It looks wet outside but the rain has stopped.
Big breakfast prepared by Rick: omelettes, toast, yogurt, fruit, coffee/tea, OJ, and peanut butter cups for the road. He also brings us a box to mail some more things home, which will lighten our load noticeably on this last leg. We can’t say enough about the hospitality at this quilting retreat! After a quick stop at the local post office, Rick drops us off where we finished riding yesterday and we continue.
The trail goes through Connellsville and then follows the Youghiogheny River. It is a messy start to the day. Dr. Fauci falls victim to a vicious mud-slinging campaign, not from anti-vaccine folks but from the aftermath of last night’s storm. For the first time, downed trees block our path every few miles. We make it to West Newton, PA, enjoy some free snacks that we picked up from a kind-hearted FREE stand outside of Whitsett, buy a couple of souvenir clothing items, and watch awkwardly as the lady at the visitors’ center / gift shop kicks out some mischievous teenagers.
The weather improves as the day wears on. We pass mile 100 of the GAP trail. Since the GAP is shorter than the C&O by some 40 miles it’s a sign that the home stretch is near!
In Boston, PA we find a souvenir shop / cafe to sit down and have a proper meal. Their ‘flatbread primavera’ is frozen vegetables and cheddar cheese microwaved on top of a tortilla but it’s delicious and part of an excellent lunch bargain. A very clingy rooster begs for some food scraps but we stand our ground. This is our last big rest stop before our final destination.
As we pass through the towns of McKeesport and Homestead and into the Pittsburgh metro area, we start to reflect on our journey…
This stretch of the trail is familiar to Becca from her days riding on the weekends in college. A combination of nostalgia and determination hovers over us as the trail leads us into more and more urban territory. We realize how much we have loved spending our days “outside of civilization” in a way, and it’s kind of bittersweet to trade the sounds of cicadas and wind for the click-clack of the rollercoasters at Kennywood and the hum of car traffic over bridges and highways. We will miss this, even if our saddles won’t!
Finally, there’s nothing left to do but cross the Hot Metal Bridge (Becca’s favorite in all of Pittsburgh) and follow the Monongahela River towards “dahntahn,” as it’s pronounced in the Pittsburgh accent. Someone has spray painted “Last Hill!” on the ground just before the bridge and it really helps us feel like we’re on our victory lap. A fellow cyclist asks where we’re coming from and upon learning we’ve done the whole trail from DC, shouts “Congratulations! You’re almost there!”
The trail gets confusing at the end and we accidentally wind up on some city streets instead of on the perimeter, but Becca manages to navigate us to a proper scenic route for the very last mile. Finally, we arrive at Point State Park, the terminus of the GAP trail and the place where the Monongahela meets the Allegheny. 6 days and 334 miles later, we have done it!
A stranger kindly takes some photos of us, and we hop back on our bikes for an easy ride on the north side of the city to get to our hotel. We toast our journey with Prosecco and Fried Ice Cream at Nicky’s Thai Kitchen, then collapse into bed!
Our next two days will be spent relaxing and catching up with Becca’s friends who are still in town before we load the bikes onto the Pennsylvanian Friday morning to head home!