When a friend asked me if I wanted to bike from Washington to Pittsburgh over the Memorial Day weekend, I immediately replied, "Sure." I have never biked the length of the C&O Canal and had only heard of the Great Allegheny Passage, which connects the end of the C&O Canal to Pittsburgh. Staged properly, it would only take six days, and I would be able to visit a friend or two who live in Pittsburgh. So that is how the first leg got created.

The only thing that changed was we didn't do it over Memorial Day weekend, and I didn't go with the friend who I originally planned it with, so there it is. C'est la vie!