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Category Archives: The Bike
The GAP – Day 2
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!
Former Railroad Trestle Bridge
The New River Trail is a 57 mile linear State Park in Virginia. Created from an abandoned railroad right of way, this bridge is one of 30 along the trail. I recently crossed this bridge on my fairly new gravel bicycle (not the one pictured in my header image) while training for an upcoming ride in October.
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After several false starts, I am determined to get back into blogging (I’ve certainly said that before!). After posting regularly for almost a decade, life, work, and caring for parents seemed to keep me from following through on my goal. Fingers crossed, this time I will succeed!
Life on the Bike started as a travel journal and a place to share photos from the road with friends and family. Sadly, there was a two year time span when I wasn’t able to ride either the motorcycle or the bicycle.
I had also not picked up my DSLR for a year! But two weeks ago, I took a photography class in DC and have been practicing / refreshing daily. When I started this blog back in 2012, I had little more than an eye and a “point and shoot”. I look back at those photos now, and see good intentions but not much more. Hopefully, I’ve improved since then!
I am going to commit to posting once weekly, most likely the same day that I post on Monochromia. If you are a fan of B&W Photography be sure to visit and see the work of some amazing photographers.
I look forward to catching up with the blogging community and friends who have been much more diligent than I in maintaining their blogs.
Oh How The Mood Changes
A new comment brought me back to this 7 year old post. A lovely memory.
A quick trip to Charlotte, NC offered me a chance to have a mini 12 hour vacation. The day was beautiful for driving (I very much regretted not riding the bike) and I met friends in Uptown.
How wonderful it was to walk and wander, to point and shoot, to breathe and relax.
As an aside: I wondered why the residents of Charlotte call it Uptown and learned that this is a common question, one that Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist a WCNC-NBC TV answered in this blog post.
While I have many photos to work through and share, I loved the contrast between these two. Without a tripod, I took one with, and one without, flash. The mood changed dramatically in comparison, and the second begged to be converted to monochrome.
The first evokes a lovely evening stroll …
while the second encourages you to turn around and head…
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New Year / New Blog Commitment
My very first blog post was in 2012 and I posted regularly until late in 2018 when somehow the fullness of life and work kept getting in the way. Back when I began, the goal was to “be able to look back on my life later and remember what a fabulous one it has been”, and by fabulous I mean truly fortunate. I intended to have Life on the Bike be a journal, of photos and words.
Each year, I create a desk calendar for family, friends, and personal use, and when exchanging the 2021 calendar for 2022, I noted one thing for sure. While my eye may be the same, my technical capability has markedly improved. Even still, it was fun to go back and view the years through my lens, and that is what I want this space to be. A record of travel and personal growth. Thoughts, introspection, and life’s journey. In order to make that happen, I need to commit to blogging more regularly!
Since 2012, I have published 738 posts, yet this past year I posted just 24 times, only 3.2% of the total posts. What should my commitment be? Weekly? Two Times Monthly? Only when I travel? How do you all commit yourself to documenting your lives?
In the meantime, from my hometown to yours, Welcome to 2022! May it be a healthier, more hopeful year for all of us!
The Wool Factory
Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend a gathering with some of the board members of the National Women’s Political Caucus – Virginia (check us out!) at a super fun place called The Wool Factory, “a unique collaboration between chefs, brewers, winemakers, and coffee roasters aimed at creating a distinct food-and-beverage destination”.
As always when I travel and explore new places, I must know the history and the Wool Factory’s website provides it! Originally a water grist mill (1795), and later burned by the Union Army (1865), the Charlottesville Woolen Mills was established in 1868 and “became nationally known for their excellent production of fine military fabrics and uniforms, furnishing cloth for the majority of railroad workers and military schools”. The mill closed in 1962 and “the majority of the surviving mill buildings standing on the site today were built in 1920-1930s”.
What a cool, cool place this is! The beers are named after the original wool fabrics that were produced at the mill. Needing a light cold beer after a 100 mile motorcycle ride, I opted for the Poplin followed by the Flannel No. 2. These paired well with the Peruvian Chicken.
The excellent company of board members and friends kept me from exploring the site further, but I will be back with camera again in hand for further photo ops and the trying out of new beers (they also have cocktails!) and elevated bar food.
If you are near Charlottesville, Virginia be sure to plan a visit to this historic woolen mill.
The Light of the Sun
Rake vs Blow
Now … there might be a wave but conversation is almost impossible because of the whine of the leafblowers.
Makes me sentimental for days gone by
In Memoriam – Patricia Fogarty
Thank you, Joe, for putting into words what many are feeling. My thoughts are with her family and friends the world over.
It is with deep regret that I wish to inform our followers that my dear friend and fellow Monochromia contributor Patricia Fogarty (aka Patti Kuche) has passed away. She is survived by her loving husband Mark Fogarty and her sons Iggy, Dom and Patrick. All of us at this blog want to extend our deepest sympathy to Mark and family. She will leave a void in hearts of the many people who have had the pleasure of knowing her.
Images by Stacy Fischer
Patti was first and foremost a great street photographer. She was also a dear friend and a genuinely fun person to be around. My wife Theresa and I had a special connection with Patti. We adored her mixture of Australian and London brogue accent and I don’t think there was ever a time where she failed to make us laugh when we got together.
When I first…
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Thurmond West Virginia: Historic Train Town
Oh how I have missed riding the bike!
The passion for travel with my sweetie, the drive to elect women and men who share my values (ie the values of Presidents Obama and Carter), and the hours at work have diminished my time on the bike significantly. The desire to ride, however, is ever present in my mind and two weeks ago, I finally had a weekend without travel. I spent one whole day riding 225 miles through Virginia and West Virginia. Happiness! The destination was Thurmond, West Virginia, an early 1900s boomtown.
We had many miles to ride before arriving in Thurmond, and our first stop was Bluestone Dam, a popular place for bass, catfish, crappie, and bluegill fishing. After a brief stop to look at Bluestone Lake and dam, we were off through New River Gorge country.
While the others took off down a gravel road, I stopped for some photography. I did not know when shooting this image that I was looking towards the historic Thurmond bridge.
The bridge has been rebuilt and rehabbed a few times, but the original bridge was built in 1889.
If you know me, you know I love a bridge, and I had to park the bike and walk out to capture this image looking down into the river.
The view down river from the bridge
The National Park Service restored the Thurmond Depot as a Visitor’s Center in 1995, and the NPS has made learning the history of Thurmond a walkable experience.
Two major fires, the arrival of roads, and the switch from steam engine to diesel engine led to the town’s decline. Thankfully, the outdoor adventure industry and commercial whitewater rafting through the New River Gorge National River, have revitalized the area.
“Presently, the park owns approximately 80% of the town of Thurmond, including the historic Thurmond Depot. Three times each week, Amtrak uses the Thurmond Depot as a passenger stop and coal trains continue to roll through town hourly. Though it is a shell of its former self, the historic town of Thurmond still stands as a reminder of the past. It truly is where the River meets History”! http://thurmondwv.org/about/history
It was a gorgeous day, perfect for riding, only made better by being with good friends. Learning some history just added to the experience. One more thing: the movie Matewan was filmed in Thurmond, WVA.
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 