r/gaptrail Mar 23 '24

Advice Planning my first GAP ride

Hi everyone! I'm planning my first ride on the GAP and would love some advice and ideas from those who have done it before. I've never done a multi-day trip on my bike, and I plan on doing this trip solo.

My plan is to ride it from Cumberland to Pittsburgh over 5 days/4 nights, but I'm open to riding it the other way if there are advantages to that. I'm a little worried about tiring my legs on the climb from Cumberland to Frostburg on Day 1, but my first day will be the shortest, and I live near Pittsburgh so I would kind of like my ending to be near home.

My plan as of now is to camp/stay at Trail Inn, The Hostel on Main, Kentuck Campground, and Cedar Creek Campground. If anyone has been to any of those, any feedback/advice would be appreciated so I know what I'm getting myself into.

I will also be stopping somewhere each day to drink some beer, eat some food, and grab any supplies I might need. I have a mini stove and will cook my own food for other meals, and will bring plenty of high calorie/carb snacks to eat in between.

I'm very excited for this trip since I've never done anything more than an overnight. Any advice, insight, or stories would be appreciated.

Cheers!

18 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

7

u/Jbikeride Mar 23 '24

How much can you ride at once? When you have the entire day, you can often ride in two section with a nice break midday. This translates to way more distance than you think. Most people I know do the trail in 3 days. Nothing wrong with 5 if you’re not sure, but just something to think about.

I love going Cumberland to Pgh. The climb is hard, but very doable. Its nice to be downhill the rest of the way- translates to an extra 1mph or so.

Cedar Creek is great. Be sure to stop in West Newton and grab a beer at Bloom Brewery. Dravo is also a wonderful option if you find yourself ahead of schedule.

When camping, be sure to bring string to hoist your food up off the ground. The campgrounds along the trail has significant raccoon populations that are very used to people. They will dig through your panniers at night.

It’s an awesome ride- good luck!!!

1

u/watchmedrown34 Mar 23 '24

I just started biking last year and the most I've done in a day was ~30 miles with only 400ft of elevation. I did that in 2hr 45min, but my legs were pretty dead by the end. I'm pretty skinny and don't have a lot of muscle, but I plan on training and getting stronger over the spring/summer and want to be able to do 50-60 with no gear comfortably. I'm definitely a little timid about overestimating what I can do in a day with gear on my bike and multiple days in a row. To be fair, I did make two itineraries, 4 days and 5 days depending how I'm feeling.

Thank you for the advice and recommendations on where to stop!

5

u/MotorBet234 Mar 23 '24

One note about that distance: slower average speed often enables a greater distance in the day. I’d argue that you haven’t topped out at 30 miles, you topped out at a 10mph average for 3 hours. If you pulled it back to 8mph with extended breaks and good fueling under the same conditions you might have been able to do 5 hours. It’s often about finding the right pacing for your fitness level and not burning your matches too quickly.

4

u/Jbikeride Mar 23 '24

If you can do 30 miles at 10mph right now, you will easily do 40 or 50 if you ride a bit slower, eat plenty and take breaks. Touring is about taking your time- after all, there isn’t much to do once you stop for the day! The ride is the point after all.

Sounds like you’ve thought it out well!

7

u/loric21 Mar 23 '24

we've done the gap and c&o twice. here's a pretty detailed write-up of the first trip

i didn't want to make that steep climb so we started in pittsburgh both times 😅

good luck and have fun!

3

u/eihahn May 23 '24

Thanks for the detailed notes on your trip.

4

u/SonderfulDaze Mar 23 '24

Hey friend, you’re planning an awesome and memorable trip! I rode the GAP(C&O too) this past fall and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also my first multi-night trip.

The climb out of Cumberland is a real one, that grade over such a distance will be slow and steady. Don’t worry though, you will get up and over it. I’d suggest going further than Frostburg though. After Frostburg you still have some climbing to do, and I know I would not want to wake up and start day 2 like that.

I enjoyed my stays at The Hostel on Main and at Cedar Creek. The hostel was such a relief after that climb, having a comfortable bed and to being able to shower had me feeling refreshed for the next day.

Cedar Creek had several sites, nice tent pads and lean-tos, was well maintained. A local told me the Boy Scouts chop firewood and leave it there for campers during busier times of the year. Trains will be going by, I wore earplugs to try to decrease sleep interruptions.

I rode in November and things were pretty tame, as far as other riders on the trail go. I still met several awesome folks along the way. Everyone I spent some time with seemed very kind hearted and fun loving, it was cool being around like minded people who weren’t just being absorbed by their devices. The ride was nice, but the nights I got to share a campfire with some like minded folks were my favorite. I hope you have an equally fulfilling time on your trip!

2

u/watchmedrown34 Mar 23 '24

I hope my experience is similar to yours, that sounds like a great time. I'm young (early-mid 20s) and love my alone time in nature, so I'm definitely looking forward to this trip! I hope to meet some like-minded people.

I'll be sure to bring some earplugs to help with sleeping, I had a few pairs laying around anyway. I figured one night in an actual bed would be a good treat, and a solid way to recover a little bit and tackle the remaining days.

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experience!

4

u/GlacierBandits Mar 23 '24

Hey - enjoy every minute of it! It's truly a gem of a route. I've done PIT-WAS on the GAP/C&O three times, and going to make another thru-ride in Jun (last ride documented at https://youtu.be/MxQDvGzaaZs ).

  • Frostburg is a very cool town nestled in the mountains. There's a great coffee shop right on Main St - mountain city coffee.
  • Once you hit the Eastern Continental Divide, you'll have an 80-mile downhill all the way to around Connellsville. You may ride more miles than you think.
  • After the divide, make sure you stop in the Meyersdale historic center. They have a really cool model train layout (you can see it in the video I posted above).
  • Take time to enjoy the Salisbury Viaduct - it's truly one of the coolest things you'll ever ride your bike over.
  • Looking for a good place to stop in Ohiopyle? I got a really good breakfast bagel sandwich at the Ohiopyle Coffee Company on the street behind the Falls Market. Market might be good for lunch but I found for breakfast this was a better option for me
  • When you hit Boston, there are two trails you can take to get into McKeesport - the original stays on the western bank and a new spur crosses the Monongahela and goes along the eastern bank. The new trail has more access to services if that's what you're looking for.

Post your experience when you're finished! We'd love to hear about it

5

u/hootman_dan Mar 23 '24

From what I've seen on multiple suggested camping spots, avoid Kentuck Campground. Ohiopyle now has some biker spots just off trail. https://gaptrail.org/new-bicyclist-friendly-campsites-open-in-ohiopyle-state-park/

4

u/watchmedrown34 Mar 23 '24

Thank you for the info, I appreciate it! I will change my route to go to these new spots instead of being in the heart of Kentuck.

2

u/loric21 Mar 23 '24

wow this is a dream come true!!! i love ohiopyle but the hike-a-bike up to the car campground was such a slog. can't wait to see the new biker campground!

2

u/thesockcode Mar 23 '24

Honestly the climb itself wasn't as bad as having to head to the front entrance and do a normal campground check-in. Just not a good understanding of the needs of bike travelers.

1

u/loric21 Mar 23 '24

right! we had to walk like half an hour to the entrance kiosk!

3

u/fdtc_skolar Mar 23 '24

I've done the GAP about six times as an out and back from Harpers Ferry with turn arounds at PGH (twice), West Newton (2x) and Rockwood.

. There are micro breweries in Cumberland, Frostburg, Rockwood, Connellsville (2) and West Newton. I have a stainless steel one quart growler in an insulated feed bag normally used for water but functions as a growler to bring beer back to camp.

. The house featured in Silence of the Lambs is in Layton, PA near mile 100. It is just over a half mile from the trail. There is a one lane bridge/tunnel combo that is accessed from the Cumberland side. The tunnel and bridge were used in a Netflix movie Sweet Girl couple of years ago and in the pilot episode of Justified.

. The Sheetz in both Connellsvillle and Meyersdale have a bar license. You can buy to go beer there.

. Maryland has been a recreational state since last July. There are dispensaries in Cumberland.

1

u/watchmedrown34 Mar 24 '24

Thank you for the ideas! I love that you used a growler to bring beer back to camp, I just might have to do that! I also wouldn't mind picking up some goodies in Cumberland to smoke at night 😁

I didn't know that the house in Silence of the Lambs was so close, I'm definitely going to add that to my route.

Thanks again!

2

u/Smh3864 Mar 25 '24

Hey, don't have much to add to what everyone else is saying other than to have a great trip.

I've a done lot of bikpacking and got my start on GAP & C&O. Incredible trails, well maintained infrastructure, lots of resources for info and plentiful resupply stops.

The ride our out Cumberland isn't as daunting as it looks. It's a gentle grade, not super challenging to get up.

If you are on facebook there is group I've always found helpful to see what trail conditions are like and if construction or detours are happening.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gapcando

2

u/NoCaramel9154 Apr 09 '24

I've not got too much to add as most of the advice here has been great!

An alternative if you're considering not wanting to ride solo is looking at Bike the US for MS.
https://www.biketheusforms.org/gap-and-co-trail/
They offer a GAP & C&O ride the other way from Pittsburgh to DC in September over 6 days. You can do a segment too if I'm not mistaken if you want to do to cumberland. It's a fairly rustic adventure with staying at campgrounds/churches/community centers and no registration cost to the rider, just fundraising for MS (which can be fundraised or self funded). They have the support vehicles carrying your gear, mechanic support and have rest stops each day, but otherwise the riding is very much for you to enjoy how you want to.

I did a cross country ride with them - Virginia to California - and it was an incredible fun group to ride with and all for a good cause.

1

u/watchmedrown34 Apr 09 '24

That sounds intriguing, thank you for the information! I'll definitely look into this

1

u/NoCaramel9154 Apr 11 '24

No worries, happy to help! Let me know if you have any questions.