Whew, that was a long, hard day. The Montour Trail is rife with detours and most are not marked — you actually have to have a detour sheet with you to even hope to get from one part to the next. Fortunately, I did have the sheet, but I still got lost multiple times, AND there was the one detour entry that said: "There is no official detour for this section because the average trail rider would find the roads too challenging." Boy, that one just pissed me off! (excuse the French), and left me hanging. Fortunately, after stumbling around through 35 cul de sacs looking for an out, I found a guy in the same predicament who was heading for DC, and he was getting directions from a couple who were familiar with the trail. We rode together for a while, but he was just starting his tour and only going 35 miles (or actually 55 as both he & I were to find out), and he was already pretty tuckered out with his 65lb load. (I'm carrying 85 with the bike, trailer and all contents).
McKeesport and the Steel City Trail continued the bad signage tradition of the Montour Trail with some signs literally pointing down dead ends. I arrived in McKeesport around 3 PM, just in time for the highest heat of the day. This is the trailhead of the Youghigheny Trail (YT), but again finding that and staying on it were real trials. Thanks to some real helpful local folks who I consulted every time the trail inexplicibly ended or forked, I finally got to the YT head towards Ohiopyle.
This trail was (and is) beautiful; a crushed limestone surface travelling through old-growth forests. The temps dropped about 10 degrees in the woods, and the shade was a welcome relief. I just couldn't make up those extra 20 miles though, and instead of staying in Ohiopyle at one of the many campgrounds, I stayed in the Melody Motel in Connellsville. I tried to bargain with the owner for a "special rate," but she claimed in was the best price in town. I reminded her, as the locals who directed me there told me, that it was the ONLY price in town. "Oh, no," she said, "you can go to Uniontown. It's twice as much there." I pointed out that I was on a bike and Uniontown wasn't an option, but after all this, the price was actually fair, and the bed felt really good after that hard day. That's a major difference between doing this trip being 50 and stupid. At 20 and stupid, I probably wouldn't have had the means to bag the camping and hit a motel. I do. I did. 😉
Month: August 2005 (Page 2 of 2)
8/3/55 McDonald to Connellsville, PA 93 miles
The best laid plans…
fall apart sometimes. I'm 17 miles short of my goal for the day & 18 miles over my original plan: a 35 mile mistake. Ouch, that hurts. Hope that's the last of those.
Anyway, short entry tonight – I'm tired & need to get to sleep.
The B&B I stayed at last night was the North Street Inn, 121 North St., McDonald, 15057. 724-926-2649 – heartily recommended.
more later if I find a library tomorrow.
8/2/05 Lisbon, OH to McDonald, PA 68 miles.
These really hot days cause me to pause often & sometimes too often & too long. I took a long break in E. Liverpool, OH – updated my blog & caught up on e-mail at the library, had brunch at the local coffee shop & pittered away the morning. It was close to 11 before I left there with only 16 miles done, & temps in the high 90s.
Then came the Newell bridge crossing to WV. I am not normally afraid of heights, but when the toll booth guard waved me through to the 'sidewalk,' I offered to pay the 50 cent toll if I could use the roadway. No dice. The walkway hung out to the side of the bridge & consisted of 2x6s of various ages & conditions suspended 80 ft over the water with rusting strap irons. I was truly expecting Jake & BOB to crash through & actually planned which girders I could grab if that
happened. I thought it might be safest to ride over the joists, but there were too many nails sticking up. I obviously survived, & maybe it wasn't that bad, but I sure was nervous.
Meandering along the Ohio river was nice – very pastoral.
I stopped again in Weirton & finally was headed to PA by 6. I made it to McDonald just at sunset & asked around for a camp or motel. "None," was the answer, "but there is a new B&B in town right up there (pointing) & I think Tim the owner is there." I climbed up the hill & rang the bell, but there wasn't any answer, so I called the # on the sign & that worked.
Tim is retired military, originally from Lock Haven, but now lives in DC area. This B&B is their retirement place & he was only here on a non-weekend because someone else had booked for tonight. The house has been carefully restored & is really luxurious. A nice find.
Tomorrow I start riding the Allegheny trail – no more trucks or cars – except for a few detours – between here & DC.
Aug. 1, 2005 Wellington, OH (Findley State Park) to Lisbon, OH 96 miles
This morning was the kind of morning I love for cycling. Crisp air, 70 degrees, clear skies, and bright, but not burning, sunshine. Leaving the state park, I headed south and east and immediately noticed that things were not flat anymore. The hills weren't too bad and there was still a lot of flat. I got lost in one section and flagged down a truck only to find it was the county maintenance man. He pointed out where I was and pulled out his map to show me how to go. He headed off and I turned around to head in his direction to the intersection I had passed a half mile earlier. When I got there, he was waiting to tell me that the intersection I was heading for wasn't an intersection but an underpass and that I couldn't get on the highway from there. We straightened out the directions and again parted ways. How nice of him to wait for me, though.
Anyway, I got where I was going and stumbled on a bike trail that wasn't exactly on my route, but it was so hot and hilly that I opted for heading directly south to Massillon on the trail. It was a beautiful tree lined old canal towpath — flat and shady. I stopped in Massillon for a bite and then headed east to Canton and my original route. This was a thrill-filled ride — the kinds of thrills one could do without — potholes and rush hour traffic. Once I got through Canton, the hills of eastern Ohio that I had been warned about showed up. Up one hill, down another, then up again. And again. And again.
What kept me going, though, was a call from Sandy Dimento, a friend from the Lake Glendale sailing club who lives in Pittsburgh, that she wanted to drive over to Lisbon to meet me for dinner. After some misdirections and bad cell phone connections, we finally got together about 8:30 and had a quick but nice dinner and Sandy hit the road back to Pgh. While it was a short visit, it still was a nice surprise and a good boost on a day when my spirits were flagging. AND, I made 20 more miles than I had planned.
At the start of day 45, the temps are already in the 90s at 11AM and it's really humid. I've been putzing my way to East Liverpool, OH and am just about to get on the road to Weirton/Steubenville, and more hills as I make my way to McDonald, PA. There, finally, I'll be on the Great Allegheny passage rail trail. That, at least, will be mostly flat except for one known detour with a killer climb that will hopefully be my last of this trip. Guess I'd better get on my way.