Category Archives: Adventure

High times on the Great Allegheny Passage, day 4 of the Eastern Tour

We’re in Pittsburgh now, at the end of the Great Allegheny Passage, having left DC four days ago. It’s been an excellent few days, 340 miles of traffic free cycling, the majority of that in secluded, quiet forests. The section leaving Cumberland was all uphill until the Eastern Continental Divide, 2392ft high. Whilst the gradient was mild and steady the whole way, it still tired us out. The views were spectacular wherever we had a break through the trees.

We rode through four long tunnels yesterday, leftover legacies of the canal or rail builders taking direct routes through the mountains. We also passed the Mason-Dixon Line so we’re officially in the North now.

Our camp last night near Confluence was one of the best of the summer so far. Chatting around the fire with fellow bike tourers and walkers, and Pete and I were inducted into the genius of the s’mores! Real, gooey ones made over a campfire, superb.

Today we put in 53 miles before lunch, gorged ourselves silly on big sandwiches at West Newton, and then cruised the last 38 miles into Pittsburgh, through increasingly industrial landscapes.

End of the C&O canal, onto the GAP trail

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Excuse the brevity of this post – I’m typing on an iPhone.

My brother and I are having lunch in Cumberland, MD, at the terminus of the C&O canal and the start of the GAP trail to Pittsburgh, our next target. It’s been two and a half days of really enjoyable riding from DC. Some rough surfaces aside, the trail has been relaxing riding through the woods with great campsites along the edge of the Potomac River. My back hasn’t been too bad and continues to get better. The bikes have been great and we’re not wanting for anything, despite our light setup.

We’re heading out of Cumberland shortly, aiming for Pittsburgh and then on towards Lake Erie.

Pedalling north today, our bike tour continues

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Today we’re setting off again, picking up the pieces from the aborted No Rest Out West bike tour and beginning a new ride up the eastern seaboard. We’re cycling from home this time, leaving right from the front door after breakfast. I love tours that start and end at home – there’s something about the purity of the route when it doesn’t involve any other mechanised transport, only the power of one’s legs and the bicycle.

We’re going with a much lighter setup this time, partly to avoid the unstable bike setup we had out west and partly to allow us to travel further each day. Whether we can uphold our side of this deal and actually pedal further each day remains to be seen, but we’ll give it our best shot. We’re both champing at the bit to get out there and challenge ourselves again.

The new route we’ve mapped out, documented more elegantly here by my brother, takes us from the capital, Washington DC, inland to Lake Erie, before we turn north east and ride through New York and into New England. If time permits, we’re aiming for Maine, but we’ll see how we go. Our return route will be along the Atlantic coast route, following the coast in places but heading inland as we head further south. I’ve come to love the various parts of the eastern US that I’ve seen, so I’m excited to fill in the gaps and see more of the mountains, lakes and natural beauty of this region.

It’s a loop linking up the following route: C&O canal, GAP trail, Underground Railroad Pittsburgh spur, Northern Tier and Atlantic Coast.

This very rough screen-grab/sketch-map shows our approximate route:

A crash and minor setback (day 9)

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I’m tapping away, one finger-style-typing, from a hotel in Coos Bay, propped up in bed wearing hospital scrubs. Two days ago I had a crash on my bike and I’m still trying to piece it all together in my head.

We had departed Humbug Mountain State Park camp around 8.30am for our 9th day of cycling. We had another superb day of cycling, with many more wonderful coastal views. We stopped for a late seafood lunch in Bandon – excellent Pacific cod and chips – before continuing for our final 15 miles or so to camp. We were delighted to turn off the busy 101 highway and take the back roads into Charleston, where we were headed for the night.

Further along the ominously named backroad of Seven Devils Road, it turned into an unsealed, gravel road. I cycled into a patch of deep gravel and felt the front wheel writhe around and spin out from under me. Next thing I’m aware of is waking up in a 4×4 pickup (thank you SO much to these kind strangers) on way to the nearest hospital, at Coos Bay. (I think the combination of the loose gravel and having the luggage weight on the back of the bike meant the front wheel of the bike was “light” and prone to slipping. I think the front wheel twisted 90 degrees sideways and threw me to the ground on my R side.)

I have two sets of two stitches in the R side of my face and have fractured two of the bones in my cheek around my eye (zygomatic bones). I have scrapes and missing skin from both hands, forearms, R hip (also stitch here) and R knee. Thankfully the CT scan came back clean so my head is ok.

My bike and clothes also took a hit – both brake/gear levers are bent sideways, I have holes in my shorts and shirt, my sunglasses are heavily scratched on the R lens, and my helmet is bashed up on the R side.

So where do we go from here? Well, I’ve been told to have a week off the bike so we’re holed up in a hotel here in Coos Bay for the next few days. Then we’re going to head to Portland by car on Monday, and get the bike fixed up again. Hopefully we can then resume our route from Portland middle of next week. Fingers crosed. I’ll post some updates early next week.

My brother has also written about the crash from his perspective here on his tumblr.

And some photos from earlier in the day before the crash:

Goodbye California, Hello Oregon (days 6 and 7)

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Day 6: 54 miles, Day 7: 85 miles
457 miles from San Francisco

Silhouettes at sunset, Patrick Point, end of day 6:

Two excellent days of cycling, with a mix of coastal scenery, another avenue of giant trees, more big hills and constantly rolling roads. Of course, there was also some hard cycling along Highway 101 to link up the prettier sections (the noise of the traffic is the worst part, after coming off the much, much quieter side roads).

Sunset at Patrick Point, end of day 6:

Waking up to the sun streaming through the trees on morning of day 7 at Patrick Point State Park campsite. A beautiful site that we shared with several other bike tourers.

We had great (read, large) burgers at this real redneck bar. All manner of country paraphernalia adorned the bar – moose antlers on the wall, a chainsaw hung from the roof, nascar lampshades above the pool table, and photos of fishing and hunting conquests proudly displayed on any remaining wall space.

We pushed on during day 7, the scent of the Oregon border drawing us on. Everyday we’re getting stronger, although the hills do not feel any easier, but perhaps we’re just stopping less! So far, Oregon is much like the section of Northern California we’ve ridden through, with stunning coastal scenery, steep hills and big RVs and pickups thundering along the roads.

Beautiful sea stacks in Oregon, seen from Arch Rock viewing point.

Ben Collins Outdoors

Tales and photos from biking, hiking, mountaineering, and paddling trips. Currently based in the Appalachian Mountains.