WETH: The urban part from Eliza Furnace Trail via the Hot Metal Bridge has only been open a year or so and is along the Monongahela and then the Youghiogheny Rivers and I've yet to ride it through although along the river I'll venture a guess that it's less than railroad grade at its steepest. I'm guessing the now open connector to Pittsburgh is a pretty even grade. Brief exceptions being approaches onto or off of causeways on the south end of Connellsville. The 18 miles from Connellsville to Ohiopyle have some short ups and downs as the trail moves between elevations the old rail grade surely took more gently but land changes since then. The two bridges right before Ohiopyle sneak up on you as the trail keeps on grade pretty well and are a nice picturesque reward.
What I find more important than the functional grade of any section of the trail is the surface. The GAP has by far a better trail bed than the C & O, this crushed limestone drains rain so well that it doesn't result in a spectrum of resistance to forward motion and is much nicer to non-fendered bikes and riders during any downpour and very soon after any rain stops. The impact of wet weather, even as distant as a week previous, can really impact forward progress on the west end of the C&O. I've left Pittsburgh for Ohiopyle on the way to D.C.in a pouring rain without a likely end on the radar and were not as dramatically impacted in transit time as we feared. We were prepared for wet and the Yough Plaza Motel (as well as other place we stopped) has hose and nozzle for drivetrain hygiene. I cannot overemphasize stopping on a rigid schedule to snack, drink and take pictures. I encouraged my nephew, then 13, to bring his CamelBak so there was no shortage of water while on the bike. Our day to Ohiopyle was 72 miles and he, because of our pace of breaks and riding, overcame any apprehension and finished in good condition with no malady, ache or saddle sores. He lead the way around the little town to explore all the food options before picking one. I have to give a plug to Triangle Bike Rental in Pittsburgh who put together a a bike starting with a Raleigh Clubman frame, including bags, to fit him for the trip. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Monday, April 21, 2014 9:38:00 PM UTC-4, WETH wrote: > > Dear Patrick, last summer they did 30 plus miles on paved trails and > roads. They are a year older, stronger, and more opinionated now! We are > toying with 5 days for the trip with the following mileage days: 37 miles, > 25 mileS, 27 miles, 20 miles, 44 miles (mostly downhill into Cumberland). > We are giving them choices where possible. Adventure Cycling runs a > family biking tour on the trail, and I am loosely following their distances. > Dear Andy, that sounds like it was a memorable trip. Do you remember what > the grade of the trail is like from Pittsburg to Ohiopyle? Am I right that > it is more flat to rolling? I know the grade is pretty consistently upward > from Ohiopyle through Meyersdale, hence the lower mileage on days 3 and 4. > Thanks. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
