Erl, Enjoyed the post and pictures. I think it's a wonderful notion to do a ride like this with your boys. I love the Strawberry Quick drink, I favor a Strawberry Malt myself. I really look to the future post and pictures of this great family tour.
~Hugh On Monday, April 21, 2014 6:53:30 AM UTC-7, WETH wrote: > > Riv content: Two Rivendell-inspired riders, two Riv’d out Surly LHTs, a > large Saddlesack, a platrack, and a Slickersack. > > This summer my wife and I are planning to ride the entire Great Allegheny > Passage (GAP) trail (150 miles) from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD with > our 13 and 11 year old sons. Since we have never cycled the GAP, we > decided some real world experience would help us prepare the boys for the > adventure. We settled on exploring one of the more remote stretches, the > 20 miles between Confluence and Rockwood, PA. On Friday afternoon, my > wife and I loaded our two bikes on the car and drove the three hours to > Confluence, PA. We spent the night at River View Kitchenettes, a great > place right along the GAP Trail and overlooking the river. After an > early evening walk around the town, the Trailside restaurant provided us a > great pizza dinner washed down with a strawberry Nestle Quick. > > The morning came crisp and clear; it was going to be a beautiful weekend > for cycling. After a delicious breakfast at Sister’s Café, we set off by > 10am. Leaving Confluence the trail runs consistently uphill to Rockwood, > PA. The grade is gently but unrelentingly upward with little opportunity > for coasting. However, we were in no hurry and spun along at a > comfortable, leisurely pace enjoying the beauty and quiet of the forest we > rode through. The trail follows the Casselman River, and as we rode we > listened to the water rushing by. The main CSX rail line runs on the > other side of the river and goes through both Confluence and Rockwood. > Freight > trains rolled through at least every hour. I enjoy trains and was not > bothered by their presence. In reading online reviews of lodging options > along the trail, many reviewers do complain about the train noise, > especially at night. At times we felt like the only people for miles > around. At the Pinkerton High Bridge, next to the closed Pinkerton > Tunnel, about half way between Confluence and Rockwood, we took a break > overlooking the river. Oranges and another Strawberry Quick refreshed. > Three > and half hours after leaving Confluence we arrived in Rockwood. Did I > say we took a leisurely pace? We did pass perhaps a dozen people, a mix > of bikers and hikers, in the 20 miles. > > Rockwood was a welcoming place, and we enjoyed more pizza and some ice > cream at the Mill Shoppes on Main Street. We then explored some of the > more kid friendly lodging options in town for the summer trip, while > waiting to check in at the Gingerbread House B&B. The B&B was wonderful, > and we spent the late afternoon relaxing and reading on the porch swing. > Sunday morning dawned crisp and clear. After a delicious breakfast at > the B&B of blueberry French toast, we headed back down the trail to > Confluence. The downward grade was a welcome relief from yesterday’s > ride and we covered the distance in only two and half hours. Still > leisurely. > > Overall it was a terrific weekend, and we are excited to experience the > whole trail as a family this summer. Pictures prove we did something on > a trail with bikes: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/86975051@N08/sets/72157644195003943/ > -- 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.
