C&O / GAP Forum

Am planning a thru trip from Pittsburg to DC in Oct. Wanting to catch the fall colors, as I'm from CA and haven't been blessed with such beauty. Whens the best time and what will the trail conditions be like? Thank you on advance!-

The timing and the amount of color you will see are influenced by the amount of rain, etc during the Summer. I think October is a good time but there can be quite a bit of difference between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. I would suggest you Google some sort of "leaf peeper" type of website. We have used the Farmer's Almanac site and their "peak fall foliage" section. Also look at each state's Dept. of Forestry site.

If you hit it right you are in for one BEAUTIFUL trip! We have been fortunate enough to see some breath taking colors in the trees. Make sure you have fully charged batteries in your camera!

Predicting the timing of peak fall leaf season can be as tricky as predicting the cherry blossoms in DC. However, colors should be good from mid to late October

Thank you for your suggestions! Have decided to leave Pittsburg the 15th of Oct ride 50-60 mi a day and enjoy the sights. Looking forward to October!!

Another factor as far as leave color is the precipitation we get through the Summer. So if it becomes dry, the foliage will be dull and the leaves will drop earlier. Sometimes the leaves will just drop because the trees are stressed.
If you roll the dice, Mid-October is perhaps you're best shot, but it can vary +/- by 2 weeks.
I'll check some of the dates on some of my photographs and see if I can help you pinpoint a date.

I went through last year starting October 8 and the trees between Pittsburgh and Cumberland were just starting to turn so I was just a bit early. Between Cumberland and Washington you wouldn't even know it was fall if the temperature wasn't so agreeable. Late October is going to be the best time, I think, but that's because I really don't like the heat.

I agree, mod-October should be lovely--it was beautiful last year, although raining.

One thing to be aware of is that services may start shutting down after Columbus Day, whenever that hits. When we were in Ohiopyle, there were like 3 bike shops open on the Saturday when we needed a new tire. On the following Monday, there was an issue with another bike, and we found that everyplace was "closed for the season."

Amtrack announced they would have new baggage cars equipped with bike racks in service by the end of this year!

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Amtrak to welcome bicycling passengers by end of the year

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/06/25/Amtrak-to-welcome-bicycling-passengers-by-end-of-the-year/stories/201406250033#ixzz35epcUccz

Towpath reroute in effect just below Dam #5, Mile Marker 106. Maintenance Staff are heading there immediately to stabilize and start work. Please be aware that with the heavy rain this week, there may be hazards on the towpath. We will update you as more information becomes available.

It sounds like this will be a big project. There was actually a breach in a section of the canal in this area. Plan accordingly.

Heavy rains last week washed 2 or 3 sections but they have been repaired enough to ride thru. I road all the way from Pittsburgh to Georgetown this week with no problems.

Glad to hear they have it fixed already. From the photos I had seen it looked pretty bad. Kudos to the Maint Crew and Rangers for their quick response in making the repair.

What's more important for riding on the C&O trail -- tires with treads or fenders? I've been running Vittoria Rando Hyper 32s on my bike and they clear my fenders fine but have no treads. However, I felt more tread was important for the C&O, so picked up some Clement LAS 33s, but they are much wider than billed (36 mm) and won't clear my fenders, not even close. My fenders are 45mm Planet Bike Cascadias, but I also tried some SKS Raceblade 45s and they didn't fit either. So if you had to choose one tire or the other, which would you use, knowing that you could use fenders with Clements.

BTW, we aren't planning to leave on our trip until June 15, riding from Pittsburgh to DC, so hopefully the trail will dry out by then.

If its dry you wont miss fenders. If it rains you will wish you had them on the C&O. I didnt have them and it rained. The bike got pretty muddy but I managed ok.I have fenders for the next time.

If it rains and you on the C&O it doesnt matter if you have fenders or not, you will be covered with mud.I've gone both ways and fenders are a waste of weight and trouble.

I might just pick up some inexpensive clip-on fenders, in case it rains. They only cost about $20, so it's no big loss if they don't work as well as regular fenders.

I had rain all three days on the C&O. Your bike will get muddy, your stuff will get muddy, but the important thing with fenders is you won't get muddy. You'll just be soaked.

Even on the C&O you won't need treads. There's nothing loose enough that treads will make a difference. If it does rain be very careful after passing through the Paw Paw tunnel. The other side is bare rock and slippy as ice when it's wet.

Just to add my two cents, on our last trip we were held up by an early morning rain storm. That day we had to stop and clean our cassettes because they were so packed with mud the chain started skipping! It is funny, when we start out each day, dry and clean, we try to miss all of the mud puddles but after a short time you end up hitting one or two. After that you miss what you can but just go through the rest...lol.

Gear is always a very subjective topic whether its hiking,biking,rock climbing, etc. Nobody is totally right or wrong.Just take in the info and decide for yourself. Its all good.

Just finished the GAP Monday, I'm glad I had fenders and tread. The fenders more so. Personal opinion. Good luck.

Tom - we're heading to Cumberland Tuesday (the 17th) to begin the Towpath to DC on Wednesday. 5 guys - first time on the Path. Wave as you ride by!

Dave - I'll be looking for you. There are 3 of us from Raleigh, all riding touring bikes with rear panniers. We are taking the Amtrak from DC to Pittsburgh, and leaving there on Sunday 6/15. We are planning to stay in Cumberland on Tuesday night as well, at the Inn on Decatur, and heading to Hancock on Wednesday.

We'd be very interested in your GAP experience. We were going to start there but couldn't work out the logistics. We're at the Fairfield Inn Tuesday night. Based on the Hancock stay I'm guessing you're going to finish Saturday. Have a great ride. If you get slowed down look for us at Bill's Place Wednesday night. My junk email is devojr at gmail dot com if you want to communicate off this forum.

Some boy scouts are riding from White's Ferry to Brunswick June 21. Any advice is appreciated.

Well, I ended up using Panaracer Pasela PT 32s on my bike, and they worked just fine. They easily cleared my fenders, and I was glad my bike had them. We had nice weather all week with only one rainfall of any significance, but there was a lot of residual mud puddles from heavy rains the previous week. Wider, knobbier tires would have been better if they fit my bike with fenders, but that wasn't the case. So the Paselas were a reasonable compromise.

Does anyone have any experience using greyhound on the C&O? My girlfriend and I plan on going July 4 weekend. She is a relatively inexperienced rider and I would like the option to get back to DC without needing to make an emergency call. Looking through google maps most of the large towns along the route have a greyhound stop and their website says they allow bikes if disassembled and packed.

There will be resurfacing on the GAP this week. Please watch for heavy vehicles.

Anyone heading from DC to Cumberland on Tuesday, June 17th, that might have room for one rider and a bike? We're have logistical issues getting one of our members to our starting spot.

Not only are we a pizza shop that offers delicious handmade dough, subs, salads, specialty coffees and homemade goodies but we also offer unique entertainment in I our historic Opera House.

I ate there last week. One of the best Pizzas I have ever had. Love that place. My favorite on the entire GAP/TOWPATH.

Sounds like a commercial. :)

Rockwood mill shoppes has amazing pizza and let's be frank their baked goods are unresistable. Stop in when riding through on the GAP. They also have a Hostel so no need to camp or try to make it those extra couple miles. Only $25 a night.

I am thinking about taking Amtrak to Cumberland and scheduled to arrive mid morning on a Thursday How far can a reasonably fit person get on the by the end of Friday assuming an overnight stay somewhere on Thursday night? Is it all down hill? Will be renting equipment. Where ever I land my son will come meet me on Saturday and we will be on toward Georgetown where he lives. Or is there an Amtrak station closer to Georgetown??

Assuming 60 or so miles per day, Harpers Ferry, which has a RR Station.

Cumberland to Harpers Ferry took me two full days with a stop in Hancock for the night, 60-65 miles a day as Lenny says. Coming from Indiana - I'm guessing on the Capitol Limited - you get to Pittsburgh around 5AM (which is where I started), but by the time you get to Cumberland you'll really need to hoof it to get 65 miles and still have any light on your first day.

I hope you realize you can't take a regular bike to Cumberland via Amtrak since it doesn't have baggage service. A folding bike will work.

If you can surmount this obstacle, you might check whether there are still overnight accommodations in Paw Paw. Unless the train is grossly late, you should be able to make it that far.

Consider DRIVING your bike and equipment to Cumberland, then driving back to DC, leaving your car at the airport, taking the subway to Union Station, and then taking the train to Cumberland. I did this, only just went as far as Harper's Ferry, spent day/night there, then rode back to DC/the airport over a three day period, stopping along the way, camping on the C&O. As to how much you can travel each day, a loaded bike is a LOT slower than a casual weekend ride, and the bike trail west of Great Falls gets more and more rough, and 20 miles west of Georgetown is overgrown with roots, grass, rutted. I did well making thirty miles a day.

C&o bicycle offers a shuttle service. that i have used several times. Prices are very reasonable.They will take and pick you up any where along the trail.It is well worth it.

C&O BICYCLE SHOP 9 PENNSYLVANIA AVE HANCOCK MD
1 301 678 6665

Meeting Jay Boyle of Toms River N.J.tomorrow am at the Point. He is riding to DC. I agreed to ride 2 days with him to Cumberland as I must be back at work on Monday. I have never met the man but got to know of his plan threw this site and an entry he made last January. What a great tool we have here. I you are out this weekend say hello.

If Amtrak would move into the 21 st century and start roll on service the program would soar. Not to mention make life a lot easier for bikers.

And Amtrak has successfully offered roll-on bike service for many years in Missouri, along the Katy Trail: http://www.bikekatytrail.com/amtrak-katy-trail.aspx

It's frustrating that the Amtrak bureaucracy won't make the effort to offer such a simple, customer-demanded service along the C&O as well.

Unfortuantely AMTRAK is contrained by Budget cuts. Their emphasis and investment is on high speed rail, especially in the NorthEast Corridor.

To quote Donald Rumsfeld 'Amtrak roll on service is not going nowhere.'
http://www.vabike.org/one-step-closer-to-roll-on-service/

Donald Rumsfeld is the last person I would ever quote. He was incompetent as the Sec. of Defense. Light armored Humvees, Light armored Strykers, Armored Vest that were defective. I could go on and on.....

http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/amtrak-bicycle-task-force-bringing-bikes-on-board/

Today we are featuring a guest post by Deborah Stone-Wulf, Amtrak's Chief of Sales Distribution and Customer Service. She manages all of Amtrak's distribution channels including Amtrak.com, mobile applications, the Quik-Trak kiosks and Amtrak's Contact Centers. Deborah also sets and implements the strategy for each of Amtrak's distribution channels as well as their intermodal distribution strategy. She is a co-chair of the Amtrak Bicycle Task Force, along with our Travel Initiatives director, Ginny, and is an essential partner in the initiative to expand accommodations for bicycles on Amtrak.

I am very excited to be working with Adventure Cycling and the other representatives of the bicycling community on the Amtrak Bike Task force. I believe the partnership we have created will lead to some very exciting developments in Amtrak’s ability to expand the level of service available to the bicycling community.

What many outside of Amtrak don’t know is that we have been working on this issue for quite some time. We understand and appreciate the synergies between rail and bike travel, and continue to work hard to better serve the bicycling community. We, however, have many challenges, primarily with our core infrastructure. Among the key issues are finding space for bicycles on our trains and developing the ability to safely and efficiently load and unload bicycles. Much of Amtrak’s fleet is quite old with many cars more than 40 years old and bikes were not a consideration during the original design. The good news here is new equipment for long distance trains is on the way, featuring design elements that will help on this front. That still won’t help with our station platforms, however, which are of varying heights and present an obstacle for loading and unloading bicycles. The challenge to identify space on the train where bikes can be safely loaded, s

I'm doing pitts. to DC. Are car safe to be left at the pump house for a week??.. Is there any lone term parking around?? 8