Aron and I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Pittsburgh. According to an article in yesterday's USA Today, we're taking a hip-with-the-times "recession-resistant getaway."
We met up this evening to divvy up the common gear and make sure everything is set; the bikes are fully loaded. I've added a rack to the front fork on my Cross-Check -- with a pair of big panniers on the back and a smaller pair on the front, it's a lot of stuff. It's maybe slightly unnerving to realize that when we roll out tomorrow, it will be the first time I've ridden with cargo on the front wheel. But I don't think it will be too tricky, and we only have a few miles on city streets before we pick up the C&O Canal towpath in Georgetown. Then it's 180 miles of riding to Cumberland, and another 140 or so on the Great Allegheny Passage trail, almost all the way to Pittsburgh without any cars at all.
We're planning to camp three nights, stay in a hostel one night in the middle so that we can clean up (the one next to the opera house, as mentioned in the USA Today article), and stay with Zachary once we get to Pittsburgh. We'll spend a full day there, then take a train back to DC on Friday. Both the train ride and the bike ride should feature some nice fall foliage.
Per Aron's request, I will be emitting occasional blog blurbs from my phone as we go. (See how smoothly I shifted responsibility for such dorkiness?) I'll probably also post a few pictures to my Flickr stream, which you may peruse if you choose.
Really looking forward to my first long bike touring trip...
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2 comments:
Hi, Teague!
This is your neighbor across the alley, Veronica, and I just wanted to point you to my girlfriend's blog. Francesca biked the C&O and GAP to Pittsburgh earlier this fall and has a trip report up that you may find useful: http://www.francescamclin.com/blog/co-canal-and-great-allegheny-trail-notes/. Have fun!
Thanks, Veronica -- that was a great writeup. I think we're going to take Francesca's advice on a GAP campground, and head for the one run by the Army Corps of Engineers for our last night on the trail.
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