Checked off the list: GAP trail

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Hi Friends,

I had the best year of riding. Ever. This was the year I took up bike touring and camping, and it has ignited an insatiable hunger in me to do more of it. I was on a club ride, riding next to Katie, and I said, Club riding is good, but it is not my favorite kind of riding. I want to do adventure riding, but I need a friend to do it with, and I need to have riding chemistry with her. 

“I want to do a bike trip out East,” she said.

“Want to do the GAP?” I asked.

“Ok,” she said. “What’s the GAP?”

And that was how this trip came to be. 

Now, we were quite the pair. She rides a carbon Trek Domane and I took my most favorite raspberry Rivendell. I offered her a Platypus but she declined. She had never ridden anywhere loaded; she has done a lot of “tours” where she rides in a group but has all her stuff hauled. She is resourceful and managed to get enough bags on her bike to make a 150 mile ride work. She was nervous about her tires (maybe 38s?).

I made all the arrangements. Pam is the boss of me, and she said I had to try Warm Showers, and here were the hosts to contact. I had to sign up, and then with zero reviews on my profile, hope the hosts would let me pass simply because I am Pam’s friend. (Have I mentioned how much I and everyone else adore Pam Murray?) We drove to Pittsburgh and stayed at a WS house our first night. The couple was lovely and everything was as Pam said, and we had a great late evening chat. We were out the door at 0430 to catch Amtrak to Cumberland. 

I was so nervous about getting our bikes on the train. What a dumb setup Amtrak has for this. I had to unload the bags and then was supposed to lift the bike aloft into the waiting hands of a woman attendant who was up on some platform, rolling the bikes onto a train car. Katie’s light Trek was no problem, but my Rivendell with its wide bars and heavier weight made this very awkward. I had left some things on the bike because I couldn’t carry all of it. At home, I lift the bike overhead onto a storage rack, but this was different. Now, men have this way of magically appearing and using their God-given strength to save the day, and that’s what happened here. This man was riding the C&O and he was not to be deterred from lifting my bike. HERO. With the bikes safely on the train, we took our seats.

We arrived in Cumberland and it was raining. It would rain for the next two days, with nary a pause. We rolled into town starving and in need of real coffee.The restaurant was darling and we were immediately swarmed by a group of retirees who had been chatting over breakfast. “Larry” was the trail president (or something) and he had a lot he wanted to tell us about the GAP. This set the tone for the whole trip - it would be the people we met that marked our adventure, not the ride. We took a selfie with Larry and now fortified, began our 23 mile climb out of rainy Cumberland. 

The trail is beautiful, though we missed a lot of beauty as we fought through rain. The trail was soaked and the mud was formidable. I felt like my pedal bearings had gone bad, but it was the mud and debris that were cycling through my drivetrain. We shifted cautiously, as we were worried our derailers and chains would snap. The bikes were absolutely thrashed. Katie had no fenders, but the seat bag she had took a lot of the damage and she had only a small mud stripe up her back. My Backabike bags kept all my things dry, which was a relief as I did not use any plastic liners. 

Our next WS host met us at Fort Hill in his pickup. I unloaded the bags on my Riv and as I was warning him that the bike is heavy, he effortlessly lifted it and set it in his pickup. “See?” I told Katie. Men with their generous strength, showing up and sharing it again. 

We pulled up to a gorgeous log home in the woods of Pennsylvania. “D” gave us a hose so we could at least attempt to clean up our drive trains. We were disgusting. The bikes were worse. Our hosts did not mind. We headed straight to the shower. “A” had set out a charcuterie board and drinks. D put our bikes in the garage. After we were clean and changed they announced that they would take us out to dinner, their treat. Dinner was lovely, but our hosts were lovelier. I slept like a baby in my own room in a queen bed. The next day we awoke to a huge breakfast. We were sent out the door with “fry pies”, a glazed pastry with fruit filling, shaped like a half moon and with crimped edges. “The hunters go crazy for these,” said A. Meanwhile, it was pouring outside. We waited for a break in the rain, and then D dropped us back off on the trail.

The day was more of the same; rain and mud. We were warm and there was no wind, so it was bearable. We made it to Smithton, where the hosts at Adele’s B&B awaited us. The rain had stopped and they had a hose and rags ready for our bikes. When the bikes were clean, they stored them in the cellar. We took showers and headed to the only restaurant in town, a 1 block walk from the B&B. We came “home” and spent the evening on the second-floor covered patio. We awoke to another giant, hot breakfast and coffee and were treated to the story of the building and some town history from Christine while Dan made spinach and feta omelets. You cannot imagine people more dear. I was not surprised that Christine hugged us on our way out the door.

Finally, the weather cooperated. We rode our last 40 miles to Pittsburgh under partly sunny skies. We took photos, talked to other riders. When we got to Pittsburgh we did not dally, but loaded up and drove home to Michigan.

I bought “gear floss” and cleaned my drivetrain the next day. Tons of Prolink. I conditioned the saddle and grips and used T9 to address rust on bolts and in eyelets. The fork has a decent paint chip that is new. I was completely unbothered by this. I earned that paint chip. If this bike is going to have adventures, it is also going to have paint chips. I’m at peace with it. A year ago, I would have mourned.

I will take a moment and talk gear. I think a Platypus is perfect for this adventure. Backabikes are waterproof enough for rain rides. I had a rain skirt, rain jacket, and Keen sandals - 5 stars. Nearly all my clothing was merino wool. It dried quickly and kept me the right temperature. I will be buying more of it. Also, dyno lighting. We went through some dark tunnels and we needed lights. U locks: what a waste of time. I brought 2 (one for each of us) and we did not use them one time. I schlepped those dang locks along for 150 miles UNNECESSARILY. I did not wish I had something I lacked. I only wish I left those locks behind. 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. There’s an Instagram reel below, if you want to see our setup and our trip in living color.

Leah

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPJyVNwkUQa/?igsh=bXVrMHQ1c2Nqdmlp

[Tom M]

Wonderful recap and great reel. Thanks for posting.

--Tom in Alexandria, VA

[Sally Bidleman]

Leah,

What a great read to wake up to!! Thanks for sharing and I wish you many, many more adventures:)

Sally

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[Steve]

Love it!   I've been thinking about riding the GAP for a couple of years now. I haven't toured on a bike since the 1990's when my wife and I rode a Santana tandem. You've stoked my stoke (so to speak). Thanks for sharing!  

Steve in AVL

[matt miller]

These ride reports are my absolute favorite part of RBW.

Since it seems like you've jumped in to this type of riding, what are you looking at in the future? Would you do GAP with C&O? If so, anything different from this last trip?

Thanks,

Matt in STL

[Rusty Click]

Leah, 

I'm so glad you two made it down to ride the GAP!  An ambitious 3 day itinerary with WS hosts, and another ride checked off. 

Rusty

Pgh, PA

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 6:55:18 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Thanks, everyone! 

To answer Matt’s questions….

I am not really interested in doing the C&O. It is a priority for a lot of people, but reports I’ve gotten are that it is remote and that mud is a problem. I don’t feel like I need to re-do the GAP, either. 

I like a clean trail dotted with little towns that allow us to stop and eat/drink.I would love to do parts of the Empire State Trail next summer. I would repeat my Michigan trip that I did with my son this summer; I’m sure there’s more we could see. It was the prettiest trip I’ve ever taken. I’m keeping my ears open to other ideas; if anyone has them, please share them!

I like the idea of mixing camping and hotel stays. Warm Showers is also nice, but it is a little stressful because you are a guest in a stranger’s house. I want to be places where you can stop and eat. I want to climb into bed/my tent clean after a shower. I haven’t ventured to the Upper Peninsula because of its remoteness. I also think taking trails where you can is important; I did my first camping tour on 55 mph 2 lane roads. I have had enough of THAT.

L

L

[Elisabeth Sherwood]

I'm so sorry you had to do the GAP in the rain, Leah!  It's such a lovely trail when the weather is nice!

And, I agree with your decision not to do the C&O.  At least not until it's significantly improved.  It's really a nightmare, all the more so when it's wet.  (And compounding that, from what I understand some sections were washed out during big storms earlier this year.)

Cheers,

Liz

Washington, DC 

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 6:55:18 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Leah Peterson]

Thanks, Liz! Are they planning to improve the C&O? Would love to hear about that, and I sure hope they do. Some cyclists told us chains and derailleurs snap in the more severe conditions on the C&O. Yikes.

On Oct 1, 2025, at 4:54 PM, Elisabeth Sherwood <elisabeth...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Roberta]

I just love your stories!  Firstly, because you’re a wonderful storyteller and I’m always fully engaged and secondly, you have gotten me to be a little more outgoing in the bike packing arena, like you’ve gotten.  I’ve done small sections of the gap but perhaps next year I’ll do a larger section as well as do more trail rides locally. 

Your year this year is so different than your year last year !

Roberta

Philadelphia, PA

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 6:55:18 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Jason Fuller]

I remember when you were absolutely not a camper. I mean, it's not hard to remember - it was very recent. I knew that you'd enjoy the adventure, but understood why you wouldn't want to sleep on the ground. I'm absolutely loving the fact that you've not only accepted it but embraced it. Now if you ever visit my neck of the woods, I'll have to take you to the best camp spots - and I think I could even get away with taking you to the ones that trade creature comforts for maximum beauty. 

[Jason Fuller]

PS: I know you didn't technically camp on this trip, but a) you have this year and seemed to enjoy and b) riding in that weather on a tour gets all the discomfort points of camping! I am a bit of a fairweather camper myself, but credit card touring in the rain is fair game!  

[Lucia Matioli]

Wow!

Looks like a fabulous trip!

Lucia Matioli

Sr Creative Consultant

goodthinkingco.com

linkedin.com/in/luciamatioli/

              

   

On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

PS: I know you didn't technically camp on this trip, but a) you have this year and seemed to enjoy and b) riding in that weather on a tour gets all the discomfort points of camping! I am a bit of a fairweather camper myself, but credit card touring in the rain is fair game!  

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