Iron ton Rail Trail - Complete

Today's trail is the recently completed Ironton Rail Trail.  The original trail had a tunnel added and the 3 mile spur connects it to the North Whitehall Township ballfield.  This is one of my two "go to" trails if I want to go out for a ride but don't have a full day to devote.

A full trip on the trial is only about 12 miles and there are multiple places to join the trail.  The original trail is a loop so you end up where you started.  The spur is an out and back.  Most of the trail is either paved or very tightly packed gravel. 

One downside to this trail is that you have several street crossings... I'm not a fan of crossing roads but these aren't terribly busy so it's not too bad... 

Iron ton Rail Trail - Complete

Today's trail is the recently completed Ironton Rail Trail.  The original trail had a tunnel added and the 3 mile spur connects it to the North Whitehall Township ballfield.  This is one of my two "go to" trails if I want to go out for a ride but don't have a full day to devote.

A full trip on the trial is only about 12 miles and there are multiple places to join the trail.  The original trail is a loop so you end up where you started.  The spur is an out and back.  Most of the trail is either paved or very tightly packed gravel. 

One downside to this trail is that you have several street crossings... I'm not a fan of crossing roads but these aren't terribly busy so it's not too bad... 

Welcome to 2016...

I'm not good at keeping resolutions, so in the past I've basically avoided making them. This year I have a plan and it's about as close to a resolution as I'm going to get...

Over the course of my riding season I plan/hope to ride on 50 different trails. I will blog trip reports from each trail and post photos.

Given my work schedule this is a pretty ambitious goal...

GAP 2015 by the numbers

Here are some fun numbers from my bike ride on the Great Allgehany Passage...

Total miles : 157.2

Total riding time : 15 hours 59 minutes and 53 seconds

Average speed : 9.8 mph

Maximum speed: 22.8 mph

Hottest daytime temperature : 89 deg

Coolest daytime temperature : 55 deg

Starting elevation : 605 ft

Ending elevation : 725 ft

Highest elevation : 2392 ft

Water consumed on trail : approximately 220 oz

Calories burned : approximately 7680

GAP 2015 day four - Boston to Pittsburgh

MStart time 7:45am

End time 11:00am

Mileage 22.4 (157.2 total)

Well I made it!

I started out this morning with a light breakfast at the B&B and was on the trail early... The Yough Shore Inn is located up a busy hill so I was careful to ride as much in the shoulder as I could for the two blocks of decidedly bike unfriendly traffic ...

Once back on the trail I noticed how quickly the trail scenery changes from woodsy bike path to industrial backlot ... The last truly wooded area of the trail is near Dead Man's Hollow ... A 440 acre nature preserve reclaimed from the shadows of what was once a sewer pipe plant... 

Once you hit the bridge into McKeesport you're never out of sight of active train tracks or warehouses or city traffic... There are some lovely parts of this section but you're always fully aware that you're in a city area ... The trail takes you through the edges of McKeesport along the marina

and several housing areas before crossing the river and continuing up north to Duquesne ... 

At some point along the trail the backside of a roller coaster at Kennywood amusement park is visible...

Then you're back to running alongside the train tracks ... Several bridges take you over the tracks which means a series of quick climbs followed by a brief opportunity to coast..  I took a brief rest at the Pump House near the waterfront area ... 

Just before Homestead you pass the edge of the waterpark Sandcastle

which is on the small side but might be al nice diversion if you were able to stop ... At this point the GAP runs parallel with the Three River Heritage Trail... And it's mostly running along side streets or tracks or chain link fencing ... You cross the river again on the Hot Metal Bridge ...

So named because it was originally used to transport crucibles of molten steel from the blast fun aces on one side of the river to the rolling mills on the other side ... The last few blocks are on the mean streets of Pittsburgh and then you are in the Point State Park ... Here is where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers merge to form the Ohio River... And the official Western Terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage... 

With the full 157 miles of the trail behind me it was time to meet up with my family and enjoy some good food ... 

GAP 2015 day three - Connellsville to Boston (PA)

Start time 8:05 am

End time 3:00pm

Mileage 40.7 (134.8 total)

Today started out with a small but delicious breakfast at the Connellsville Bed and Breakfast ...

The trail was still in good shape and the slight downhill grade made the peddling more manageable... The trail gets pretty thin in some spot especially near the less popular trail towns ... At some points it really nothing more than two dirt tire tracks... But even with the evidence of recent rain the trail was in good shape

Most of the trail in this section was still under a heavy wooded canopy which meant between the natural cover and the mostly cloudy skies it was cooler riding ... It was 55 degrees when I set out and only got into the upper 70s all day... I have to say I'd didn't mind not dealing with the sun today ... As you travel the trail towards Pittsburgh you start to see the complexion of the trail towns change and the old train depots are replaced with plaques about the coal mines and the miners... There were a couple of monuments dedicated to mine explosions... 

Lunch at the Trailside was good ... I had wings... I love wings ... I was afraid I was going to eat too much to be comfortable on the trail but I was fine after lunch... I started to tire a bit after lunch and skipped getting ice cream at the Yough Twister because I was still full and didn't want to slow my momentum ... I also got my tires air "topped off" at the local bike stop ... My pace slowed a little on the last 14 miles of the day ... 

I saw more and more bikers who looked like they were "through biking" in the opposite direction (which is standard) ... Including two large groups with matching jerseys... I also saw a couple of riders going my way as well ... But they were passing me and moving much faster ...

When I arrived in Boston I had to climb a small hill with a lot of traffic to get to the bed and breakfast... I was greeted by Lin, the innkeeper, who showed me around the Yough Shore Inn... 

The inn is a converted senior living facility with each guest room decorated in a fun whimsical style ... I was in the Flower room ...

I asked for dinner recommendations and she offered to take to see a band playing in the next town over... Elizabeth PA closes a section of Plum St. Every Thursday for a free concert... 

I also had supper at a restaurant on the town square...  When the band took their first break I decided it was time to call it a night and Lin gave me a lift back to the Inn... The band was quite good and did several covers of songs I like.. As well as a few original tunes ...

I am sharing the inn with five couples traveling together ... So far we've not really engaged in any conversation... It's a shared bathroom situation so that could be interesting ... 

Tomorrow is my last day on the trail and I plan to have lunch with my wife and daughter in Pittsburgh...

GAP 2015 day two - Rockwood to Connellsville

Start time 8:35

End time 4:35

Mileage 48.1 (93.1 total)

I woke early today .. The steady early morning train traffic outside my window served as my alarm clock ... I took advantage of the early start and did some quick laundry ...

I had a lite breakfast at the coffee shop at the Rockwood Shops and got on the trail about half an hour early.. The fog that greeted me at 7:30 was completely cleared away by 8:30...

The morning temps were in the mid 60s...

The trail section was a bit rougher than the section from day one ... The farmlands and sweeping vistas on the lower section of the trail gave way to a fairly dense wooded area... In fact I was under a canopy of trees for almost the entirety of the ride today... This meant that there was more debris on the trail surface from the trees overhead... The surface was still in great shape but there were more noticeable ruts and rough sections than I experienced on day one

I encountered three different work crews improving section of the trail on my ride today ... It was nice to see the trails being activity maintained... Sadly the Pinkerton Tunnel was not open to traffic yet ...

The completion date of end of July seems to have come and gone... I was chatting with a couple from Annapolis who said that they just stopped working on the tunnel a few weeks ago ... They were working on it today but it looks like it's still a good while til it's done...

I had a pulled pork sandwich at a little BBQ joint called The Smoke House in Confluence ... and they filled my water bottles with ice and water... The place is just to the left as you get off the bridge ... Worth a stop if you're on the trail and hungry for lunch...

I was making good time and decided to press on and have dessert in Ohiopyle... I had a chocolate shake from Kickstands ... 

It's right across the street from the welcome center so it's easy to find ... I spent some time wandering around the little town before getting a fresh squeezed lemonade from the Firefly Grille.... And with that I was back on the trail...

As the miles wore on my legs started to tire ... So I took more breaks and slowed down my pace a bit ... There is also a little bit of a climb the last 2 miles into Connellsville ... Surprise! ... Even with the delays and the slower pace I was into Connellsville about an hour early and checked into the Connellsville Bed and Breakfast before dinner...

I met the inn keeper and she got me settled in to my room ... The French Room is actually in the front of the building with a separate entrance ... Nothing fancy just two beds and a bathroom ... I did some laundry before heading out for supper ... I tried a little sandwich shop near the bed and breakfast ... Not bad but I was really craving more meet... 

Tomorrow is a slightly shorter travel day ... And it's a part of the trail I've never been on before ...uncharted territory so to speak ...