Day 3: To Ohiopyle

September 11, 2014

It was 70F and wet in the morning. Roads were wet and it was threatening to rain when I left the motel at 9. Mostly downhill for 2 miles to get back to the trail.

Interesting stone house near the GAP trail.

Two competing railroad companies built tracks between Pittsburgh and Cumberland. The first to be built was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It was completed in 1852, the first long-distance railroad in the U.S. The track is still active today, run by CSX railroad.

The second track to be built was the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie railroad. It was completed in 1911, abandoned in 1975, and eventually converted into the Great Allegheny Passage trail. The bike trail is close to the active railroad track. I could seldom see trains through the foliage but I could definitely hear them. Often. Sometimes very loud.

CSX railroad trestle and tunnel above the GAP trail.

Rain started about the time I got to the trail. I took shelter under a small picnic shelter. It's okay as long as wind doesn't blow the rain too much. Mosquitoes also sought shelter from the rain. One of the few times I got bit by mosquitoes during the tour.

Typical trailside shelter. I saw dozens of them.

The rain slacked off and I went a few more miles down the trail before the rain resumed with a vengeance. I was soaked by the time I found shelter in the Roundbottom hiker/biker campground. It rained for a long time. It was nice to have walls to block the wind-blown rain. I waited in the shelter for at least an hour.

Shelter at Roundbottom hiker/biker campground. My refuge from a big rain storm.

Finally the rain stopped and I continued upstream on the trail. The surface was much softer and slower for several hours after the rain. Fortunately my fenders stopped me from getting splattered with limestone mud. I saw a few very muddy cyclists on the trail.

Equestrians are allowed on this section but must stay on the grass, not on the trail.

The rain delayed me at least 2 hours. At 2:30 PM I had lunch in Connellsville, the only major town on today's route. The trail goes through several nice riverside parks in town.

After Connellsville the terrain closes in, with more cliffs. The trail is still nearly level, but it crosses side canyons on 3 long trestles.

The original bridges were built for a second track that was never added.

And I passed more trailside waterfalls.

The cloudy sky, forest canopy, and deep canyon made it rather dark. The river was often very nearby, but down a steep slope. I could seldom see it through the dense vegetation. The trail finally has a noticeable uphill grade, but still less than 1/2 percent. The Youghiogheny river is now mostly whitewater, with a visible gradient.

Typical view of a cliff to the right and the Youghiogheny river down below to the left.

Youghiogheny river threading into the Allegheny mountains.

Coming into Ohiopyle the trail crosses a long bridge across the Youghiogheny river. I found my reserved guest house at 6 PM. $103 with a shared bath. The bike has to be locked outside on the bike rack. I had an excellent dinner a block away at the corner cafe, sharing a table with a cycling couple from Pittsburgh.

Ohioyple is an attractive rustic resort village inside Ohiopyle state park, 1320 feet elevation. Only 3x3 blocks, an ideal pedestrian village. Many trail cyclists stay here but it also has a huge raft tour business. The Youghiogheny river is the most popular rafting stream east of the Mississippi. Ohiopyle has 2 million visitors per year and 150,000 visitors per year do raft trips. I was hoping to rent a kayak tomorrow but the weather forecast is too cold.

Ohiopyle is a rustic resort village inside Ohiopyle State Park.

The general store/restaurant/post office in Ohiopyle.

3.8 inch wide tires are overkill for a smooth gently graded rail trail. Single speed! Big Dummy indeed!

After dinner I went a few blocks away to see Ohiopyle falls, where the Youghiogheny river drops about 15 feet. The drop isn't huge but the flow is huge.

Today was much cooler than yesterday, about 70F all day long. Tomorrow will be even cooler. Today wasn't as easy as the metrics indicate. It was mostly unpaved and the surface was soft and slow due to rain.

Distance: 42.2 mi. (67.5 km) nearly all unpaved
Climbing: 600 ft. (182 m)
Average Speed: 9.4 mph (15 km/h)

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 142 miles (229 km)

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