Day 6

Everybody made it! The last day was 60 miles from Brunswick through Georgetown to the Lincoln Memorial. We passed through Great Falls, which is a lovely and popular spot.

Everyone converged on the Lincoln Memorial in good spirits and I think were all happy to have put in the effort. We raised a good amount of money for NEALS and I hope there will be enthusiasm for doing this or another ride again in two years. Thanks to the Bike the US for MS group for all of the logistics and help throughout the ride. Thanks also to all the folks who donated to the riders.

Day 5

Today we biked 70 miles along the Potomac River from Hancock to Brunswick. We detoured off the canal path to visit Antietem, the site of the bloodiest single day battle in the Civil War. The confederate troops, led by General Lee, were driving south to Washington. Over 23,000 troops died in one day. The union forces stopped the advance, which led to the emancipation proclamation five days later.

The ride was beautiful and very pleasant even though we biked through a torrential rainstorm in the afternoon. This is the last night of church sleeping.

Day 4

Today we left the great Allegheny passage and started our trip down the C&O canal. The trail is much more rocky and irregular so it’s somewhat slower going. However, it continues to be incredibly beautiful. We went through the Paw Paw tunnel, which is nearly a mile long, with a narrow tow path and the canal running through it. It was very eerie to stand in the center and be in complete blackness.

Tonight we are in a church with a cemetery in the back; the priest seems fine with the idea of camping, so my tent is among the headstones. Of course, as soon as I put up the tent, it started to rain.

Day 3

Today we rode about 45 miles. The first 20 were slightly uphill until the eastern continental divide. Water west of the divide flows down to the Gulf of Mexico while water to the east of the divide flows to the Chesapeake Bay. A couple of miles later we passed the different kind of divide, the Mason-Dixon line. Although it is commonly thought of as part of the dividing line between the north and south during the Civil War, it actually predated the Civil War by 100 years and was originally drawn to separate Maryland from Pennsylvania to satisfy two rich British land owners.

After passing the divide, we had a gentle downhill for the next 25 miles until the town of Cumberland, where the great Allegheny passage ends and the CNO Canal begins. Although it was somewhat misty, the riding was beautiful and not terribly taxing.

For those of you reading this who have donated to NEALS through this ride, thank you. If you have not donated, I guess now is a good time to encourage you to support this worthy cause

Day 2

Day two.

Today we rode slightly uphill for 47 miles. It followed the same river as yesterday which I still can’t pronounce. The path was beautiful and beginning to show the colors of fall. It seems that riders on this trail provide the major economic stimulus for most of the small towns in the area. Small art galleries, tons of ice cream shops, lunch and breakfast spots all dot the trail, but if you ride any distance into town, it doesn’t seem like there is anything else.

This evening, we ate a local bar with an amazingly good singer. I think we were the only patrons. Everyone in the group handled the second day of riding well. Only downside of today was that we are staying in a church that does not have an outside water spigot so there was no option for showers. Oh well, we are all friends.

Day 1

Today is day one for our NEALS 30th anniversary bike ride. We ended up as a group of 12. 10 of us are affiliated with NEALS and two are friends who want to help. Most have done some bike riding, but none have done multi day trips like this one.

The first day was beautiful. We left Pittsburgh, passing multiple remnants of its industrial past. After about 20 miles the path followed the Youghiogheny River (quite a mouthful) to Connellsville, a total ride of about 60 miles. We are staying tonight in a church; the pastor and church volunteers have been very hospitable, cooking us dinner and generally being incredibly gracious. I think everyone survived the ride in good fashion.

There was a particularly poignant memorial a few miles from Connellsville. In 1907 there was a mind disaster killing 239 minors. Not too surprisingly I guess, that put only a minor crimp in operations and the mine operated until 1951.

Tomorrow is a somewhat shorter ride to Rockwood.

On the road again!

This time, a shorter ride from Pittsburgh to DC, raising money for
the Network of Excellence in ALS (NEALS). Colleagues and friends are joining me on
this 6 day ride along the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal. Please follow
along as we start on September 18; it should be a great adventure.

An unfortunate update

Hello all. It’s been several days since I last made an entry. My ride has come to a somewhat ignominious end as I started having severe left-sided flank pain last Sunday night, which ended up being a kidney stone. It is being pretty stubborn and I really can’t ride with it.

I am pretty disappointed; the ride has been spectacularly beautiful and the riding group has been great to hang around with. Oh well, I ended up riding almost 1900 miles which is not nothing. I don’t know whether I’ll do another long ride like this again, but I will certainly be doing other bicycle journeys.

Thanks to all who have been reading this, and to those who have contributed to the MS effort.

Day 27 and 28

August 3rd and 4th

Yesterday we had a more moderate ride, 58 miles to Cedar city. We are now in Western Utah, which is much more high desert than dramatic rock formations. We did have one significant climb with a 22 mile screaming descent following it. We have one more day in Utah until we transition to Nevada.

Today is a rest day, and I am performing that task admirably.

Day 25 and 26

August 1 &2

Yesterday and today were among the toughest but most beautiful rides I’ve experienced. Every day in Utah has featured geography that seems to change every 10 miles. Yesterday was the most climbing I’ve ever done; 6700 feet in 83 miles. We biked through Capital Reef national Park, which I’ve never visited previously. Beautiful rock formations, and petroglyphs that seem to be everywhere. Today we biked towards Bryce Canyon; we didn’t actually enter the park but saw many spectacular rock formations that were similar to those in Bryce.