Last night the most pessimistic forecast for today was 40% chance rain in the afternoon. It was drizzling at 8:00 am and raining hard by 8:30, then stopped by 9:30. The wise thing to have done would be to wait till 9:30 to start. I had first sag and Bob had announced the night before that he’d ride in the van the first 22 miles. We were content with the arrangement.
The unwise Tom, Jimmy, and Ross set off at 8 am to ride in a cool rain (cold if you were in it.) Ross’s Garmin got us to the first regroup point at Boston, the one next to Versailles, the one in Pennsylvania.Radar showed the rain exiting our route just as the soaked trio arrived. I donned my rain gear but dithered till the rain had mostly stopped. No one rushed me. We set off to a wet sandy surface.
The surface of the GAP has deteriorated significantly since our last trip in 2018. Then the surface was uniformly fined crushed gravel that drained quickly and kept a sturdy surface even when wet. Today much of the surface had sand reminiscent of cycling on Myrtle Beach. Several miles had stretches of slick sandy mud that had me fishtailing. Some of the surface was good for miles. Areas exposed to sun were generally better. I removed my rain gear at the next regroup and my polyester base at the last.
Lunch was a bit off the trail in West Newton at Gary’s Chuckwagon, recommended by the gas station attendant at Sutersville when our first choice was not yet open. We had great roast beef and turkey sandwiches. I finally got the doughnut craved for days. Glazed, custard filled, with chocolate coating. They had an amazing selection of pastries and had we the ability to carry them, we’d have bought a lot. Sadly the van was en route to the next regroup.
The trail generally improved with a few treacherous regions the entire way. The Connellsville Comfort Inn was right on the trail and very welcome. They have a bicycle cleaning station at the front and bicycle storage off the lobby.
I cleaned my bike’s drive train of sand stuck in every conceivable place. The rear derailleur jockey wheels were especially jammed with grit, requiring a small screwdriver to get them turning freely.
Then it was shower, a beer, sit and talk on the patio overlooking the river whose name I can neither spell nor pronounce but is lovely. I did another load of laundry as I’d accumulated an inordinate amount of dirty clothes in two days, to include cycling clothes worn after yesterday’s wash and off bike clothes worn while other clothes washed. Today’s cycling clothes were too full of sand to put In my bags. With luck this will be my last wash.
Then it was to the Kickstand Kitchen for supper and back here to sort clothes, review finances, and type this narrative for Tom. Tom has done a masterful job keeping the blog updated.
Tomorrow we cycle to Meyersdale, then van to Grantsville Comfort Inn where we’ll meet up with our fellow Fogbee now moved to West Virginia, David Irvine.
Bruce
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