On this travel day, I nearly don’t make it to the start of my ride…
AUGUST 5, 2006
THREE YEARS LATER
Here I am again ready to make the journey on the Great Allegheny Passage again. This time I decided to take a westbound ride on the GAP, heading from Cumberland all the way to the south side of Pittsburgh. I carefully laid out my plans, had a new bike and headed off to Pittsburgh (at this time I had moved away from Pittsburgh to Valley Forge just outside of Philadelphia) to meet my brother at his place.
Pittsburgh at night on my way to the Amtrak Station
In the wee hours of the morning I woke up and prepared for my train journey to the beginning of my ride in Cumberland. After breakfast my brother and I headed off into the still dark morning and walked to the Amtrak station. Now I mentioned in that i nearly didn’t make it. This wasn’t because I missed my train. No, in fact the Capital Limited was late (is it ever on time?). The problem was with my bike. Amtrak seems to have a rule about bringing bikes on to the train. In order to bring my bike on the train I would have to buy a cardboard box from them, pretty much completely disassemble my bike (which I didn’t have the tools for or the time) and then check it as luggage. Then they asked where I was going. Well, it turns out Cumberland has what can easily be called an Amshak, no station, no ticket office and no checked baggage service. They tried to tell me I would have to leave the bike in Pittsburgh.
WHAT!
After much explaining of WHY I needed the bike on the train in the first place and explaining that the agent in Philly who sold me my tickets told me that bikes were allowed on board, he finally caved in and told me to tell the conductor that I was allowed to bring my bike on board.
Blurry shot of the Capital Limited pulling in.
Now the conductor, oh what a friendly fellow. *sarcasm* He grumbled and growled about the bike. He then showed me to a baggage area in the downstairs area of my coach. It was completely empty. I really did not understand why bikes were not permitted in here.
Ohiopyle from the train
Meyersdale from the train
The rest of the trip down was uneventful. I chose a seat on the river side of the train and once the sun began to shine and the fog lifted I was given views of familiar scenes along the same route I would be biking back on.
Grumpy Conductor
Western Maryland Station
Once I arrived in Cumberland I retrieved my bike (with more nasty looks from the conductor) and hurried over to the Western Maryland station to catch my next train. I had to hurry since my Amtrak train was so late. But i made it, found a spot to lock up my bike and took a ride on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Now in hindsight, I should have brought the bike along and gotten a head start on my ride from Frostburg. It would have easily avoided some unpleasantries of my first camping night and of the next days ride. More on that later.
Western Maryland Scenic
After a rather pleasant (except for the part where I nearly suffocated from coal smoke, TIP: Don’t ride in the open air car through the tunnel) train ride, I returned to Cumberland. I retrieved my bike and got some dogs and a shake at Curtis’ Famous Wieners (a trip to Cumberland is not complete without a stop here) and headed off to my campsite at the YMCA.
EAT HERE!
HEED MY WARNING, DO NOT STAY AT THE YMCA!
Not really worth the expense to stay there. Especially since I now know that there is a nearby campsite on the C&O that is free. The campsite itself wasn’t that bad, it was actually a picnic area across the street from the Y. My problem came from the Y itself. The staff wasn’t all that friendly and the local kids using the same showers as you… well, I don’t know about you, but I DO NOT like finding my towel and clothes in the middle of the mass shower area completely soaked and with all the shower heads running and a janitor looking at me as if I had everything to do with it. And another thing, I was told that the trains would keep me up, which i wouldn’t mind much (I love trains!). But hardly a train passed by that night. What kept me up was all the headlights coming and going from the Y’s parking lot at random times all night long.
My campsite for the night
Eventually I must have slept, because I slept in the next morning.
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