The 150 mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) connects Pittsburgh, PA to to Cumberland, MD. The 184 mile C&O Canal Tow Path continues from Cumberland on to Washington, D.C. providing an exceptional bicycle route unencumbered by car traffic through areas of natural beauty and historical interest. My father, George (82 years old at the time of the tour) and I planned to ride the entire route, starting from his home in a suburb of Pittsburgh. Dad was the one that taught me to ride a bicycle, I remember him running along beside me on my first two wheel bicycle and then releasing his hold on the seat long before I thought it was safe. I don't remember crashing then, so it must have been safe. Throughout my childhood he kept me (and my siblings) equipped with cobbled together bicycles which I used to deliver the "Pittsburgh Press" and to complete the Boy Scout Cycling merit badge. After I left home, we didn't resume bicycle adventures together until participating together on a multi-day group tour (Cycle Across Maryland) in the early 1990's. Other than several short trips, we hadn't been on any adventurous bicycle tours since. In 2009, the GAP was not completed into downtown Pittsburgh. There was an unfinished portion between downtown and McKeesport. We heard reports that the detour around the unfinished portion along public streets was not considered safe during normal traffic periods. Dad's home is in Mt. Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb and Dad was determined to ride directly from his driveway to the GAP trail. We mapped out a route on public streets to the Montour trail which we could then follow to McKeesport. My original plan was to camp and hotel our way, but my mother nixed that plan, she didn't want Dad sleeping out on the ground. Consequently we planned on 60 mile average days where we could find motels or other accommodations. A problem was that we were reluctant to ask friends or relatives to drive into Washington D.C. to pick us up at the end of the trip. At some point, I realized that the solution was to just bicycle back up to Cumberland which was near my home. Problem solved.
In Mt. Lebanon. Dad had put a lot of thought into modifying his mountain style bicycle with 26" wheels which he originally purchased for that 1990's CAM tour. Some of the more creative features may not be immediately apparent. He created a compartment in the frame triangle which was made out of a cardboard material, racing stripped (or camouflaged)and then watersealed. A compass and his bicycle flag were mounted in the front, between turn signals and a sound stereo system. An LED brake light is mounted behind the seat. A homemade cylindrical tool storage area is mounted underneath the frame behind the front wheel. Although his preference was to go with only homemade equipment, he agreed to mount a pair of Madden panniers on the rear rack. My ride is an REI Randonee touring bicycle with 700C wheels with my gear fitting inside two Madden panniers. We had one flat tire on the trip and really, no significant mechanical problems. I took over 450 pictures with a small digital camera.
