kristingbridges
We love Pittsburgh and we love the GAP trail, and the past 2 days have only reinforced that. We got into Pittsburgh and parked in the Grant St. garage and turned in our long-term parking form, then got onto our fully loaded bikes to go less than a mile to the hotel. We love when hotels are totally cool with us taking our bikes to our room and the Courtyard was that way, both when I called ahead and when we checked in. Then we got off the elevator, still with all our bags on our bike (mine clock in at 46 pounds total) and see that our room is at the end of hall, down about 8 steps! Brakes to the rescue as we eased them down the stairs. And thus our adventures begin. You never know what might be around the next corner, and this time it started at the hotel. We had gigantic sandwiches for dinner at Primanti Brothers to get ready for a long ride the next day. But we didn’t stop there when we discovered a place called the Milkshake Factory, and it even had dairy-free options!
This morning it was a quick breakfast downstairs and then back to the room to pack back up. And then we had to get the bikes back up those steps! We just left the rear panniers off and made quick work of it. Finding the trail was super easy and following it, even with the current detour, out of town went really well. The road and tunnel we usually would use was closed, but fortunately there was a lady at a table there for bike tours that got us to an alley that would cut us over to the trail.
It was hotter than we had hoped for, but we made sure we had our water stocked up and didn’t push hard; it is vacation after all! Last time we did this trail was right behind the remnants of a hurricane that had dumped way too much water, and we saw flooding, trees down, mudslides, and then a giant boulder fell on the trail right before we started. This time, there hasn’t been the rain, so we hoped for less “excitement” but we came upon a bunch of warning signs about an active rock slide area. Cue me staying over on the opposite side of the trail through there! We did see the large slide that was very recent and I heard a few pebbles coming down as we passed.
We got to McKeesport in time for lunch, but it was Sunday and the only place we’ve ever found open there was closed, so we got out the tortillas and peanut butter for lunch. We usually stop for the night in West Newton, where there are B&Bs, a bike shop, restaurant, a Right Aid, and other things across the river. But we are trying to take a day off our time on this trip, so we went a little further to Van Meter to a B&B in the middle of nowhere. That meant we needed to take on provisions for dinner, so we stopped at the Trailside Inn Pub in West Newton and ordered some cold sandwiches to go. But we had to fill the time while we waited, of course, so we had some amazing ice cold shandy while we waited. The last 7 or 8 miles were quite fun and painless! 😉
Our B&B is a little place on stilts right next to the trail that is an outbuilding of someone’s house. They always have ice cream, drinks, and fresh produce for sale along the trail when we pass, so we knew the place. Our bikes are safely chained up underneath us and we’ve had our dinner, cold drinks, and showers. We have beds, TV, Wifi, and A/C, so we’re set! This is our first tour on our new bikes, which are pretty much upright geometry. It’s great for seeing around us as we ride, but I am definitely feeling it in my sit bones. But it’s just pressure, no chafing and nothing else hurts. I’ll take that over neck, arm, and back pain! Time for a good rest before we hit the trail to Ohiopyle tomorrow.
