Family Time; Start of the GAP Trail ride

[This (long) post covers Friday afternoon thru Monday morning]

Made it to my sister Ginny's house, outside of Cleveland, around 6pm Friday. Manhattans, followed by a delicious lasagna dinner. So great to see and catch up Ginny and family, my brother Ken and sister Marge! Slept well Friday night. Up at 7 to start final preparation and packing for the ride, then sat down to a pancake breakfast (carbo-loading!), before hitting the road for the 2hr drive to Pittsburgh.

We arrived at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh just before noon. My brother Bob and sister-in-law Carol arrived soon after, along with the rest of the ride crew - Rick, Scott and Richard, and Rick's wife, Victoria - all coming from the Maryland/Virginia/DC area. 

After greeting everyone, we all did our last-minute preparations - packing our bags and loading them on our bikes. Took a bunch of pre-ride photos in front of the beautiful fountain, then said goodbye to Carol and Victoria and hit the trail around 1:30pm.

Ready to hit the trail!

The GAP Trail starts on city streets, then follows the winding Monongahela River as it runs through suburban, then rural areas southeast of Pittsburgh. After a few miles on roads and sidewalks, we rode on a tree-lined, dirt/crushed gravel trail that followed along - and occasionally crossed - the river. We made a few stops for snacks/water or to take in the scenery. 

Rick and Scott

On the trail

Riverside stop

Beautiful day!

In McKeesport, the trail switches to follow the Youghiogheny River. After 40 miles of riding, we arrived in Smithton, where Carol and Victoria had driven and prepared a spectacular trail-side happy hour of cheese, crackers, fruit, nuts, beer and wine! We checked into our hotel in nearby Belle Vernon, then drove to dinner - burgers, salads and beers - at the Trailside Pub. 

Had a very restful night of sleep. Up at 8:30 Sunday and back to the trail around 9:45. We said goodbye to Karri, who rode solo back to Pittsburgh, and Carol & Victoria, who drove back to DC. We'll see them all again on Friday.

Saying goodbye to Karri as she heads back to Pittsburgh

We rode 47 miles to the town of Confluence, making stops for scenery/snacks/water, then a pizza lunch in Connellsville. We lingered a while in Ohiopyle - a great little town known for rafting and the nearby state park.

Water break over the Youghiogheny

Richard and Rick

One of many scenic overlooks

Me and the Reverend

Rick and Bob in Ohiopyle, PA

Whose idea was it to put beers in our water bottles with 10 miles to go??!

We hustled the last 10 miles, powered by IPAs from our stop in Ohiopyle, to our Airbnb in Confluence - a great spot, right on the river. Picked up dinner to enjoy on the deck, along with manhattans and beers - then more beers and storytelling after dinner, before heading to bed around midnight.

View from the deck of our Airbnb

Two days in, the trip has been amazing! Weather has been great - partly cloudy with occasional sunbursts - and comfortably cool. The trail is scenic, historic, smooth, and not very crowded. After 87 miles, my legs (and butt) are tired, but fortunately not sore. Today (Monday) will be a bigger challenge as we ride 48 miles - mostly uphill - to Frostburg, MD.

You can see our route for the whole trip, including planned stops, distances and elevation, here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34121822