Connellsville to Confluence - Waterfalls and Fallingwater

Today's shorter ride of 40 miles started with a deluxe breakfast at Ed's Diner right beside our night's accommodations at the Melody Motor Lodge, which reminded us of our favorite motel in Bar Harbor, ME.  Once inside we saw six state police officers that belonged to the 6 state police cars we saw outside in the parking lot right before entering.  We have found that local officer endorsement of an establishment was a strong indicator that the food was going to be good and reasonably priced.  Case in point - once when in New Orleans, we were looking for a place to get a good shrimp po' boy and one of the friendly beat officers recommended a particular hole-in-the-wall place that turned out to have great po' boys.

After breakfast we returned to the Connellsville GAP trailhead where, the night before, we got off to eat dinner and ride to our hotel.   At the trailhead there were open sided wooden huts that bikers or hikers on the trail could use for overnight shelter.  The open side meant that you would be ensured of good airflow on a hot day while at the same time still providing a roof for protection from rain.  We're not sure if there was a fee for the use of the huts but it appeared that they were free and that you could just arrive and claim one for the night.

Connellsville trailhead huts

After we were on our way north in the car headed to the start of the ride a couple of days before, the weather report for this second day of riding predicted even cooler temperatures than had been predicted earlier along with continued rain.  In the interest of not taking everything but the kitchen sink, John decided to not take his rain jacket but Sue did.  It was a roll of the dice that was looking like it might not have a favorable outcome, however, with all the heat generated while riding, everyone stayed comfortable.

Soon after returning to the trail, we were greeted with even more waterfalls as we rode down the mostly covered forested path.  Much like the day before, waterfalls abounded.  As we passed bigger and nicer waterfalls than the ones we had seen the previous day, we kept wanting to stop.  But, unlike all the other days of this week-long ride, this day we had to stick to a schedule since we needed to arrive at our much anticipated tour of the famous Frank Lloyd Wright designed house, Fallingwater, by a certain time.  We purchased our Fallingwater tour tickets online a couple of months ahead of time since the popular tour times were said to fill up and because we were going to be there on a weekend day which we figured would be busier.

While approaching Ohiopyle, PA on the trail, we reflected that the trip off the trail to Fallingwater would bring with it both good and bad.  The good news was that Fallingwater was a mere 4.1 miles off the GAP trail.  The bad news was that there were pitches of up to 13% grade that stood between us at the river on the GAP trail in Ohiopyle, PA and Fallingwater.  John had built in a 45 minute contingency buffer prior to leaving  our hotel in Connellsville but even with our disciplined stops along the way, we had eaten in to most of our buffer.  So without any delay, we left the GAP trail and headed up the hill towards Fallingwater, at times at a blistering 3 - 4 mph.  At that speed, the hills seemed like they went on forever, especially with the extra 40 pounds of gear on the tandem, but we paced ourselves well and rode within our abilities.  We pulled off at what turned out to be about 75% of the way up the hill to address the fogging of John's glasses.  With the rain came 100% humidity.  The heat from his face combined with the cool air on the glasses caused severe fogging.  It wasn't like the fogging glasses was going to cause a problem looking forward since we were going so slow, but the fogging did obscure the view looking back for cars in the helmet mounted rear view mirror.  The fogging issue was quickly remedied during our brief stop by employing a diving technique he learned years ago while getting his open water SCUBA certification.  A quick smearing of saliva on the glasses followed by a gentle clean water rinse from the water bottle got the situation under control and we headed back onto the climb with nary a hint of fogging after that.

We arrived at Fallingwater in plenty of time to take the tour.  There was mention of lockers on the Fallingwater website to store your stuff which we were planning to use.  Sue went in from the parking lot to get a locker but found that there were no lockers available.  Fortunately, a very nice gentleman at the tour desk offered to store the panniers in a locked storage room.  Sue took him up on his offer and we got ready for our tour.

The weekend country retreat, Fallingwater, was designed and then built in 1936 - 1938 for the Kaufman family, owners of  the Pittsburgh based Kaufman's Department stores, over an active stream with a waterfall right under the cantilevered first floor/terrace.  The Kaufman's, when presented with the plans for the first time, save one point, were very much excited by the unique design of the house.  They were, however, a little disappointed that the house design was not such that they would be able to look out and enjoy the waterfall.  Instead, Wright explained that he had a different vision for the house.  He wanted the owners of the house to live with the stream and waterfall all the time rather than occasionally look out and admire it.  His design vision prevailed and that's how the house was built.  Here is the iconic photo of the house looking up from below the waterfall.

Fallingwater House near Pittsburgh, PA

The tour included all three levels of the house.  The first floor had a very open floor plan.  Wright left no detail to chance.  In addition to designing the house, Wright also designed the furniture.  He designed bench sofas along the outside wall, just under the windows, to be extra low so as not to block the outside view.  The Kaufman's liked to entertain guests so Wright designed a spherical vessel for the fireplace that swung into place over the fire to heat up fresh apple cider which they enjoyed on brisk autumn evenings.  In every room we went, there were examples of design details that made the house unique and special.

There were steps in the living room that led down to the stream below to take a cool refreshing plunge.  A byproduct of the steps in the summertime was a nice cool breeze coming off the cool mountain stream which was quite evident while we were standing there on our tour.

Steps from living room leading down to the stream

In the picture above to the right of the steps is a five foot deep pool that that the Kaufman's asked to be added and can be accessed from the steps leading down from just inside the main entryway of the house.

The stone walls of the house were made from Pottsville sandstone quarried on site 500 feet west of the house.  The cut size and stacking arrangement of the quarried stone was done to imitate the way the naturally occurring stone looked in that area on exposed rock faces.

From the special windows on the house corner facing the waterfall that extend the entire length of all three floors that open up to catch a breeze and bring the sound of the cascading waterfall into the living space, to the many terraces that invite you to be outside with nature, the attention to detail that Wright put into the house design was extraordinary.  We have both wanted to see this house for a long time and were very glad we had time on our bike trip to stop and take the tour.

Here are a few more pictures of the outside of the house.  Inside pictures were not permitted on the tour.

Terrace just off the living room overhanging the waterfall

Fallingwater house on a rainy day

Main house entry

Existing rocks used as part of the house foundation

Detached garage located above the house that had a guest room and pool fed by a stream

Cantilevered terrace

Shortly after our inside tour of the house finished, the rain abated and the sun came out just long enough for us to get a few nice outside pictures before then the rain returned and it was time for us to leave.  We retrieved our panniers, loaded up the bike, and then headed back to the GAP trail.  While riding down the steep part of hill into Ohiopyle in the pouring rain, John grew concerned that the disk brakes might be getting too hot so we pulled off.  A wet finger tap on the front brake rotor sizzled so we waited about 5 minutes while the brakes cooled down.  On many occasions we have been very pleased that we decided to get a tandem with disk brakes and the steep, wet, fully loaded descent into Ohiopyle was another time that affirmed our disk brake decision.

Ohiopyle is a local white water kayaking and rafting destination for the surrounding area.  There is an outfitter, Wilderness Voyageurs, right off the trail at the base of the climb to the Fallingwater house that caters to the white water enthusiasts and the GAP trail bicycle riders.  The outfitter was on our list of places to stop since they had a nice bicycle jersey for the GAP trail.  John found one that fit well and he liked but Sue did not.  We would have to continue to look for one for Sue.

After our brief stop at the outfitters, we had a late lunch/dinner across the railroad tracks at Falls Market Restaurant and General Store.  While waiting for our meal, John noticed a spiffy shirt a guy had on at the table across from ours.  It had the entire GAP trail and C&O Canal map on the back.  And, what made it even nicer, the shirt fabric was a moisture wicking technical fabric.  John asked the guy where he got the shirt and he told John he purchased it in Meyersdale, a GAP trail town that we would be passing through in a couple of days, at a converted train depot.

GAP trail crossing the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle, PA

Lots of bridge crossings today

Bridge hopping on the GAP trail

In addition to the many waterfalls along the trail today, much of the trail was also lined with wild rhododendron in full bloom.  We got lucky with the timing of the blooming rhododendron.

Waterfall with blooming rhododendron

Like Connellsville, the town we stopped at the night before, Confluence also had some form of art along the trail that an organization from town produced which made the trail more interesting.

Arriving in Confluence, PA

We stayed at the Parker House country inn in Confluence, PA.  The Parker House was very nice.  They were very accommodating of bicycles (they had a locked dedicated bicycle garage) and were very easy to find just off the GAP trail.

The total mileage for the day 2 was a whopping 40 miles.

Here is our route for day 2.  Clicking on the each bicycle icon will display an info window with the date and time.

The low and high temperatures for today were 52 and 54 degrees F respectively.

Looking forward to another wonderful day tomorrow!

Pittsburgh to Connellsville - Rains, Trains and Waterfalls

We drove 35 miles from New Stanton, PA to Pittsburgh, PA this morning, dropped off the rental van, and loaded the 35 pounds worth of dual rear panniers and a 5 pounds handlebar bag onto the bike.  The rental return was in a parking deck that overlooked the Amtrak train station. The station was so pretty we had to take a picture.

 Pittsburgh Amtrak Station

Once the bike was all loaded up, we both mounted up and set off coursing our way round and round the 5 levels of the parking deck down to Penn Street where we were greeted with a steady rain.

We were pleasantly surprised that Penn Street, the street leading to the beginning of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) that started at Point State Park, had a bike lane as we made our way to the beginning of the GAP Trail.  By the time we rode down to Point State Park, the steady rain turned into a very heavy rain.  The prospects for a beginning picture didn't look good.  While we were standing there trying to think of a good way to improvise with the few things we had to take a picture of us at the start (at 40 pounds of gear added to the bike, you could easily argue that we had more than a few things), a family of four from Houston walked by and the dad was lining up the fam for a picture.  So, John offered to take a picture of all four of them which they graciously accepted.  Once the pictures were taken of the family, the father reciprocated, and our rainy picture taking dilemma was solved.

At the start of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, PA

GAP Trail beginning marker at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, PA

Heading out of town was a bit tricky due to the densely packed roads at Point Park, some of which were bicycle restricted, and the fact that the roads were not all at the same vertical level, an important detail missing from a Google map.  After a few minutes of pin-balling around the Point Park area in the pouring rain, we zeroed in on the route departure solution and made our way up to and across the Smithfield Street Bridge where we established ourselves on the GAP Trail heading out of town.  We could have done a better job of reviewing the GAP departure route before hand but John was finishing his Where's George tracking Android/Web app that showed our position in real time on a Google topo map with a new point posted to a website every 15 minutes and Sue was busy finalizing the last of the trip preparation details.

Old US Steel smokestacks

The city of Pittsburgh has done a fine job of integrating examples of the city heritage into the new city.  For example, there were 12 tall smokestacks left over from the old US Steel mill that once operated on 400 acres adjacent to the river where the GAP trail now passes by. The 12 smokestacks were once used to vent heat from the steel ingots waiting to be reshaped in the slab mill.  There was a 12,000 ton forging press that was once used to make battleship armor in the early 1900's.  Also along the trail was a large Gantry crane once used in the ore yard.  In the late 1800's, US Steel was the largest steel manufacturer in the world, producing 1/3 of the world's supply of steel.  

The 150 mile long GAP converted rail to trail surface is an unpaved, very well maintained, fine crushed limestone that connects Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD.  The trail had some standing water and a little bit of mud in places, but overall, it was a very nice surface to ride on.

GAP Trail right after lunch the first day

Crushed limestone GAP trail surface

The GAP Trail elevation at Pittsburgh is 720' msl and rises to a maximum elevation of 2392' msl at the Eastern Continental Divide 24 miles before Cumberland, MD before descending down to Cumberland, MD at 605' msl.  Because the GAP Trail is a converted railroad to trail, the 126 miles from Pittsburgh to the Eastern Continental Divide has a maximum uphill grade of 1.5%.

Along the trail, we saw lots of wildlife.  There were dozens of groundhogs and rabbits and a couple of deer. They seemed to feel safe on or near the trail, but bounded away when we got too close.

The rain was steady throughout the first morning and early afternoon.  By the time we stopped to eat lunch at around 3:00, the rain had stopped for the day and the sun was occasionally peeking out.  The high temperature for the first day was a pleasant 75 degrees.

We found a great little tea room, The Betsy Shoppe, just off the trail in Boston, PA for lunch where John hoisted the 80 pounds of bike and gear up the steps and onto the deck before we enjoyed a nice lunch with some refreshing cool iced tea.  

All the rain in PA made the many waterfalls along the trail spring to life.  With so many waterfalls flowing off the adjacent mountainside from our right and under the trail down to the Youghiogheny river to our left, we soon could predict the size of the waterfall before seeing it based on how loud it was as we approached.

Sue and a waterfall on the GAP Trail

Another GAP Trail waterfall

There was an active rail line that paralleled the river just like the GAP trial did.  Sometimes we were on the same side of river as the rail line and sometimes it was on the other side of the river.  Many times throughout the day, the quiet remoteness of the GAP trail was interrupted by the howl of the train whistle and the screeching of the metal train car wheels rolling across the metal track.

Crossing the active rail line that was next to the GAP Trail

The first overnight stay was in Connellsville, PA.  We arrived at around 8 pm due to the late start in Pittsburgh.  To be more efficient with our time each day, we ended the day of riding with an opportunistic dinner stop while entering town prior to checking in to our hotel/inn.  That saved us having to double back, by bike, to a restaurant had we gone to the hotel first.  We passed two ladies who lived in Connellsville out on their bike riding the same direction we were going as we got close to the end of our first day of riding.  We asked them about different restaurant options near the trail where we could stop to have some dinner and they recommended NY Pizza and Pasta so we stopped there.  With so much to see and do each day, we typically didn't get to our destination town until around 8:00 pm. We stoked up on a yummy carb laden pizza while the sun finished setting and darkness descended. 

Following dinner, we cranked out a couple hundred feet of climbing up to the Melody Motor Lodge, a trip back to the 60's era of basic family owned motels, and checked in.  We're looking forward to a little more sleep tonight  and can't wait for another adventure tomorrow on The Great Allegheny Passage!

The total mileage for the day 1 was 63 miles.

Here is our route for day 1.  Clicking on the each bicycle icon will display an info window with the date and time.

Atlanta to DC to Pittsburgh - On our way.....

Riding tandem in our Honda Fit (Sue sitting in the back seat behind the driver) with our tandem bike on the opposite side of the car caused other motorists to give us a double take, especially as we approached DC where we were in lots of Friday evening rush hour stop and go traffic.

It was a long day of driving.   We drove to Washinton DC and picked up a rental van at Reagan International.  Then, we both drove to the DC hotel where we will stay when we return to DC on our bike.  The DC hotel graciously agreed to let us park the Fit in their parking lot for the week while we ride back.  We moved everything from the Fit into the van, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed out to New Stanton, Pa (about 45 minutes outside of Pittsburg) for the night.  We didn't get in until 12:30 am.

We'll start a little later tomorrow because it's forecasted to rain very hard in the morning.  Hopefully it will clear off for us in the afternoon.

Riding tandem with the tandem in our Fit

The tandem fit in the mini van just fine and Sue even got to ride up front from DC to Pittsburgh

The Route:

Assuming all goes well, we will be riding the 150 mile long Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD and then 185 mile long C&O Canal Path from Cumberland, MD to Washington DC over the next 7 days.