Day 3

Day 3, Monday, 11/5/12
West Newton, PA to Confluence, PA
MM 114 to about MM 62, 52 miles
9am to 7pm or so, 10 hours

Day two of real biking and was starting to feel the pain bad. I rated the butt #1, then knees and thighs. Upper body was ok but fingers and palm sore.

Had a good first B&B experience at Bright Mornings with a lovely host and pretty nice guests who were on their yearly road trip with B&B stops to their winter home. That is something I'd like to be able to do one day. Of course they were driving. We had a cheese omelet, sausage and fruit (everything was grape fruit). Said our good byes and were off.

I tried to ride harder after arriving so much later than expected the first day but realized I probably couldn't go much faster than what I was doing due to mountain bike, almost constant uphill even if slight, and soreness/lack of recovery. Even though I'm an avg 12 mph or so road biker (not great but capable), I think we averaged about 5-6 mph overall on the GAP. At times we did faster on the C&O but only at times. The mountain bike was my enemy at times and I think I pedaled about 95% of the time or more while my PIC on his cyclocross pedaled considerably less.

Nothing too notable this day. We did not see many people, less than six I would guess walking the trail. We also saw less animals (deer) but did see a opossum. Riding in the dark was getting more worrisome as we did mostly through complete darkness (i.e. no street lamps like the previous day) and cold. Started to have some fears of falling off the side of the trail which is not very likely unless you are on the far edge. Near the end of our destination I was trying to estimate each mile and each mile marker was like a savoir or beacon of hope to go on. Dang, what was I thinking?

We did pass by Connellsville MM 87 which was a small town with several shops on the main street. We were actually looking for a bike shop to get cable ties because the cyclocomputer sensor was falling off and found one! But the shop was closed on Mondays! Grr. We looked for food at the bar across the street but it did not serve food, but open around 1pm, and we left. Down the street was Peanut's Pizza and we had respite from the cold and some tasty subs. The steak sub was more satisfying than the Italian. Also had pretty good french fries and gatorade. The place is mainly carryout with just two tables but there were not many other sit-in diners or bikers, actually none, just us. They were gracious enough to let us use their bathroom. We also found a hardware store on the street. I wish we had stopped earlier in the park to take a pic by the signs directing to DC and Pittsburgh.

Another good stop was Ohiopyle MM 73 which had the best rest stop. STOP here if you pass by as it has heated room and very clean bathrooms indoors which are not port-a-pottys. Ohiopyle is also the closest to Falling Water which we were thinking of stopping at but after the first day we knew it was not going to happen. Later we were advised it was a tough climb up bike unfriendly roads to get there. Would love to come back to visit it.

We finally arrived in the cold dark over some bridges searching for the B&B. Nothing looked open and the inn keeper at the Confluence House was gracious enough to make homemade chicken noodle soup for us and the other guests there. Afterwards my PIC passed out pretty soundly. Throughout the trip I had issues falling asleep. I usually slept about 7 hours but always wish I had more and more restful sleep. Would wake up sore and trying to find a good position. We also started taking an ibuprofen before bed after the first day.

Bright Morning B&B:
http://www.brightmorning.net/

Confluence House:
http://www.theconfluencehouse.com/

Peanut Pizza:
http://www.peanutspizza.com/

Ohiopyle:
http://discoverohiopyle.com/

Connellsville:
http://www.fay-west.com/connellsville/historic/

Confluence:
http://www.visitconfluence.info/

Youghiogheny River
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youghiogheny_River

Falling Water:
http://www.fallingwater.org/