Backtracking is not fun

October 3, 2019

Even if it's just a few Kms!

We woke early to the sound of birds we didn’t know (and a train going by, of course!). It was a lovely quiet morning, and thankfully cool when we packed up and headed out. The trail remained quite nice, the grade barely noticeable. We were heading up, for sure, and as we rode along, enjoying the beauty around us, we stopped here and there to take pics. It was a great way to start our day.

We chugged along, taking in the scenery for 10 miles before finally stopping in Connellsville for breakfast. We had eaten a quick banana upon leaving in the morning, hoping to get some miles in before it got hot, but now I was quickly becoming “hangry” and so we found Valley Dairy, a great family style restaurant where we chowed down on a great breakfast. Normally, I can’t eat a whole two-egg breakfast, but after 10 miles, I had no problem! Satisfied, we headed back onto the trail, where the heat was pretty noticeable and the grade a little more noticeable.

As we moved along, we both began to notice that we were feeling the effects of the constant uphill on our nether regions. Most often, when cycling, you are going up and down and so can relive the pressure on those areas on the downhill. Now into day 2 of constant sitting and pedalling with no relieving downhills it was starting to take a toll. In addition, this section of trail was not in the best of shape, with little muddy sections that were slippery and others where some rough rock made for very bumpy riding. These, along with the heat, made for a pretty tough grind.

By the time we reached Ohiopyle, we were pretty spent. We had heard from a couple of guys we chatted with along the trail, that there was a nice park with a waterfall in Ohiopyle, so when we finally reached it, we happily pulled off for a welcome break. Down the little hill we went and along to the waterfront park where we did find some nice small falls. It was not big or fast moving, and I was sure tempted to climb over the fencing and put my feet in the water! We stopped to take some pics and another rider offered to take one of us. We chatted with him and found out that he was part of a group of 150 riders who were doing a supported ride of the GAP and C&O to raise funds for veterans, a worthy cause. We also found out that since they were staying both in this town and the next one, there were no accommodations to be found in either town in case we wanted to stop early – oops! We stopped in at the visitor’s information centre, thinking we might camp at Ohiopyle instead of doing the final 10 miles we had planned for this day, but unfortunately, we found that the only camping in the area was at the Ohiopyle State Park 2 miles back the way we had come. Since backtracking was not what we wanted to do, we opted for getting some revitalizing ice cream before again hitting the road, bound for the Outflow Recreation campground.

It was a grind indeed, and when we reached the town of Confluence, which is just before the campground, we stopped in at the local grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner and breakfast the next morning. While there, we asked for directions to the campground before heading out. It should have been a quick ride, but bewilderingly, we ended up going much farther than we thought we should have. As it turns out, it WAS farther! We reached the little stop at Harnedsville, I knew we had gone too far. By then, I was truly done and we had to stop for a bit so I could gather myself together before backtracking down the way we had come. Jim asked another cyclist if they knew where the campground was. Of course he knew! It was about 1 ½ miles back!!!!! Argh!!!!! With nothing else to do, we rode back and found the very very large sign for the campground just at a spot that would be easy to see coming south but not from the direction we came – great!!!

Finding no one at the office, we checked with the camp host, Earl, who told us that reservations had to be made now either online or over the phone. This camp is operated by the website Recreation.gov. It used to be free but they now charge $8.00/person for the hiker/biker site. However, my phone had no service! Earl, very kindly helped us by using his phone and after a considerable amount of effort (no one seemed to know where we were or what a hiker/biker site was!) we got ourselves sorted. As a bonus, Earl told us they had showers! We thanked him profusely for his help before heading over and setting up our tent. Dinner was quick and ok (instant mashed potatoes, chicken and gravy) before we helped ourselves to a wonderful, long and hot shower. What a great way to end a long and sometimes frustrating day. Tomorrow we are either going to stay put or make it a short day to give ourselves a bit of a rest – all will depend on how we feel in the morning.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 461 km (286 miles)

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