Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, October 14, 2011
End of Phi Sig Bike Ride, 2011
All good things come to an end--our bike ride officially ended at about 10 AM this morning I Shepherdstown WV.
Yesterday, Thursday, Mike and I left Hancock MD in good spirits and full of energy, eager to find out first-hand how muddy and hard-to-handle the C&O Canal Bike Path could be after a day of rain. Although we had to pay attention to what we were doing, it really wasn't bad at all and we made good progress through the mist and occasional light rain. We got in 50 miles, not counting a few extra miles due to a detour and to missing a turn.
However, in the late afternoon my bike developed a loud, irritating squeak, kind of like the honking of a goose, apparently emanating from the cranks. Not a good sign, and we decided we'd camp close to Shepherdstown and go to their local bike shop in the morning. If they could fix my bike and get us back on the trail by noon we thought we'd get in 40 miles of riding and then reach DC on Saturday. Rich Hall was set to camp with us on Friday and ride with us on Saturday, and we were hoping Dave would rejoin us, also.
As we were pitching our tents we were hit by a big thunderstorm and heavy rain. When the rain slacked off we had a good dinner and desert, and crawled into our tents for the night. We stayed dry through the night, but the rain continued and finally, at about 8:15 AM, we decided we might as well get up and pack up in the rain, ride into town and have breakfast, and end our trip. We were not inclined to try to get my bike attended to and then proceed, in the rain, with a very late start on a very muddy trail.
Fortunately, Rich Hall came to our rescue! He picked us up with all our gear and drove to Mike's, where we showered, put on clean dry clothes, and ate a wonderful hot lunch that Lisa prepared. Rich and I then continued to his home in Northern Virginia where I cleaned my gear, washed my clothes, and had an excellent dinner and pleasant after-dinner conversation with Rich and Kathy.
All in all it was a great bike trip, and wonderful to spend it with six old college friends--Dave & Janet, Mike & Lisa, and Rich & Kathy!
The Phi Sig 2012 bike trip will be even bigger and better!
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Slogging down the trail
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Rained out in Hancock Md
Mike
Bouve signing off (Oct 19)
Apologies for my last post. I couldn't resist. Due to drenching, endless rain, and being a wuss, I have ended my participation in the Pittsburg to DC journey at Hancock, Md. I wish the best to my more stalwart friends. I had a great time! I biked about 200+ miles which is pretty good for a new biker. I look forward to following Walt and Mike as they continue the ride. I will post no more other than as a commenter.
Dave
Sent from my iPhone
Great campsite!
Dave
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The rivers on our trip
Our route, very scenic, is defined by rivers most of the way. We left Homestead, just south of Pittsburgh, following the Monogohela River. It flows north, from WV into Pittsburgh, where it joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River, whose waters then flow west into the Mississippi River and then south to the Gulf of Mexico.
After just a few miles we came to where the Youghiogheny River joins the Monongohela, and we continued south and east along the west bank of the Youghiogheny. This is arguably the most scenic part of the trip. Chestnut Ridge, the westernmost hills of the Allegheny Mountains, rises from the east side of the river. When early settlers managed to get over Chestnut Ridge they had traversed the Alleghenies and were now "out west."
In Confluence, PA, where we camped on night 2, the Casselman River joins the Youghiogheny We followed the Casselman River on day 3, but eventually reached the Eastern Continental Divide, which marks the division between waters that flow north and west to the Gulf of Mexico and waters that flow south and east to the Chesapeake Bay.
After descending to Cumberland, MD on day 4 we picked up the Potomac River, which we will follow into DC, pedaling along the towpath of the old C&O Canal.
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Days 4 and 5, Summary
Day 4: 42 miles to Paw Paw Campground.
Day 5: 31 miles to Hancock, Md where we checked into a motel to wait out a severe rainstorm expected tonight & tomorrow.
More info to follow.
PS Posts have been limited because of lack of connectivity.
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Day 3 summary
Another beautiful day. We rode 48 miles to Frostburg, Md where we checked into a motel and had dinner at a great little Italian restaurant.
No mishaps, except our lunch spot was out of cherry pie.
Dave was excited to see a wild turkey for the first time. Mike wasn't sure if he should be excited because he couldn't remember if he had seen one before.
We ciimbed over the Eastern Continental Divide, rode thru the Big Savage (1 mile long RR tunnel), and raced across the Mason-Dixon line into Maryland. -- Walt
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Sunglasses modeling
Dave
Sunglasses accident
Technical Difficulties: Blog Comments
Tom, Dick, (and ?) have each sent comments that I have approved and they should have appeared on the blog site. I don't know why they aren't there yet.
When you send a comment, the process is that it first comes to me as an email for me to approve or reject. I would tend to reject comments that are rude, insulting, or unflattering to me, but my editorial standards are more lax if your derogatory comments are directed at Mike or Dave.
Note: because we generally do not have phone service or Internet access where we are, the process is slow. -Walt
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Eastern Continental Divide
A bride left at the train station
Mike
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