“If everything goes according to plan, you don’t have a story…”
Given the effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida, and getting the best assessment that we could at this point in time, conducting the ride in Florida on the original schedule is not going to be a realistic possibility. After appropriate consideration, we have converged on the following:
Rather than riding 620 miles down the coast of Florida, we will ride 300 miles across four different states! The plan is to ride along the C&O Canal Towpath/Great Allegheny Passage ( https://gaptrail.org ) from Washington DC to Pittsburgh PA. The trip is about 300 miles. We plan to do about 50 miles a day over six days. For those who wish to add on miles, there are several scenic diversions, detours, loops and other options along the way.
Click here for more information on Americas friendliest long distance bike journey – GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE: Two scenic trails – One Amazing Journey.
The C&O Canal Towpath/Great Allegheny Passage has great infrastructure in place to support this ride. There are small towns about every 20 miles along the route with lodging, food, and supplies. The trail is completely separate from the roadways, so no riding in traffic for the entire ride!
Note that there are many sections of the route where the surface is hardpack clay or packed cinders/gravel. We strongly recommend bringing a hybrid or trail bike vs road bikes with skinny tires. Or at the very least, replace your 23mm-wide tires with 28’s (or even wider, if they will fit in your frame). Another alternative is to rent a bike in DC – there are lots of bike shops in the area that can provide rentals.
We will set out on Sunday, Oct. 1, allowing riders to travel in to town on Saturday, Sept 30. We will arrive in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct 7, cycling through VA, MD, WV and PA.
Proposed Itinerary:
Day 0 : Herndon
Day 1 : Sheperdstown : 55 miles
Day 2 : Little Orleans : 65 miles
Day 3 : Frostburg : 60 miles
Day 4 : Connellsville : 72 miles (or to Ohiopyle, which would be 57 miles)
Day 5 : Pittsburgh : 61 miles (or if riding from Ohiopyle, then it would be 76 miles to Pittsburgh)
Bad Stacey blog! 