Max's Tales from the Trail - Volume 2

Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Bike Walk RVA, is currently riding his bike from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., on the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath trails, a 334.5 mile route free from traffic and motorized vehicles. He is chronicling his journey, and below you’ll find his thoughts, observations, musings, and menu selections.

Day 2

Dear Friends,

The ride from Connellsville, PA, to Rockwood, PA, was very pretty and the weather was great. However, the 47 miles of gentle climbing was noticeable and my pace slowed more than I would have liked. I began to get frustrated at my lack of speed, so I put on my headphones and dug a little deeper. I had a late breakfast in Ohiopyle and made it to Rockwood at about 4:00 p.m. There happened to be the Mother Earth Fair taking place nearby this weekend, but I was able to snag the last campsite in a campground full of nice festival attendees. I built a fire in the communal fire pit (which happened to be 10 feet from my tent) and settled in for dinner.

A fellow cyclist named Eric came by and was initially turned away by the owners of the campground, so I let him share my spot. He was from Chicago and very talkative. A festival attendee gave me a beer and after a nice conversation by the fire, I crawled into my sleeping bag. I knew I was going to sleep well. I didn’t know that a freight train would thunder by, horn blaring, ever hour from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. I think I managed to get a few hours of sleep, at least until 5:00 a.m. when the sound of heavy rain pounding my tent fully woke me up. I lay awake and annoyed for the next two hours.

Updates from Day 3 to come soon.

Sincerely,

Max