C&O / GAP Forum

Rode from Boston to Point Park today. Found my way through Sandcastle to CSX railroad tracks. Followed track bed one forth mile to Southside trail @ Baldwin Boro, which leads to the Hot Metal Bridge. Its not the real connection but it works for me til they get there ass in gear and get this trail finally connected. I looked for this Connection today as I want to do Point Park to DC this fall. Now all I need is roll on rail service. By the way Point Park to Boston is Exactly 20 miles.

I am doing the C&O Canal Towpath and GAP from DC to the Southside this September. Can you get through the Sandcastle property if they are closed for the season?

the attendant at the gate told me it would be accessable. but I will check it out for myself later. Will Advise.

Had to finish the GAP - rode through p/l and walked down the tracks and suggested earlier. Thanks to the two young men who told us about it! It worked! Our ride actually ended across from Heinz Stadium on Friday, June 22.

Interested in any of your experiences with the B & Bs or motels in Confluence.

What are you recommendations??

Thanks for any help.

I have used Confluence House B&B. It was great. But I usually ride to Ohiopyle on my rides, and there are more choices there.

Appreciate the advice on Ohiopyle. That actually works better mileage-wise than Confluence....However...When I search this website, I find fewer hotel/motel/lodging options in Ohiopyle than I do in Confluence. I'll keep looking...I'm obviously confused. Thanks again.

On our first DC to Pitt trip and also on the trip we are doing this July, my wife and I stayed at the Yough Plaza Motel. This was nothing fancy. It was clean and they allowed us to bring our bikes into the room. We stayed on the top floor and the end room, helped cut down on noise. There may be nicer places at Ohiopyle but really all we wanted was a place to safely store our bikes and gear, take a shower and sleep. We found a place to eat breakfast and were good to go.

You could try bbbiking.com. Sites like it and this site were a great help to us planning our two trips.

Good luck!

I use the Yough Plaza motel, on the contrary I think it is a really god trail motel. I will be staying there this Sat night . I've posted earlier that I'm doing a trainer.

I almost forgot there web sight sucks,but I'm computer challenged.

This information is very helpful. Thank you all.

For the extra 18 miles I prefer to stay at the Hostel in Rockwood. Right off the path. Friendly atmosphere and good food. Cost is about $22 a person for non private room. Bike storage in the basement with good water hose for cleaning. Check out their web site. Google Rockwood PA hostel.

Just returned and stayed in Confluence - great town and fantastic bike shop!

Lodging: Parker House, Confluence House B & B,
Hanna House, Paddlers Lane Retreat, House at Confluence.

All have websites. We stayed at Parker House Guest House (no breakfast, but kitchen available). Little pricy, but beautiful accommodation!

Confluence Cyclery could also give you names of the ones I didn't list.

FOUND: Sportline Heart Rate Monitor on the GAP between W. Newton and Boston on Thursday, June 21. Provide details to claim.

Does anyone know if you are allowed to leave your vehicle for several days at the Boston Pa.starting point for the GAP.

Sure, why not?

Just returned from the GAP. Left one car at the Trail Inn and Cafe in Frostburg and another at Yough Shore Inn, Boston ($10/day or $10 if you book a room and stay a night).

Planning a trip from DC west for later in the summer. I am not from the area. I can't figure out where the GAP actually ends. Need to make some plans for where to be picked up. Figure out how far/close to the airport I am going to end up, etc.

Thanks for any help.

One final question...am I understanding correctly that the GAP is paved from Cumberland west?

Thanks again!

GAP ends at the Waterfront in Homestead right now.But I have made it to the Southside trail threw Sandcastle and on to Point State Park. But the Airport is still a taxi ride away. Check the maps and mileage charts on this and the Great Allegheny web sites it will clarify a lot for you.

Also, the GAP is not paved. There are some spots that are paved. Usually around a town. The GAP itself is a wonderful trail, smooth and well maintained.

Again. Very helpful. Will plan to end at Homestead and make travel arrangements from there. Thank you all!

You can now technically ride direct to the airport using the Montour trail instead of travelling into town. The Montour connects via couple share the road lanes in Mkeesport. I know its not the entire GAP but no need to take a taxi.

Anything new on the Big Slackwater Restoration? No new posts on The Canal Trust site since May 7.

OK folks, wanting to bring a little levity to the board for a couple days maybe..

Disclaimer: most riders will find hard luck stories while out on tour somewhat comical (depending on the circumstances of course), most of us have been there at some point..so suck it up and spill the awful details.

Please chime in with tours you've went on where Murphy's Law totally took over.

Did the weather go from bad to worse? Lightning, tornado or worse.

Did you lose you ID or wallet while riding, not to realize it until much later in the day another 60 miles down the road somewhere..

Did your bike give you huge headaches??

Did you lose your route map while in an unfamiliar area??

Did you get to a point where you just had to cut your losses, abandon ship and discontinue your tour??

OK speed I'll bite. My story isn't really that bad. I ride lot over 1,500/m a season. One of the rides is always a summer run Pgh. to DC. I am notorious for getting lots of flats. I run my tires up to the limit, and ride them hard .Needless to say my ride partners rag the daylights out of me about all the flats. I average one flat per day on The Ride. And 1 flat per week in season. Tires.com loves me.

My worst experience happened before my rear end ever even hit the saddle. I loaded my bike onto my car's rear-mount bike rack and headed off to the trail. When I reached the trail, I found a smoldering mass of melted rubber at the bottom of the rear wheel - the tire had been too close to the car exhaust and literally melted. Luckily there was an open bike shop where they chiseled the melted rubber off of the rim and set me up with a new tire. All was good after that!

Not bad so far..thanks guys.

Along the lines of Ray's post, has anyone used a rear mounted rack system on their car and had their bike fall off while in transit?? Did a strap snap or work its way loose? Did the whole rack collapse off the car? That would be pretty bad karma and possibly not something anyone would want to own up to, but who knows..

Also, in a similar vein, were you using a rear rack system for your bike and in transit to your trail ride got rear-ended and the bike or bikes mounted there were destroyed??

I don't really have any hard luck stories, I have been pretty lucky so far....

Did have one interesting incident at Ohiopyle a couple of years back. My kids and some friends went rafting down the Yough. My wife and I rode from Ohiopyle to Confluence and back. We decided to get a bite to eat at the Ohiopyle House Cafe, out on the deck. I had the bikes on the rack and had moved the van up near the visitors center, in the big gravel parking lot. There is only a half dozen cares or so as it was early evening and most people were gone. So we are eating when an old beat up car pulls into the parking lot with two 20 somethings. They get out and stand around their car and casually look at the cars in the lot. After a short time they get in their car and leave. 15 - 20 minutes later they pull back in right next to our van. They hop out of their car and go right for our bikes, a Gary Fisher and a Specialized. They were strapped in the rack and bungee corded together. They started to yank on the bikes when I jumped up and ran to the railing and yelled at them. This got their attention but really startled the other people eating. It took the other folks a second or two to realize what was going on. The two 20 somethings were trying to figure out where to voice was coming from. Right after I yelled at them, another,much larger gentleman got up, stood beside me and started yelling at them too. The boys finally figured out where the voices were coming from and stared at us for a moment or two and hopped back in their beater and tore out of there.

I really don't know what they were thinking. They couldn't have taken the bike(s) in their car. I guess they could have tried to ride it somewhere but they didn't look like they would have made it too far. Maybe it was just something to do. When we finished eating and went back to the van, you could see their handprints on the rims.

I was pretty upset at the time but just laugh know when I think o

Lost the last sentence. Should read -
I was pretty upset at the time but just laugh now when I think about the look on their faces when they realized there was a small crowd of diners watching them try to steal our bikes.

And it was cars, not cares, in the parking lot.

OK, mine happened this year. I started off in Boston Pa. on the GAP and was doing fine until Rockwood Pa.It started raining hard that night and ended up being 2 inches of rain. I was bragging how I had sprayed the tent with silicone so it shouldnt leak. Leaked awful! Tent was full of rain the next morning. I manged to get everything dried out but because of the weather being only 60 with rain all day in the forecast I stayed at camp in Rockwood. The next day I left with my destination being Cumberland. A mile into the ride I noticed my chain jumping a bit. I thought the derailer might need some adjustment so I guessed I could make it to Cumberland then get it tuned up there. Well, 5 miles into the ride the chain breaks. No extra chain,tools. nothing. So I push the bike back to Rockwood 5 miles. The funny part is I had told people along the trail that as long as I didnt break a spoke or chain I would be fine. Turns out I got it fixed quick at the bike shop along the trail and was back on the road the next day.Not fun when its actually happeninig but when its over it makes for a good story. I was lucky enough to film the whole thing, my expressions, ( I edited the cuss words) all of it. I did make it to Harpers Ferry and would do it all again tomorrow.

Doing a trainer next Sat. and Sun. Pitt. to Ohiopyle and back.76 miles each way. My wife is doing The Ride with me this year and wanted to see how 2 long days felt. She has already done 3 60+days in the past, but isn't real confident in her ability. She will be fine . I'll report.

It looks like you are going to have some great weather for your ride. Can I ask what speed will you average on your trip or how long do you think it will take you to do the 76 miles? Good luck to you and your wife!

just over 6 hrs. saddle time , but less going back to Pgh.

Thanks Lenny. Right around 12mph is what my wife and I average on our normal trail rides. A little faster on paved trails and a little slower on wet, unpaved trails. I think on the C&O we were around 8mph in some spots.

his site wouldnt connect for me the last couple days, but today it opened. My computer or the site???

I apologize, the database on the web server ran out of space. I cleaned it up a few hours ago, and all is back to normal now. Sorry about that. Thanks for coming back!

Happy trails!

I noticed that yesterday too.

Figured it was a 'site maintainence' thing..

Hoping to get a few people to chime in about saddle sore and nerve pain in the crotch area.

Anyone here dealing with this? Anyone found any resolution they wish to share?

I have been doing some icing recently and applying baby powder to keep the skin dry and reduce friction prior to heading out on the limited riding schedule I've opted to go with for now.

I will possibly be looking into a more comfort-oriented seat, although the one I have had been working fine for most of the 2 yrs I've been using it. Do seats lose cushioning ability with time and wear?? Anything anyone wants to add in is appreciated..

Seat. do wear out, but good ones last longer.High quality seats are longer live and more comfortable.What is you gender, seats and liner are gender specific. How about a chamious cream it helps.A nd the more you ride the more desensitized the area becomes.

I'm male and the seat is ergonomically designed for males. It has a cut-out/recess down the center where the major nerves run under the surface of the crotch area.

It seems possible the seat cushioning material has packed-down somewhat, over time and with usage, allowing for less of a cushioning effect and more likelihood of the cushioning material compressing enough to be as though you are sitting directly against the solid frame of the seat.

try readjusting your seat. make saure your back and sitting on the sit bones, it may help. I personally like Brooks Saddles.

Yes, I have adjusted the angle of the nose of the seat down slightly, to some small improvement.

I will see if I can find that seat maker you mentioned. Thanks.

check nashbar.com for Brooks Saddles

Yes seats will wear out over time, especially the all Gel seats. I have had a lot of success with Avenir's "Comfort Saddle" seat on my Mountain Bike. The Comfort Saddle has Springs as well as Gel. I can go 50 miles and don't have any issues at all. It is a very comfortable seat! Avenir did a great job with the overall design.

on my first long ride in a while I experienced numbness and the sensation of vibration for a few days after the ride. . however starting last year I've invested in better quality bike shorts and an anti-friction powder called "Anti Monkey Butt",,between that and a new seat I've felt pretty good on longer trips...

I guess we'll find out in August when I do 88 miles (my longest trip yet)...

Comfort seats tend to cause more pain on long bike trips so I would look at a more conventional touring saddle. The biggest thing is to spend the time adjusting the riding position to find your sweet spot. Even something like adjusting the seat a 1/2 inch forward or backward can make a big difference.

I highly recommend from "personal experience" Avenir's: "Passage Comfort Saddle". Approx. price: $28 to $30. I ride between 30 to 50 miles on my bike outings and have no issues. Great design.

How did the milage grid on this site get West Newton so out of place. Some, unfamiliar with the trail may get screwed up.

Lenny, thank you for pointing that out. Looks like a number was off when the mileage grid got calculated. I have fixed it.
Happy trails!