Category Archives: Cycling

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The Great Allegheny Passage: Rural to Urban

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This is my fourth and final blog post about our bike trip on the Great Allegheny Passsage, a 150 mile Rail Trail that runs between Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA. The first two posts, here and here, are from the first 75 miles, ridden in the Fall of 2025. The third post is about the Art and History of the GAP. If you are just learning about the trail, check out the GAP Trail website and learn about how you, too, can enjoy a great adventure – whether by foot or by bicycle.

On our third day, we rode 45 miles from Ohiopyle, PA to Smithton, a small rural town in Pennsylvania, population 400. On this, our final day on the GAP, we only had a 30 mile ride to get to Pittsburgh, population 2.2 million (in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area).

The first 15 miles found us following a tree lined rail trail (we called it a “cathedral of trees” – see first photo), riding through small rural communities. We met our support crew for coffee and hot chocolate at a tiny little visitors center in Boston, PA.

Soon enough though, we began to see signs of larger, urban communities, and we enjoyed the changing scenery. The cloudy day made for a great contrast against the railroad tracks and steel trestles.

The Linden Tunnel is a 63-foot-long, 8-foot-high concrete structure located in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. The tunnel walls were adorned with gorgeous, colorful murals (mural photo by Ruth).

After a quick stop for lunch in Homestead, located along the Monongahela River, we got back on the bikes and rode onward to Pittsburgh.

The GAP Trail ends at Point State Park, a Pennsylvania state park located on 36 acres in Downtown Pittsburgh at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. To be honest, the last couple miles were a bit of a confusion as the GAP signs that we’d been following the previous 147 miles were no longer visible (photo taken by Ruth).

Despite that, we soon rode up to the beautiful fountain at Point State Park (photo taken by Linda).

To give you a better view of the fountain, I have included a photo from a sunny day visit in 2022.

We were so excited to be there and to celebrate completing the entire GAP Trail.

After locking up our bikes and changing out of our gear, we ended the day at PNC Park, where we met our crew and enjoyed watching the Pittsburgh Pirates play baseball.

What a great way to end our ride! And yes! We are already planning the next adventure!

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History and Art on the GAP

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The Great Allegheny Passage is a 150 mile Rail to Trail that runs between Cumberland, Maryland and Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania. Work contstraints had my friends and I doing half of the GAP in the Fall of 2025 (you can see the posts about that ride here and here) and the second half of the GAP just three weeks ago.

We arrived in Ohiopyle, PA the night before the ride, glad to be reunited with the beautiful Youghiogheny River.

Ohiopyle is a super fun “trail town” that caters to cyclists, walkers, backpackers, and river runners. We enjoyed dinner at Falls City Restaurant and Pub and slept well at the Falls Market Inn.

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast with our support crew at the Falls Market Restaurant, we set off!

It was an incredible day and we were so happy to be back on the GAP.

One of my favorite parts of riding a rail trail is learning the history of the people and communities along the way. The GAP runs through the Laurel Highlands region which is “shaped by Native American heritage, pivotal early American conflicts, and coal, coke, and steel booms”.

An unexpected pleasure is seeing public art along the way. “The Connellsville Gateway Arch, with it’s colorful stained glass fanning 16 feet into the air, welcomes eastbound travelers on the Great Allegheny Passage. Built from formed concrete, coal, and riveted steel, the arch features materials made in the town’s own Youghiogheny Opalescent Glass Factory”.

We loved the murals on three industrial silos owned by Youghhiogheny Glass. Artists Chris Galiyas and Meeghan Triggs originally painted the silos in 2008, and due to fading over the years, were restored in 2022 by Galiyas.

“To honor the steelworkers past and present, the Yellow Dog sculpture was developed through the collaborative efforts of sculptor Jim West, George Junior Republic’s Fine Arts program, and the welding program at the William H. Gladden Career and Technical Center on the campus of George Junior Republic”.

We also enjoyed the unofficial pieces of art that bring smiles.

And then we came across the Darr Mine Memorial Mosaic.

The Darr Mine disaster occurred on December 19,1907 and was the deadliest coal mining tragedy in Pennsylvania history, claiming the lives of 239 men and boys. Created by mosaic artist Rachel Sager, “the memorial includes 239 individual mosaic plaques mounted on an old stone retaining wall. Each unique mosaic is built into a vintage film canister—resembling the metal miner tags left behind in the earth”.

The explosion left 130 widows, 300 children without fathers, and 542 people without a source of income. 

Rail Trails follow historic railroads, pass through small and large towns, and preserve the surrounding countryside and history. Next post will be about our fourth and final day on the GAP.

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The GAP – Day 2

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Despite the light rain and cooler temps, we were ready for our second day of riding the GAP. See the previous post to learn about Day 1 on the Great Allegheny Trail.

Chuck and Denise, of Yoder’s Guest House, served a great breakfast, helped us get our bikes ready to ride, and captured our rainy day cycling attire.

Soon enough, we were back on the trail and within a mile, stopped to take photos of the Bollman Bridge, an 81-foot cast- and wrought-iron truss bridge built in 1871 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Just half a mile later, we rode over the Keystone Viaduct. “Curving nearly 100 feet high above Flaugherty Creek and active railroad tracks, the massive 910-foot Keystone Viaduct carries GAP travelers through a narrow cut into a rocky ridge three miles east of Myersdale.”

The light rain did not dampen our enthusiasm.

The next point of interest on the GAP was the Eastern Continental Divide. At 2392 ft above sea level, it is the highest point along the Great Allegheny Passage, and showcases murals of the Western Maryland Railway and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.

Just a mile later, we entered the Big Savage Tunnel. At 3,291 ft long, the tunnel was built by the Western Maryland Railway in 1912, and refurbished for bicyclists and hikers in 2003.

By this point, we’d barely ridden 10 miles, and had already stopped 5 times! The GAP Trail is just one fascinating historic amenity after another. We exited the Big Savage Tunnel and almost immediately came upon the Mason & Dixon Line.

“The famous Mason & Dixon Line marks the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and culturally, the demarcation between the northern and southern United States”. The English Team of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were commissioned, and the boundary was surveyed between 1763 and 1767. Ruth, from Maryland, took the M side, and Linda, from Pennsylvania, took the P side.

The next tunnel, and the second to the last one we rode through this day, was the Borden Tunnel. Constructed in 1911, the 957ft tunnel now has motion controlled lights making travel easier and safer.

As we rode along, we suddenly heard the sound of a train whistle. Much to our surprise and utter delight, the Frostburg Flyer came around the curve!

We had smiles on our faces for miles!

When planning a ride like this, it is important to make sure your partners have the same goals. We all wanted to take our time, to enjoy the natural and historic scenery, and to have a great time.

Goals Accomplished! AND we got a little bit muddy!

The rest of the ride was a gentle downhill grade and we loved the views.

All too soon, we rode into Cumberland, Maryland and our ride day was over. What fun it was to have our team waiting on us!

We rode 75 miles over 2 days from Ohiopyle, PA to Cumberland, MD and if work commitments were not an issue, we would have ridden all 150. Thankfully, we have already booked our calendars to complete the other 75 miles and cannot wait!

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The GAP – Day 1

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If you saw my recent post about the Youghiogheny River, you will know that 2 friends and I rode half of the Great Allegheny Passage a few weeks ago. Part of the Rails to Trails system, the GAP Trail is 150 miles long, and starts in Pittsburgh PA and ends in Cumberland MD. Work constraints kept us from doing the whole trail in one trip, but we loved the 75 miles that we covered, and we already have the other 75 planned for April of 2026!

We started our weekend adventure in the trail town of Ohiopyle, a Pennsylvania borough devoted to all things outdoor adventure – hiking, cycling, fishing, kayaking, and white water rafting. The whole vibe fuels the adventurous spirit and adds to the fun. As you know, clicking on any image in the galleries will let you see the full picture.

With a first day plan of a 40 mile ride to Myersdale, PA, we headed off! Our first stop was in Confluence, another small borough in Pennsylvania that welcomes cyclists and all other outdoor adventurers.

While in Confluence, we stopped at Mitch’s Fuel & Food where the incredibly nice folks there made and wrapped up our sandwiches for lunch later on down the trail.

It was a perfectly beautiful day to ride! Sunshine, cool temps, and interesting people along the way, like this guy who offered to let us try out his Penny-Farthing, aka High Wheeler. We declined but marveled at his speed and ability.

We stopped for lunch along the river before continuing on to the Pinkerton Tunnel.

The 849-foot Pinkerton Tunnel, built in 1911, was originally part of the Western Maryland Railway. It was rehabilitated and reopened to bicycle and foot traffic in 2015.

We thrilled at the ride over the Salisbury Viaduct, the longest trestle on the GAP. At 1,908 feet, the viaduct is 101 ft above the river and was built in 1911 (when tragically, 7 men were killed during construction).

Hundreds of spectators cheered when the first train crossed in 1912.  Abandoned as a through-route in 1975, it was decked for bike and pedestrian use in 1998. 

The GAP is made of packed, crushed limestone making for a smooth ride, and is well marked.

We arrived in Myersdale, PA where our fabulous and fun SAG Crew met us.

We checked into Yoder’s Guest House in Myersdale where we were greeted by Chuck, who safely stored our bikes in the bike garage. Chuck and Denise were so welcoming and we were soon enjoying the large front porch and a cold beverage. What a fabulous place to stop for the night! Highly recommend!

After pizza from a local restaurant, we went to bed excited about Day 1 and looking forward to of Day 2!