It was, @Bob - to put it plainly, not the most pleasant ride of my life. I remember a tour a few years ago I was coming through New Hampshire just as a Nor'Easter hit, and then not quite a week later, a (I kid you not) bomb Nor'Easter when I was crossing out of CT into NY. What is it with me and storms on bike tours? I will say, though, that I had 8 phenomenal days of great weather and even with the rain, it was a blast.

I was actually driving through Ophelia on our way to my daughter's house at the same time you were doing this, and I thought THAT was pretty challenging. So, being out on a bike, not to mention riding through DC, that's pretty impressive. Glad it all worked out ok! An interesting end to your trip for sure.

Thanks, Bill. I would have asked him but he wasn't very talkative :-)

Painted turtle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_turtle

Here and there…this last time it was the least “anxiety inducing” it’s ever been. I think that was due to thorough research and satellite view of the area. I arrived in late afternoon (about happy hour time) and made sure there were no fire rings, trash, beer bottles, etc that would indicate people who may party in that area. It looked like it may have had people who would pass through to fish sometimes but that would be it. Get out early in the morning and it was good

Thanks, I did find the route of RWGPS. One additional question for a fellow obsessive planner: Have you done much Steve Wallis style stealth camping and what have you done to overcome the anxiety around that? Like I said, that's the one thing I just haven't had the cajones to do.

Thanks for sharing the route up the Jersey Coast - that's a good idea to be able to use campgrounds on the coast in the state parks rather than the D&L canal going through Trenton NJ and then NE through Princeton. I like camping out nights in a quiet place (if you watched the YouTube you saw I pulled a Steve Wallis on the second night :-) ). I do like a shower at the end of the day, just to feel refreshed. If you can get to the "Great Lakes to DC" route, it's documented in RWGPS.

Just found your tours on YouTube and I've been thinking of a route similar to this, but the other way around. Your daily miles and logistics appears very similar to mine. I live in Annapolis MD and want to do a big loop - C&O/GAP->Buffalo->Albany->NYC. Nice to know there is a reasonably pleasant way to get from Pittsburgh to Buffalo, thanks! If you are ever considering an East Cost route south of NYC, check this one out I did last year: https://teampline.org/2022/09/01/a-different-east-coast-greenway/

I didn't ask about because I figured it a thinly-veiled attempt at getting me to do just that - order it and eat it. A way to upsell my breakfast order without even trying on their part (other than the multitude of signs indicating it was the worst). I'll have to let you know the next first tour of a particular route - I may just pass by Minneapolis :-)

"Oil's well that ends well" :-)

Thanks, next up is the world's first "Reverse letter C bike tour in northern Florida" in February.

You did it again! You found the world's WORST of something. I do not particularly care for pies of any kind, but I'd probably give the world's worst apple pie a try--just to say I did. But I'd be very disappointed if it was no worse than any other apple pie I've sampled.

As a big fan of anything that is the first, the heaviest, the tallest, the smallest, the weirdest, or any other est-est, I congratulate you on finding the first oil well in America. Very cool.

While I don't specifically remember a waterfall, I do faintly remember some sort of soaking during a tunnel run. There were quite a few so maybe it was the Rockland tunnel.
Yes, the Kennerdell tunnel was a bit disconcerting, even with a decent light. I didn't know how long it was but had to trust going forward it would eventually lead to an exit (unless I was traveling to the underworld). Figure it takes a few minutes of constantly moving forward through the darkness with no indication you're coming out the other side? Yes, a bit creepy to be sure.

My wife and I did Franklin to Emlenton 5 years or so- that dogleg tunnel really creeped out my wife even though we had decent lights.

She also wasn't happy when we rode through the waterfall at the southern end of one of the two tunnels...

Thanks for the intel! I'm going to definitely try to make a "Nutters Stop" on the way - it's right on my route. AND, that's about 68 miles into a 76-miles day, so definitely I'll be ready to chow down on a dairy dessert before heading off to the campsite.