Act III: A century in fourteen hours May 15, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Travel, Friends, Cycling , 2 commentsUpdate: The trip will be told in four acts instead of three.
The cell phones chimed at 6 o’clock. We gave ourselves fifteen minutes to collect our thoughts, change into our fresh & clean bike outfits (remember, we had the chance to use our hotel’s washing machine the night before), eat a couple granola bars and head out the door.
We could still see our breath. With our bodies feeling a bit more stiff than the day before, the sun couldn’t come up soon enough. Before we headed out officially, Walt bought some nice brown gardening gloves for the ride. At $2.50, they were probably one of the best investments he made the whole weekend.
I don’t know if it was early morning fatigue, but my muscles did not want to work. It probably also had to do with the fact that my body was still sending round the clock complaints to my brain about its lack of preparation. Trying to distract yourself from those only lasts you so long.
At the end of the WMRT - only about 10 miles from our hotel - we jumped on the road again. We planned to travel on the road until we hit the Paw Paw tunnel, which was a good 15 miles from our present position. Again, we thought that by traveling on some asphalt, we could make up for some lost time. Plus, we really enjoyed the Maryland countryside the day before.
We veered off the road, and of course, were met with a steep grade that carried us up one of the many hills we hit that day. The next few hours felt like a rollercoaster. Half of the time, we were on our feet, walking our bikes up unfinished roadways, trying not to swallow the gnats buzzing around our heads. The other half of the time, we were in tuck position trying to break our record of 35 mph as we blazed past Maryland wilderness.
Those first few hours were thoroughly exhausting. We did not plan on climbing such high hills. Eventually, we had come to the road that would carry us back to the C&O. Because of the ill marked roads, we weren’t sure if the dirt path that we were on was the right one or not. We wanted Sportsman Club Road, but we had no way of truly identifying it. It seemed more like a long private driveway than anything.
The road was a nice change of pace, because it gave us a chance to do some quassi mountain biking. Near the bottom, we coasted through a stream as we tried to find a way back to the trail. Eventually, we found a path marked by a couple of deep treads left by a truck of some sort. Instead of tracing these treads with my wheels, I hit them at a perpendicular angle. My front tire sank into the divot, and I was instantly thrown over the handlebars into the weeds. The first spill of the trip.
The last 30 miles of the C&O now lay ahead of us. Again, the sun and weather were glorious and we were making fairly good time. The Paw Paw tunnel was a fun tunnel to trek. It was 3100 feet long and dated before the Civil War. It was completely dark inside, and you could hear the water seeping through the cracks and echoing off its walls. Pretty creepy. Thankfully, we had brought our headlamps.
Around 3-4 PM on Monday the 24th, we finally completed the C&O Canal! We pulled into the visiting center in Cumberland, MD and talked to the man behind the desk about the next trail - the Great Allegheny Passage.
He taught us the route, but he also directed us to a bike shop in the area for some more information. So before heading over to the shop, we checked the weather at the library. The next day looked bad. The forecast called for a wet and chilly evening.
Arriving at the bike shop around 5:00, we hoped to hit our original goal of Meyersdale, PA, which was still another 30 miles. However, this leg would take us over Mount Savage which would be by far the steepest climb of the trip. We would have to climb about 2000 feet over 15 miles. The other 15 miles would be downhill. After talking to the bike shop owner, a customer was willing to take us to the foot of Mount Savage. It required going down alternate route 40, which was known by the locals as “the narrows”. It’s basically a quarter mile of highway with no shoulder. It actually wasn’t too bad.
The next road took us up the mountain. It was route 36. It paralleled the trail that was currently unfinished. Before we started the climb, we stopped at a Gabriel brother’s (a clothes consignment store) and bought some warm-up pants for the next day. We didn’t bring any pants for the trip 
The first seven miles of the climb were on the road. It was nice because the shoulder was very wide. We didn’t have to worry about a mac truck smacking us from behind. And when we arrived at the trailhead in Woodcock hollow, we were relieved to see that the trail was the chipped limestone that we were familiar with back in Pittsburgh - much better than the dirt/gravel of the C&O.
A couple of the vistas along the trail were quite beautiful. We finally crested the mountain about 30 minutes before sunset. From this point, we still had another 15 miles to go before Meyersdale. We had already scored a room for the night. $40/night for a two bedroom room. I love these small towns!
Around 9:00, we pulled into our hotel. We finally did it! We met our original plan of 100 miles. The place we stayed at was a family owned diner/motel, with eight rooms in all. This was when my body starting feeling the effects. Walking the steps up to our room proved be a painful exercise. And a slow one at that.
The kitchen was open only till 9, so we jumped in quickly and bought some delicious chicken fingers and fries. The meal was topped with grandma’s blueberry pie. The aches and groans grew more acute and vibrant as the next couple hours went on. We planned to get up at 8 and finish the last hundred miles of trail. A storm was approaching from the west, and without doubt, we knew that at some point, we were going to get dumped on. It was supposed to dip into the low 40’s by tomorrow evening.
We set our alarm for 7:30, and planned to eat shmagels and shmuffins at the nearby Sheetz for breakfast. Healthy, isn’t it? One more day till home.
DG National Conference May 11, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Christianity, Travel , add a commentThis year’s Desiring God conference looks like it will have a good line of speakers on an interesting topic - the Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World. Speakers include John Piper, Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, Mark Driscoll & a couple others that I’m unfamiliar with. I think I might try to go. Minneapolis isn’t too far away. Here’s a trailer [23 MB Quiktime] that piqued my interest.
Get in touch with your J-side May 10, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Software , 1 comment so far
Lately, I’ve been loving Google’s newest offering, Google Calendar. Scheduling has always been the bane of my existence. Hopefully this new software will help me out in the weeks to come. Some of the features I like most are the ability to overlay other people’s calendars with yours, and the reminder for events via text messaging. As most of Google’s software, the interface is very simple and intuitive.
And I’m currently maintaining a calendar for the Open Door (my church in Pittsburgh). So anyone can search for this calendar and overlay it on top of theirs. It will let you know the skinny on everything.
Oh yeah…your J-side.
Act II: The road less traveled May 9, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Travel, Friends, Cycling , 7 commentsThe morning felt like hell. Not so much our bodies - at least, not yet - but our room. We both woke up to that heavy, dry air that drains the moisture out of your mouth pretty quick. The night before, we turned the furnace up to eleven and tried to dry out our mud soaked outfits for the next day. (Unfortunately, any pictures of our mud soaked persons are presently stored on my roommate’s phone who’s in Guam for the next couple weeks. So sorry, I don’t have much evidence). Thankfully, the clothes dried. They were smelly and dirty, but dry.
We woke up around 9, I want to say. Continental breakfast was downstairs, and it was wonderful. Between the two of us, I think we ate five waffles (the big ones), six yogurts, had more than half a gallon of orange juice, a bowl of cereal, and a little bit of coffee. During the meal, we caught up with other bikers who were traveling the opposite way. They prepared us for the rest of the trail, outlining some of the better parts. One of them was the WMRT (Western Maryland Rails-to-Trails). It’s a nice 20 mile stretch that parallels the C&O. A good place to make up for lost time.
By the time we cleaned up our room, checked out, and talked about WWII with a visiting veteran, it was 11 o’clock. By no means were we planning to start so late. To counter our late start and the previous day’s shortfall, we planned to take a posted detour through Antietam. By biking on pavement on a more direct route, we hoped to make up for some lost time. The Antietam trail was only about seven miles from where we were at Harper’s Ferry.
After biking for the last seventy odd miles on a trail, it felt great to get on the road, even though we were met with some hills. (Actually, every time we veered from the C&O, you could almost guarantee some large hill of some sort). But it was a beautiful day - in the 70’s with very little humidity. The battlefields were pretty. It was interesting to see just large rocks lying everywhere around Maryland country. Quite different than Western PA.
After having a lunch consisting of beef jerky and gatorade, we continued on our road quest to make up time. After a couple hours, we hit a town general store in Clear Spring, MD. It was an oasis. Unfortunately, it was closed. But, it did have an outdoor spigot that was on. We washed off our bikes and filled our bottles to the brim. Plus, they had a couple of soda vending machines for 50 cents a pop!
We continued on the roads. We really enjoyed the countrysides and farms of Maryland. The people were pretty friendly. If I remember correctly, we hit the WMRT from the road. Now that we didn’t have to worry about cars and shifts of elevation, we kept a pretty constant speed of 17-19 mph.
Around 4:30, we arrived in Hancock, MD. The town sat almost a 125 miles into the trail. Originally, we had hoped to be in this town early that morning. Now, we faced a dilemma.
The next town on our maps with a marked hotel was Cumberland, MD, which was another 60 miles away (on trail). We knew we couldn’t make that before sundown. A couple towns were between that, but we had no idea if they had any lodging. So, we tried to do a mad dash of research while we slammed some quik stop hoagies down our gullets.
After pulling out all the stops, we came up with nothing. Google SMS, townies, and park rangers didn’t give us any hope of finding anything between Hancock and Cumberland. It was a disappoinment, because we felt great and the weather was perfect. We almost chanced it a couple times, but decided to spend the night in Hancock. Only 60 miles of trail that day felt pretty weak. We had hoped to have completed 200 total by our original plans!
Finding a place was pretty easy. We stayed at a dive that bordered the trail. Walt’s a good barginer. The innkeeper quoted us originally $60 for two bedrooms that shared a bathroom. Not bad, right? Walt talked him down for $45, and we got to use his laundry facilities for our clothes. We ate our second dinner at the Park n’Dine across the street. Reminiscent of Eat n’Park? And it felt like Thanksgiving - ham, turkey, mashed potatoes & stuffing. We felt pretty gross walking home
Before we went to sleep, we planned to wake up at 6, hoping to be on the trail at 6:30. We really wanted to make up for lost time. We planned on doing a century, which included the perilous climb up Mt. Savage. It would take us to Meyersdale, PA, which was still 100 miles from McKeesport, our goal.
At 10, we lay down and let the tryptophan do its work.
The trip (in 3 acts) May 7, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Travel, Friends, Cycling , 2 commentsAct I: Bikes, trains and automobiles
Up until the last minute, we weren’t sure whether the trip would go down or not. Everything was packed. My friend lent me his saddle bags that hung at the rear of my bike. Our pack was reasonably light and economical. We each carried one outfit to ride in, one outfit for post-ride, an extra water bottle, a spare inner tube, a headlight, some maps, a cell phone, wallet and keys. Between the two of us, we shared a pump, a few wrenches and some carb food. The one vanity item we each carried was a pair of sandals.
Around 5 AM Saturday morning, we woke up in Pittsburgh and checked the weather around DC. At one point in the day, it reported a 100% chance of significant precipitation. (As a sidenote, I didn’t think they reported 100% chances of anything. Doesn’t that back them into a corner?) Whatever the case, it almost stopped us in our tracks. But we both knew that unless weather.com reported a hurricane converging with three tornados from the west, we had to do it. Our minds were ready. Our bodies were maybe only half there. The next time we could attempt this trip was another two months away.
The drive down proved a little discouraging. With the rain continually pouding on the roof of our car, we second guessed our decision more than a few times. But the farther away we were away from Pittsburgh, the more committed we were to the trip.
Still raining as we arrived at the Shady Grove metro station in Rockville, MD around 11. Hugs & waves were exchanged as we left our driver, Bethany. We bought our metro pass and climbed on board the train with our bikes. A little over an hour later, we were at the capitol steps, ready to start our trip. And surprisingily, it stopped raining!
Before we took off, we prayed. We thanked God for the opportunity, and asked for health, wits and endurance. It was difficult battling the heavy sentimental undertones of praying on the capitol steps. But, it seemed as good as a place as any.
Our spirits were pretty high. It stopped raining and we were biking in the nation’s capitol. We eventually maneuvered into Georgetown and found the head of the trail. After taking the necessary photos, we started our first mile on the brick path. Within the first few miles, we found ourselves in for a rude awakening. The C & O canal was not the chipped limestone path that we knew (and later became very fond) of in Pittsburgh. No, it was more gravel and dirt. But because of the recent rains, the dirt turned to mud. This was one of the first of many things that we did not plan for. The mud slowed us down considerably. We hoped to bike at a constant 14 mph. But, we were lucky if we could maintain 11/12. And this required a good bit of energy from us.
Needless to say, the ground we covered over the first several hours was drastically under our plans. Not only were we slower than hoped, but we also had to stop more because of our exhaustion. About halfway into it, the clouds opened up and it literally dumped on us. At a couple points, it was hilarious. We were laughing pretty loud. Deep into Maryland, almost three hundred miles from home, it was pouring buckets on our heads.
We had hoped to do a 100 miles of trail that day. With only about 40 under our belts, we probably only had another few hours of sunlight. We couldn’t hit our target of Williamsport, MD. So, our night’s stay would be at Harper’s Ferry. We dialed the Comfort Inn and made a reservation for two.
The next few hours, the temperature dropped somewhat considerably. We could see our breath now, and we were wet and much more tired than anticipated. Actually, at some points, our motor control started to slip. Opening up zippers was a concerted effort. Around 8:30, it was fairly dark and we had a few more miles to go. The trail was lit by moonlight, which made preparing your body for the puddles all the more difficult.
We finally arrived in Harper’s Ferry around 9 PM. It was about 65 miles into the trail. Harper’s Ferry sat like a small Pittsburgh, nestled at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenedoah. We crossed the pedestrian bridge, and entered the skirts of town. It was a quaint town with buildings dating around the 1800’s. Very quiet & beautiful.
After finding some directions to the Comfort Inn from a townie, we climbed a very steep hill (walking with our bikes) hoping that there was still a place to chow down somewhere. Other than eggs at 6, a shoagie (Sheetz hoagie) at 10 AM, we hadn’t had a considerable meal for quite some time. Our stomachs consisted mainly of trail mix and granola bars.
To our delight, one Italian place was still open. We passed it as we were walking up the hill. I entered, fully caked in mud. Not wanting to dump half of the C&O on the pizzeria’s floor, I stood at the entrance and talked to the two people behind the counter. I think they thought I was the Swamp Thing. They said that the kitchen was open for another 45 minutes. Plus, they deliver!
So, I exited and we quickly jumped on our bikes and raced to find the Comfort Inn. It was about another half mile down the road. Walt, because he was the other swamp thing, cleaned off in a puddle and changed his shirt before he walked into the lobby. He retrieved the keys. And not wanting to walk through the lobby and dump the other half of the C&O on their carpet, we walked to the side of the motel and entered through there. We threw the saddle bags on the bathroom floor, and I took one of the most amazing showers of my life. It felt so good. In the meantime, we ordered a large pizza, hoagie and fries. We cranked the heat, laid out all our mud soaked clothing, and ate to our hearts’ content.
After popping some Ibprofen, we called it a night. Wanting some extra sleep, we weren’t determined to get up at any specific time. We paid for it the next day….