Well, I left Pittsburgh Friday morning at 8:00 am. As I started peddling through the streets of Pittsburgh, following the signs to the Allegheny passage, I hit my first obstacle. The street crossed a railroad track which was under repair, with a fairly deep ravine on both sides of the tracks. There were 3 workers sitting in their truck. I explained to them that I was peddling to DC and I needed to cross that railroad track. They explained that I could peddle 2 miles back towards Pittsburgh and there would be a bridge I could cross. Now I am not an experienced biker, but I did not want to go 2 miles in the opposite direction, just to cross those tracks. They must have felt sorry for me as they picked up my bike and carried it across the tracks, as I attempted to follow them. As I climbed out of the ravine and over the tracks, here is where a touch of kindness was displayed: they insisted that I take their bottles of water, as I could tell they were genuinely concerned for my safety. I assured them that I had plenty of water and thanked them for their kindness. And then I said something I thought I would never say... I looked at them and said "GO STEELERS!".
I kept peddling through Pittsburgh until I finally hit the Allegheny Passage trail. It reminds me of the NCR trail, which runs from Hunt Valley to York, PA. The trail borders the Youghiogheny River and goes from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD. It then connects to the C & O Canal and extends all the way to DC, for a total of 332 miles. I would end up biking 53 miles on Friday, and was quite exhausted, and sore in spots I hadn't anticipated. My day's bike ride ended in Connellsville, PA, where I met Sonia and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast for the night. When I got to the B&B I inquired about getting a massage as I was quite sore. I was fortunate to get an appointment at 5:30 pm. After my 1.5 hour massage, I asked the therapist how much I owed her. She sheepishly stated that I owed $40, which I couldn't believe as it was so inexpensive. Now here is where the second act of kindness occured: I had told her about my bike ride which is to raise money for charity. She insisted that I keep the $40, and that she would like to donate it to the charity "Tissue Banks International". Of course I didn't take the donation, instead paying her and giving her a generous tip!
Today is Saturday, and it has been raining hard all day. I set out this morning at 9:45 am, as I had been hoping and waiting for the rain to stop. As I left Connellsville, it started raining harder! I biked 28 miles and stopped at Confluence, PA. I had lunch and went to the bike store for some adjustments to my bike. I was completely soaked with sand and mud, all over me and my bike.
The ride has been fun, as the Allegheny Passage travels through beautiful country, with little towns that are called "trail towns", as they exist to support the bike traffic on the trail. I would encourage anyone to visit this part of the country. Well, I am signing off for today as I am starved!
Happy Travels,
Rick
(written at 5:40 p.m. Saturday)