Allegheny Passage Bike Trip '09
I recently went on a 150 mile bike trip on a trail from Cumberland, Maryland to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am not a normal distance bike rider but was invited by daughter Rachael and accompanied also by son Mendon. Our first day of riding was up hill mostly getting over the Great Eastern Divide and crossing the Mason-Dixon Line. The afternoon and into that evening we were blessed by a constant downpour of rain and high head winds to go with the up hill pedaling. My back derailleur decided to malfunction so I rode with it in hardship during the storm until it really decided to quit working all together. I lost 3rd gear completely and had to finish the remaining 100 miles in second and first gears. Fortunately I could ride at 10 to 11.5 mph with Rae and Mensch in high second gear. It seems it is a pretty good pace anyway and I could sustain it with them all day. So our second day, Father's Day was sunny and pleasant and I had a great ride that way. We went near 60 miles and were ready for camp that night. Both Mendon and I had flat tires on the first day so we needed to fix those tubes but we didn't as we were just happy to do camp stuff and relax that night and use new inner tubes the rest of the trip. The campsite was perfect. There was a shed to stow our bikes overnight and out of any weather, a fire ring with just enough available wood on site for us to have a four hour + good fire. And the grass where we put our tents was thick and lush.We were the only ones in the camp all night too. We had our own private campground to ourselves aside the Casselman River, swollen and muddy from the storm. We had fireflies all night that would rest on our tents and if one woke up it was to random flickering lights all around ones tent. Spectacular for me to witness at two a.m. that night. Our third and final day took led us up to Boston, Pa, on a relatively flat river tour and then into McKeesport just short of going into Pittsburgh. McKeesport had a few hills coming into the city giving us a prelude of what was in store for us in Pittsburgh. For me these hills were sufficient to make the old thighs burn enough to wish to be done with the trip but did not in any way prepare me for the "real" hills to come going back to Rae's and Eric's home in Shadyside.
These hills did me in is the best way to describe it. Eric came out on his racer to guide us in through the meandering trail through town to home. I think this was pretty nice of him as he had to go in to school to do some work after riding some thirty miles with us. While he worked we showered and took care of our gear, rested a bit and decided to celebrate our ride at a very nice upscale Pizzuti's Italian restaurant. Very nice meal and we had a good time. We, of course, walked to dinner and home. It felt good to do a little leg stretching after three days on a bike. I am now home and find I have some new muscles on my legs at the hip/thigh area and I am still about 7 pounds down from the trip. Originally it turns out I was down 11 pounds and am recovering nicely I guess. A few days ago I began my running/jogging exercises again. My thighs did not like this at all. They took three days of running to loosen up,yet they are still tight. Not much sprinting yet. I have been able to finish my 8.5 mile route though so I am happy about that. I had a terrible time learning to adjust my bikes gears and twin derailleur system. After nearly a week I am back shifting through all my 21 gears without too much noise and simply doing refinements to the shifting system. It is a nice feeling to be able to take the bike out and just use it again. So I think I learned something about my own endurance, about biking on a trail and camping, and some of how to care for my bike. I know that my water needs when biking for hours on end is bigger than I anticipated and my water weight loss was substantial.Also learned, that teamwork when biking is essential to having a good time, and simple tasks can sometimes be terrible when facing a headwind and it rains so hard you can hardly see ahead of you while it gets darker all day long. I also learned that I don't panic under hardship and am able to deal with most circumstances pretty well. All of this is good to know at the ripe old age of sixty as a new distance bike rider. I am adjusting my gear and tools and bike configuration a bit too. I eagerly look forward to testing out my renewed bike. Perhaps, if this derailleur trouble rears its ugly head again I will look at a better bike to suit my trail riding mandates. Rae has a pretty nifty bike though I don't like her tire stem assembly. Too hard to blow up for my liking. But she had no trouble with her bike. No flats, no gear problems, good balance to carry gear and smooth comfort riding. I was impressed. It is also fairly expensive though may probably be considered in the mid range of good bike prices. It's a Navarro.