When I planned this quick trip, I only had 3 days to make it work. Since I was counting on Amtrak, the schedule for the 30 Capital Limited train dictated my timing and direction of travel. The only way to make it work was to park my car in Pittsburgh, catch the early morning Amtrak to Cumberland, and cycle the first part of the trip the same day. So that’s what I did. That involved getting up about a little before 4AM to get packed up and over to the Amtrak station to catch the 5:20AM train for a four hour trip to Cumberland MD.
My plan was to try to sleep a bit more on the train. That was until I met a guy in the train station who does a lot of cycling as well. Much to the dismay of the guy sitting in front of us, we talked the entire four hours to Cumberland. So needless to say, I’m tired tonight between the riding and the short night yesterday.
The train arrived about an hour late into Cumberland, but that still left me plenty of time and sunlight to complete my trek. I stopped at Queen City Cravings to get a breakfast sandwich and some tea before heading up the mountain.
The Great Allegheny Passage is generally flat because it is built on an old railway line. However to get out of Cumberland, there is a 24 mile steady climb up to the eastern Continental Divide. It sounds worse than it really is. The grade is a little less than 2% and it is steady. You just click down a gear or two and grind your way up the mountain.
Today’s destination was the town of Rockwood, PA. Only about 44 miles. I typically shoot for 50-60 miles/day but I intentionally planned this one to be a bit shorter because of the climb and the risk of Amtrak running late. The timing was about perfect. I rolled into my B&B shortly before 3:30PM.
Rockwood doesn’t have much in the way of restaurants, but the B&B owner recommended going next door to the American Legion hall to get something from the grill. It has been many years since I’ve been in an establishment with people smoking cigarettes. I ordered my food to go and, wow, I was really glad to get some fresh air as I ate my food outside. Yuck.
Today’s weather was definitely what we’d call epic. Temps between 60 and 75, blue skies, light wind, and really nice scenery. I did see some leaf color up at the higher elevations. I’m hoping to see a bit more in the laurel highlands tomorrow.
Time for some much needed rest.
Stats for today: 1 Amtrak ride, 44.4 bike miles, no issues of any kind, lots of neat tunnels and bridges, a few snacks, and pretty views.
May the Lord provide us all the rest we need.
Peace!
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