Father-Son GAP Trip

[Tony DeFilippo]

Yet another post raving about the GAP...  this trail is truly a national treasure!  My Dad and I did the trip from Frostburg, MD to Pittsburgh, PA over 3 days last Thurs-Sat.  Through some really fantastic luck we actually avoided getting drenched till a random cloudburst near Mckeesport finally got us on Saturday.  The tremendous deluge on Thursday hit Rockwood literally as we rolled into our guest house accommodations and the storm passed early the next morning making Friday a chilly but wonderful riding day.  I took alot of pictures along the way and I'm splitting them up into segments on my blog,  I should probably edit a little deeper but for anyone trying to get a feel for the trail I think more pictures might be helpful so I'm indulging in a pretty heavy dose of photos!  I'll post up here as I get them up.

Riv Content - The purple-luki handled the trail with every bit of grace you would expect.  We were pretty lightly loaded given that we were B&B or guest housing it for accommodations.  I only needed clothes, personal electronics, spares, tools, water and snacks.  I need to weigh the kit but my guess is less than 30 lbs.  I'll put up some more gear related thoughts soon once I've had a bit more time to think about it.  My cargo carrying was accomplished with a Carradice longflap in the back over a Nitto R-14 and a Sackville Medium in a Wald 137 up front.  That did put most of my weight carried up hi but as it is my general commuting setup I didn't notice any handling issues. I'd like to try a lower riding pannier setup sometime to compare.  One piece of gear I wish I'd had - An Axe! :) or a folding saw anyway, we came across a number of downed trees that we could mostly get the bikes up and over easily but I just saw on the GAP Facebook page that a landslide caused a more serious blockage just after we'd gone by.  Mostly I'm bemoaning missing the opportunity to strap a hatchet to the bike... next time!

I'm already three posts deep in my GAP retrospective on the blog so here you go;

Preview

Frostburg - Mason Dixon Line Gallery

Mason Dixon Line - Rockwood Gallery 

I'll leave off w/ some more Riv Content... I rode the Purple-Luki all the way to Pittsburgh but I returned with a Fairway Green-Luki courtesy of Bill E.  The Purple torch has been passed, I enjoyed my time with her very much and I'm really looking forward to getting the Fairway Green Saluki built up.  In the end the agapanthus purple just wasn't for me but I can't wait to see what Bill does with her.  I've got some stripped down side by side frame shot's coming soon from our meet up and swap.

[blakcloud]

That was a nice read, thanks for sharing it. Looking forward to more photos.

[Deacon Patrick]

Fantastic, Tony! That's a lot of tunnels. Those wind turbines drive me nuts, with their visual motion and mostly their infrasound they put out. You describe it well when you say you can feel the vibration they make. Green energy is not pollution free.

To reveal my ignorance, I had no idea there was an Eastern Continental Divide. Makes sense, given the mountain ranges.

What a wonderful gift to get to spend time with your Dad that way! That is the most beautiful thing about the trip report, and there was a lot of beauty to be seen.

With abandon,

Patrick 

[Tony DeFilippo]

Thanks Guys! 

 

Patrick I was thinking after my post that I didn't emphasize enough how special getting to spend 4+ days straight almost one on one with my Dad was.  That is probably the longest continuous time I've spent with him mostly solo in 10 years or more so it really was incredible.  I never would have thought that bicycling would give me the avenue to make something like this happen, what a bonus!

 

Tony

 

[Bill]

Wow.  Someone traded a to-die-for green and cream Saluki for the same sized one in lavender.  He must have really been smitten with that lily-of-the-Nile shade of purple to do such a thing. Of course when you're riding along looking where you're going and not gawking at the frame you can't even see what color the bike is.

Your Dad and you should do the GAP again from the other direction.  Besides, the Greenaluki is going to want to have its own turn too.  Add family members; make it an annual event.  This could be just the beginning of a great tradition.

[Michael]

Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like a wonderful time!

1. What is this GAP, and where does it start and end?

 2. How did you find out about Bill and his Greenluki and work a deal? Very interesting.

[Tony DeFilippo]

Hey Michael,

The GAP is the Great Allegheny Passage, a rails to trails project 150 miles long between Cumberland, MD and Pittsburgh, PA. 

Bill and I started talking about our common XO-3's and he mentioned the Green Saluki as a potential solution if I ended up not getting used to the purple-luki... Another connection made possible by this great community.  Good luck on my part!

Tony

[Michael]

Wow! I just saw the write up on your blog.

Looks like so much fun!

That was great you got to do it with your Dad. What a special time.

Thanks for the info on the GAP.

That is great that the deal worked out so well for the green saluki.

Please post pics of it soon.

Would love to see it.

[Tony DeFilippo]

Thanks Michael!

Rockwood to Confluence Gallery

First half of day two's images... amazing waterfalls and the best scenery of the trip for sure.  The trail was a bit soft from the rain but we had a very manageable 45ish miles to go to our day two destination of Connelsville.

Tony

[Tony DeFilippo]

The second day of our trip gave us the best weather and the best scenery... by far. Ohiopyle is a real gem.  

Confluence to Connellsville Gallery

Two more gallery's and a wrap up/post mortem coming!  

[Steve Palincsar]

On 05/29/2014 08:43 AM, Tony DeFilippo wrote:

The second day of our trip gave us the best weather and the best scenery... by far. Ohiopyle is a real gem.  

Confluence to Connellsville Gallery

Nice photos.   The Saluki is an excellent bike for this sort of ride, isn't it?

[Deacon Patrick]

Tony, that trail sure does look inviting. That is one swollen, huge river. Wow. I love the shot of the cliff, trail, and straight-edge grown poplars. Thanks!

With abandon,

Patrick  

[Tony DeFilippo]

Steve - It sure is,  really demonstrates its versatility.  I never got close to stressing out the bike on this trip, and I never had to worry about it.

Patrick - The river was so impressive, and the waterfalls coming down from the left of the trail were the same.  We got quite the treat to see an extreme personality of the trail.  And thanks on the cliff-trail-poplars shot, that little section was one of my absolute favorites.  I kept thinking what it must have been like for those train engineers plying through this path all those years ago...

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[ascpgh]

Tony- I really like that part of the trail as well and am fortunate that it is the most accessible to my location. Love riding from home to Ohiopyle for an overnight, dinner at one of the restaurants, pancakes in the morning at the corner market with that bridge framed by the windows. Lots of the river guides will catch a warm meal there to start their day on the river having walked down the mountain from their tent village...they're usually the ones reading interesting books while their order is being cooked. Always surprises me how from so far and away those folks come for the summer work. Adds to the experience.

The railroad now operates on the other side of the Youghiogheny River so engineers continue to have those views of rock walls and straight poplars. Ohiopyle was a mill town powered by that waterfall in front of town. Visitors center by the trail has some great pictures from back in the those days. 

Your most excellent pictures and narrative have me all wound up for another trip, and my orange Rambouillet, while in design is a bit more specialized than a Saluki, has been a great ride to cover those miles and see those sights.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Tony DeFilippo]

Thanks Andy!

I'm jealous of your proximity to Ohiopyle, what an amazing place. I imagine watching the seasons in that area is wonderful as well. I have no idea when it could happen but it seems like q great place to do a Riv Rally or just a camping meet up...

Plenty of good coffee outside locations along that party of the trail to!

Another gallery... Moving closer to civilization.

http://dr2dc.blogspot.com/2014/05/gap-trip-gallery-5-connellsville-to.html

[blueride2]

I agree, nice pictures. I've done the GAP a couple of times and really enjoyed it. Both times I've camped. The trail surface is perfect for riding unlike the C&O.

Richard

[Tony DeFilippo]

The final (I promise) shared blog post about the GAP....  this is my overall summary and review including the lodging, food and equipment thoughts.  Not terribly Riv specific but I think that is more a product that the Saluki, the Shop sack and many of the Riv-popularized components all worked exactly as you would hope and expect.  My Dad and I are already planning the fall C&O trip to complete the journey and I would be thrilled to jump back out on the trail tomorrow if I had the opportunity.  Thanks for looking and commenting, I hope everyone takes the time to do the GAP in the future!

Father-Son GAP Trip Review