Cumberland Trail connection

First thing after a great breakfast at the Hotel on Decatur, had my bike worked on at the Cumberland Trail connection. Bike is tuned up, ready to go and I'm ready as well. Staying at the Fairfield Hotel tonight and I will leave at six in the morning... My next destination is The Great Allegheny Passage.  While still not paved, it will not be nearly as rough as the Chesapeake and Ohio Towpath. This'll be my first exposure to steep uphill as I go over the Allegheny Mountains and the Eastern Continental divide. I plan to sleep well tonight, take off early in the morning, and give it my best.  Wish me luck as I have no idea what amenities lay ahead. Remote campsites are not nearly as prevalent nor places to stay.  I will tackle it as I'm confronted with each challenge. Wish me luck and best wishes to all.

April 16, 2014

Coney Island and Curtis Famous Wieners since 1918.  Gino and Rafael were a couple of my favorites and oh my gosh were their hot dogs the best... delicious!!  Geno is of Greek and Italian descent and he takes no shortcuts in his cooking and his ingredients. He takes great pride in his work and in his shop. It was a real pleasure meeting these guys. Thank you for a great meal!

This was a main route for river traffic before the railroad came into its own. Traffic from Georgetown to Cumberland was via barges pulled by mules and it is to this that the Chesapeake and Ohio is dedicated.  The canal was all done by hand and represented a tremendous amount of work!  Equipped with locks and running along the Potomac River it was a main route for goods between Washington and Pittsburgh.

April 16, 2014

Church towers spiral into the sky, quaint little shops, friendly people, Cumberland was a wonderful rest stop and it's a beautiful place to visit. I highly recommended for those traveling east.

April 16

April 14, 2014. Great day for traveling, cool and I rode for better than 50+ miles this day.  I stayed in a remote campsite this night that was right along the Potomac River.  It rained cats and dogs all night long and I woke up to pouring rain as well. I packed up in the rain in the morning and rode 22 miles into Cumberland, Maryland. It was a brutal ride.  Along the way I saw deer turkey, snakes (one in the middle of the road) and tons of turtles, singing birds and beautiful landscape.  I was the only fool on the trail because it was cold, wet, windy, muddy, and brutal!  Never did it feels so great to arrive at a bed-and-breakfast!.  It was called Hotel on Decatur, imagine that, but it looked like nirvana to me.  After a hot bath, hot coffee, great food, clean clothes, and warmth it felt like I was human again. It took me hours to get warm.

Kevin, Jason, Aiko

Cumberland Trail Connection... Fixed my bike and got me going.

Cumberland is a bike friendly town with bike lockers that you can store your bike, good bike lanes, and very courteous people. A real pleasure being here for my day of rest.

                                               

April 15

Rainy Day!

Near Paw Paw tunnel, WV

Who gets the right of way?