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.