Day 76 Baltimore, MD 54 miles and DONE!!!!

The weather forecast was not looking so good for the day, but we could handle it because it was our last day. The day started off overcast, and we had our rain gear ready, just incase. The first half of the day we had some light rain showers, and stopped at a pizza place on the side of the road. We demolished a large calzone and Stromboli. we crossed our fingers that we had no major climbs after lunch, or else it might end up on the side of the road. No major climbs, but it poured the entire last 1/2 of the day... Not a light drizzle... Down Poured! We had to think optimistically, and decided it wasn't soo horrible due to the 60+ temperature :) Sally got a flat on her rear tire 10 miles form our end point... Damn! Kayleen took a spill (Sally said it looked like a ballerina-acrobat move) onto the side walk about5 miles from the end, and after that Sally and Kayleen almost got hit by a car, Kayleen's trailer got a little bump... Crisis averted. We made it to Kearston's house soaking wet.... But we where DONE! 4,268 miles under our belts, no lets turn around and go back... Yeah Right!

Sally ready for the last day of riding

Kayleen is going to be happy to be done

Matt looking forward to a real kitchen

and the rains continued with a heavy downpour all the way to K's

Day 75 Frederick, MD 53 miles

Rode the first 10 miles of the day on the Western Maryland Rail trail. It was 10 miles of paved bliss... Ahhh. Matt and Sally continued on to the C&O trail, and Kayleen road the last 15 miles on the road to Williamsport. We all met back up at thedesert rose and had lunch. There was a group of 40 some riders behind us, so we ate lunch and got out as soon as they started to filter in. The rest of the day was on the roads, and we had some pretty good climbs. At one point we hit a trailhead for the Appalachia trail. We rode mostly on the US 40 into Frederick, it was a fairly busy road, but it was Sunday and there was no Semi traffic. We got to the hotel early, dropped off our stuff and wandered around Frederick. Matt and Kayleen walked down to the brewpub and had dinner and some beverages :) 

Dam 5 on the Potomac, C&O Canal

theand

C&O Tow Path

Appalachian Trail

Day 74, 63 miles to Hancock PA

With Matt's new tire, we hit the C&O trail. The C&O trail wasn't as well maintained as the previous trails! It was pretty bumpy,  had lots of tree roots, and a small two lane trail with a big grassy patch in the middle. The day started out very cold, so we stopped a few miles into the ride to sit in the sun to warm up. Shortly after our break we stopped in Paw Paw and warmed up with 2nd breakfast, where we ran into our bunk buddies again! Our waitress gave us a tip, to not ride our bikes through the tunnel coming up, and boy was she right. The tunnel had no lighting, ground was uneven and it was 3/4 mile long. Riding through that tunnel would have been suicide! The last 10 miles of the day were on the paved Western Maryland rail trail, and boy our butts sure appreciated it. We got into Hancock around 4, found a cheap hotel that had breakfast, and hit up subway for dinner. 

Cold and Frosty start on the C&O Tow Path

Lock House

Paw Paw Tunnel C&O Canal Tow Path

Red Neck Heaven ...I swear I can hear banjo's

Day 73, another full trail day, 63 miles to Cumberland MD

Tom lasted all night on the porch, what a trooper! Once our caffeine and food fix was met, we all packed up and set off on the trail. Pat found a flat tire before they left :( so we took off figuring we would see them later on the trail. The day started out chilly and foggy, but our gradual 1% incline warmed us up after a few miles.  Rockwood was a good place to stop and warm up and snack, it sure did feel like it was getting colder and the sun was still hiding. We met back up with our bunk mates, and Kayleen had 2nd breakfast. It didn't get any warmer, so we piled the layers back on and headed for our lunch stop in Frostburg! On the way we crossed the Mason-Dixon line, Eastern Continental divide, and had a 1% downhill ride until the end of the day... Wahoo. After getting on the bikes and heading down the hill Matt's chain jumped the cog and wrapped itself between the cog and spokes, locking the wheel and causing Matt to skid 15ft down the hill! The chain was jammed, 3 spokes broken on the drive side and the rest damaged beyond use. With no bike shop in Frostburg it was a shuttle to the Cumberland Trail bike shop. The shop isn't able to rebuild the wheel due to staffing issue, but they did have a new one that should do for the rest of the trip. Sally and Kayleen where able to ride the last 16 miles on the trail.

A cold and misty start to our day

Tom, Pat, Brian, Sally and Matt

Headed up the 1-2% grade toward the Eastern Divide

Just miles of trees and leaves, and no cars. This is the way touring should be!

Big Savage Tunnell (3,294ft) has lights, the Borden Tunnel (957ft) doesn;t and it actually felt like we weren't moving in the dark, a very odd sensation

On the eastern side of the divide

Mason/Dixon Line ...who had the bright idea of putting these cobble stones across a downhill on a bike path!?

This is not how Matt's wheel started the day, 3 busted spokes and the rest of the drive side is toast and needs rebuilt

End of the GAP, start of the C&O Canal Towpath

Day 72 all day on the trail, 55 miles to Confluence

Breakfast at the BnB was delicious, we stopped into the West Newton visitor center before heading out for the day, and learned that there was a group of 50 riders behind us heading in the same direction. So we hit the road to beat the crowd. We saw many touring cyclists today, headed the opposite direction.  The trail was beautiful, we popped in and out of the trees, the trail was mostly smooth, and there were some great photo ops. We stopped in Conelsville to warm up and had a snack at one of the many picnic tables along the trail. We then stopped in Confluence for Linner, and decided we wanted to stay there for the night. After a couple failed attempts to find a place to stay, we decided to head out and ride 20 more miles, before the sunset. On the way out of town, we talked with some bikers who said there was an extra room at there hotel, so we got a hold of the owner. After some very confusing talks with the owner we booked the last room, and come to find out 3 other bikers were waiting for a call back from her to book a room. The room was big, and had a living room so we decided all 6 of us would stay in the room. We had a great time with Tom, Brian and Pat. We shared stories and got to know each other over drinks and dinner. They were riding from London Ontario to the Florida Keys, to complete a loop around north America, amazing! We all turned in at 9, Which we all agreed was past our normal bed time. Tom decided to brave the 30 degree night on the porch... BRR! Oh and Kayleen had a flat on her rear tire... The upside was she got to fix it while drinking a beer :)

Youghiogheny River

the Great Allegheny Trail (GAP)

Sunset in Confluence, PA

Day 71 chilly/wet 70 miles to West Newton PA

We left the hotel at 8 am, with plans to hit the Montour Trail. Had some directional difficulties and got to see some more of the Pittsburgh area hills! After 8 miles we finally found it, the trail was nice, crushed limestone with a few gentle ups and downs, and some chilly drizzles of rain, 48 and rainy is never fun! We were on the trail for 38 miles, until we hit Clairton, and used the Steel Bbridge Trail to connect with the Great Allegheny Trail (GAT). Had lunch in McKeesport, and then took off for the last 18 miles of the day. The GAT, was crushed limestone too, it followed the  Youghiogheny River. It isbeautiful with all the changing leaves. We made it to West Newton at 5, grabbed dinner at the pub, and called it a night at the bed and breakfast. It was such a welcome change to be off busy roads and not have to worry about navigating. Added bonus, the trail is smoother than most of the roads we've been on lately. Matt met a suicidal squirrel, didn't go well for the squirrel, but it did run away. Now Matt has another BOB flat.

Nice Chain Grease!

Crossing one of the many bridges/tressels

and one set of stairs

through two tunnels

and in no time we'll be in Baltimore!

Old West Newton Train station, new Visitor Center

Home for the night

Day 70 made it to Coraopolis PA 52 miles

The "continental breakfast" was a big disappointment, and after a later start to let it warm a bit we left the hotel with no definitive plan for our ending point.  Seventeen chilly miles later we stopped at a cafe to warm up and decide on our stopping place.  We were having some difficulty finding lodging on or near the trail, so we decided to cut our day short and stay just before the start of the bike path. Had a late lunch or Linner (lunch-dinner), in Coraopolis. Knowing we had only 5 miles left till the hotel we headed out, unknown to us we were soon going up one of, if not the worst climbs of the trip. The last 5 miles were interesting... 2 miles of 7-14% grade climb, followed by steep rollers as we headed toward our next hotel. We called it the horrible gift that kept giving. We did actually break a sweat today, a nice change to be warm for a while.

Cold and frosty morning

New Birghton, PA

Crossing the Ohio River

our Linner stop, just before the hills of doom! Glad I only had a salad, would have puked anything else