August 2, 2018
The Plan
As Mike Tyson said "Man plans, god laughs"
For the third year in a row, we rented the entire Parker House in Confluence, PA as the base for doing multiple day rides on the Great Allegheny Passage trail, along with other activities. It is located just a few hundred feet from the GAP trail at about mile marker 61.5. There are seven bedrooms and this year we would have 13 cyclists of varying abilities, most of whom have known each other for over 30 years. All of our ages begin with the 19th letter of the alphabet...
In early July a small tornado moved across the GAP trail between Ohiopyle and Confluence. It caused much tree damage across the trail and knocked down the huge sycamore tree that had shaded the Parker House, along with four large pine trees that were between the Parker House and the nearby River's Edge Cafe. All damage had been repaired before we arrived.
Confluence isn't quite the center of the GAP trail, I guess Ohiopyle is. But, if you want to pick a central base to do day trips from, Confluence is the place to be. A lot of the lodging, along with a great places to eat (such as the Riverside Cafe) is within sight of the trail and a bike shop and grocery stores are just a short walk or bike ride away across a bike/ped only bridge that crosses the Casselman River.
The plan was:
Day 1 Thursday - John, Rick, Chris drive to Cumberland and meet Bill. The four of us would then bike the 62 miles from Cumberland to Confluence on the GAP trail, with the first 25 miles being the uphill climb to Deal. Carole, Maggie and June would later drive in two cars, pick up my Subaru Outback in Cumberland and drive three cars to Confluence. A complicated shuttle arrangement would reunite Bill and his car, as he was not going to stay for the weekend.
Day 2 Friday - The early arrivals (John/Carole, Chris/June, Rick/Maggie) would do some biking in the morning and maybe the natural waterslide in Ohiopyle in the afternoon, or go see one of the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Once the others (Dan/Andi, Ken/Felicia, Mike/Kathy, Debbie) arrived, we would have a "fuddle" dinner at the Parker House - everyone would bring enough for themselves and a bit to share.
Day 3 Saturday - a 22 mile round trip bike ride to Ohiopyle was the morning activity, with an optional 28 mile one way (with shuttle) to Connellsville. In the afternoon, most would go white water rafting while some would drive to Somerset to visit the Flight 93 memorial. A group dinner would be at the Stone House towards Uniontown.
Day 4 Sunday - John would bike 37 miles from Confluence to Deal, while everyone else would pack up and drive to Cumberland. Cumberland Trail Connection would then shuttle them and their bikes to the top of the mountain at Deal, and the reunited group would enjoy the 25 mile mostly downhill ride back to Cumberland.
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