The last four days have been “love” and “love… not so much”. Coming out of Cleveland was a day of bike touring “love“. Of the 68 miles of riding to Canton, OH, about 58 of the miles were on a tow path. The path followed the original Ohio and Erie Canal that ran from Cleveland (Lake Erie) south to the Ohio River. As is to be expected, the tow path was fairly flat, and the lush growth of the wooded areas spectacular. This day’s ride was on a Sunday, which meant that there were a lot of cyclist and walkers on the trail … which meant there were numerous near misses, but it was refreshing to see so many people out exercising.
Day two, 65 miles from Canton to Chester, WV was one of the “love … not so much” days. I had asked at a local Canton bike shop for suggestions for a route to Chester … “My wife and I recently rode Route 172 to Lisbon, OH, and it was really nice“ was the advice received from one of the employees. Obviously, “my wife and I” enjoy unrelenting short climbs with little or no shoulder. After about the 40th repeat of “slow laborious climb, followed by fast down-hill”, my joy of bike touring tends to dissipate. This day was hard. Combine tired physical bodies with the frustration of trying to find our way in East Liverpool … by the time we got across the bridge and into a small hotel in Chester, it had definitely become a world record “love … not so much” day. Little did I know of what the next day held in store.
Day three consisted of 66 miles from Chester to Clairton, PA (a suburb south of Pittsburgh). Following the directions provided by Google Bicycle Map, in order to leave Chester, we took a right off of Chester Avenue onto 6th Street. Little known fact: Steve McQueen refused to drive his Mustang on this road because it was too steep (up, up, up!). Knowing our limits, we decided to go over to Route 30, and head out of town on the much busier highway. As we passed under the “Bicycles Prohibited” sign, I thought we were on a better route. True, it was less steep, but the truck traffic was heavy, and the West Virginia Transportation Department did not think it was important to include safety/bicycle lanes. Pretty scary stuff, even though it only lasted four or five miles. The “Welcome to Pennsylvania” sign was indeed a welcome sight, as safety/bicycle lanes were something they included (there is, however, one county in Pennsylvania with a Transportation Engineer who thinks the best place for an 18” wide rumble strip is centered in the 3’-0” safety/bike lane).
The ride into the Pittsburgh area went pretty well, and due to my stubbornness, we opted to ride the Montour Trail. This rail-to-trail runs south from the northwest side of Pittsburgh, then loops around the southern edge and connects to the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail, which we intend to take into Washington D.C. Was it a wise choice versus riding through the metropolitan areas … don’t know. Other than getting partially lost a couple of times, it went pretty well … oh, an early afternoon light rain thoroughly “wetted” us … oh, and a late afternoon downpour (deluge … think Noah) that was just ridiculous, soaked us through and through. Out on the trail with no cover in sight, the only thing you can do is just stand in the downpour and smile (grimace?). We eventually made it to an inexpensive motel, got cleaned up, fed and put to bed. All in all, partially “love bike touring” and partially “(well beyond) love … not so much”.
But today proved to be back to the good side of touring. I won’t go into the frustration of lack of directional signage in the Pittsburgh area, but please understand that the 10 miles from the motel to the GAP Trail did not go well. However, the remaining 56 miles of rail-to-trail riding was again spectacular. Makes you forget the bad times.
Tonight we are in the small town of Ohiopyle, PA. This town has been a tourist/white water rafting mecca for many many years. Very nice relaxing atmosphere after having experienced Cleveland, Canton, Chester and Pittsburgh (suburbs).
Not may days left of riding to get to the Atlantic Ocean, but most of those days will be on either a rail-to-trail or tow path. Good … love those trails and love bike touring.
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