenge.
Spiritually, I saw a beautiful earth that God created and how it was meant to be. Maybe, we need to rethink how we live together in big cities.
Don't Forget to see Mark's Final Blog on this trip:
"GAP POINTS TO REMEMBER AND ADVICE TO OTHER BIKING TRAVELERS"
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Placards along the trail tell the story that the Cassellman River has so many sharp bends at the Pinkerton Horn that the only solution for the railroad engineers was to dig the Pinkerton tunnel.
We reached the Pinkerton Horn after ten miles of biking. Most of our trip the rail trail hugs the edge of fast flowing rivers which are famous for their white water rafting adventures.