klarson90

Hello!

I am planning a trip to bike from Chicago to DC, but I am always directed to take the GAP and the C&O Towpath once I go past Pittsburgh. I plan on taking my bike that has pretty thin tires and don't think it's up to tackle unpaved paths. Any recommendations for that section without taking those trails?

Thanks!

alan s 

The GAP is not that bad for skinny tires, but the C&O Towpath is another matter. Unfortunately, the alternatives to the towpath are rather hilly.

axolotl

Take a look at a topographic or relief map of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and you'll happily take the GAP Trail which has a good surface. The C&O Canal towpath is often a muddy mess, and frequently bumpy. However, some parts can be easily avoided. The Western Maryland Rail-Trail is a paved 21 mile trail which is adjacent to one stretch of the towpath. From Whites Ferry, you can cross the Potomac, ride about 4 miles (on a very busy road with fast traffic, but with a wide shoulder IIRC) and get on the W&OD paved rail-trail to get to Arlington, then into DC. It's about 38 miles of trail riding from Leesburg. However, this would bypass the very scenic Great Falls. The towpath from Great Falls into DC generally has a better surface than further away from DC.

veganbikes

What is the max tire size your frame can fit? I would put those on if you haven't already and that will help with many things. The towpath is a nice trip if you can plump up your tire game and if not axoltol had some good ideas.

indyfabz

Are you aware that in May of this year Adventure Cycling will release route maps for a new Chicago-NYC route? You can see it here in blue:


https://www.adventurecycling.org/rou...rview-map-pdf/


What I think we be called the Philadelphia Spur goes through Pittsburgh then uses the GAP and a portion of the C&O. It eventually intersects with their Atlantic Coast route west of Lancaster, PA. The Atlantic Coast route goes through D.C.


What width tires exactly? As noted you could very well be fine on the GAP. From the southern terminus of the GAP at Cumberland, MD, you could take U.S. 220 and 220(Bus.) to Bedford, PA (original home of Cannondale) to pick up signed PA Bike Route S. That will take you east to an intersection with ACA's Atlantic Coast route in/near Columbia, PA. I did this during a cross-PA tour back in 2013, although I continued east to Philly. Not the most direct route, but it avoids the C&O, and there are enough camping options on or close to the route to make it workable. Another benefit is that you could detour off Route S at Breezewood, PA and ride the Pike to Bike, which is an unofficial 8.5 mile trail on an abandoned section of PA Turnpike. Not only does it eliminate a big climb out of Breezewood, it's a neat ride assuming you have lights for the two long, unlit tunnels. (IIRC, the second tunnel heading east is over 1 mile. There is a crown near the eastern portal so you literally cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel until you close in on it.) It was one of the filing scenes for the post-apocalyptic film "The Road" staring Viggo Mortensen. The surface is somewhat rough in places, but I had a friend who rode it last fall on 25c tires during a credit card tour and was fine. From the end of the trail it is extremely easy to get back on Route S.


Let me know if you want details.

bikenh

If you don't mind road riding and don't mind hills you could angle down from Chicago through IN and western OH and hook up to Chillicothe/Athens, OH and catch the Race Across America route into Hancock, MD and then take the paved rail trail to just west of Hagarstown and ride on into Hagarstown then angle your way on down to DC from there. Yes, you would have hills, but if you don't mind riding hills then its not a bad route. I've ridden it into Hagarstown and back out of Annapolis a couple of times now. The stretch from Parkersburg to Clarksburg is 4 lane but doesn't have much traffic, at least not on a weekday it doesn't. Once you get east of Clarksburg your in no mans land and the traffic drops off even more and it drops down to 2 lane on into Hancock.

You could also take US40 east of the Ohio river and it drops you off into Cumberland, aka the RAAM route as well. I've ridden it as well. Again , its not flat. Nice climbing heading east out of Uniontown, PA. Probably less traffic on this route than on US50 except around Uniontown.

Like others have said once you get 10-15 miles south of US20 in NY until you get to ********** anytime you are riding on the roads E-W or W-E you have two ridges you will have to cross, both are 3-4 mile climbs that around 300-400 feet per mile. Pretty much they are spaced 15-20 miles apart and start, depending on how far north you are, roughly 20 miles west of I-81. On the road you won't the hills anywhere between just south of US20 and US50 and probably quite a bit farther south than that...maybe all the way going down to Chattanooga. Still wander where the southern end of that ridge is located?

spinnaker

If you decide to take the roads then do your homework. Your route would likely take you through northern West Virginia where some parts are like riding into a giant soup bowl. Some extremely steep hills. Southern PA is not much better.

28cm minimum for the C&O and that is really pushing it. Much better 32cm and above.

spinnaker

Have have had trouble making it up that hill in my car let alone on a bicycle!

klarson90

I have been looking at topo maps and I agree, the trails are the best route for the least amount of climbing. Do you think that 700cx25 would be okay to navigate the GAP mid-May? I think after reading a few more posts here that I should just avoid the C&O as much as possible.

klarson90

Yes, I was excited to see that, however I will be doing my trip in May, so I probably wouldn't get the maps in time, and it didn't look like they would take me past Pittsburgh, so I didn't look into it too much.

My current tire width is 25.

I should be finalizing my route within the next week. I will get back to you on how I avoid the C&O and ask if I need any tips. Thanks for offering!

klarson90

@bikenh, that is an idea, but I think for my sanity I am going to avoid additional hills if I can help it (hence my current quandary). You guys are right, I will definitely need to do my research on the roads/routes before I finalize my plans.

@spinnaker lol

rm -rf

As a test, I made a route using Strava Route Builder, just clicking along the most popular bike roads somewhat near the GAP trail. The route. It has some pretty steep climbs at mile 50, mile 60, and mile 160.

See the "segments" list on the route for the climbs. For example, this 1000 foot, 7% average grade climb.

To make a route (you probably need a free strava login), click the map options and turn on the Heat Map, and click the Elevation On option at the bottom. Then you can click along your route, and undo or drag the route line to a different road to try alternate routes. Some of these roads could be gravel or bike trails.

There's a "Minimize Elevation" button that might help. It often takes a much longer, flatter route. But you still need to cross the mountains.

Strava will use the most popular roads instead of the most direct route between two points. The final route can have a lot of turns, probably best used with a GPS device.


~~~~

Here's the Strava Heat Map for southern PA. Click the Toggle Labels button to show town and road names. There's a lot more riders near cities, so those have more dark red roads. I avoid light blue roads if there's a nearby dark blue or red road -- riders are avoiding the light blue roads there.

The URL changes as you pan and zoom, so you can bookmark that view.

rm -rf

I don't think there are good alternative routes to get to Washington that avoid lots of climbing. Do you have to go from Chicago to Washington DC?

BigAura

I did parts of the C&O and other non-paved-roads on my fixed-gear running 700x32c, which is the minimum I'd recommend. But the reality is if the C&O is dry and you & your gear aren't too heavy it's doable on any tire.

spinnaker

Way, way, way too thin for the C&O. In fact for May I would say 25cc is marginal at best for the GAP. There is a chance the trail will be soggy. The GAP has a good surface for pretty much anything when things are dray but if it is wet, it is sort of like ridding in cream of wheat.

jamawani 

I know you asked about the C&O Trail east of Pittsburgh -
But have you considered the Old Lincoln Highway between Valparaiso, IN and Canton, OH?

The last main sections of 4-lane US 30 were completed in the early 2000s -
so the old highway has fairly light traffic and nice, historic towns along the way.

There are online section maps available - albeit not designed as bike maps.
It is way more direct than the proposed ACA route.

Ohio:
A History and Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway in Ohio

Indiana:
THE 1928 LINCOLN HIGHWAY IN INDIANA

In Indiana there were multiple routes - this is the 1928 route.
The links do not load the strip maps correctly - so here are direct addresses:
https://www.lincolnhighwayoh.com/v1/i...a/1301_001.pdf
https://www.lincolnhighwayoh.com/v1/i...a/1302_001.pdf

I did the Indiana sections last summer - very pleasant.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...id=472637&v=4E


PS - Old Trail Road in eastern Indiana (Warsaw to Ft. Wayne) has even less traffic than the Old Lincoln Highway.

axolotl

It largely depends on the weather preceding and during your ride. Even the C&O Canal would be doable with narrow tires when the towpath is dry.

Can you put wider tires on your rims?

spinnaker

What like two days of the year?

Even when dry it is still going to be full of ruts. Not sure I would want to do that on narrow tires.

bikenh

Actually not a bad suggestion. I used to live right by the road in NW Ohio before I moved to NH. Back that way most summers visiting family. Have ridden US30 from NW IN until you have to change over to the Old Lincoln Highway due to limited access, and then the old highway clear into NE/E central Ohio over the past few years. Not a bad idea at all for you getting you into PA.

The one idea that just came to mind, granted it would still be west of the I-81 Duo, would be to grab US6 across northern PA. Has one of the nicest/most consistent graded climbs I've found anywhere thus far in the area of the Alleghany National Forest, west of Bradford. I've ridden it as far east as Bradford but then jumped up to southern NY before heading on east so I'm not sure what the I-81 Duo climbs are likely on US6

axolotl

I grew up near the towpath and biked on it often when I was a teenager, including sometimes on narrow tires. When it's hot outside, i.e. in the summer, the towpath dries very quickly. (The same was true on an unpaved trail I used to commute on.) That's one reason why I recommend that people only plan to bike the entire length of the C&O Canal in the summer. When there's a downpour from a thunderstorm in the summer, it will get muddy, but usually only remain muddy for a day or two. After rain in the spring, winter, or fall, the towpath will remain muddy for much longer.

Personally, I found all of the embedded rocks to be a bigger annoyance than any ruts.

alan s 

Another issue with the towpath is the mud. If it is wet or it rains, you will be covered head to toe in mud without fenders. With them, you may need to stop frequently to clean out the mud. I personally would never ride the towpath without wide tires and fenders.

alan s 

Where did you grow up? I live very near the canal a few miles outside the Beltway.

spinnaker

Or just ride through the puddles to clear your fenders like I did. The only problem with that plan is you never know how deep the puddle is.

klarson90

Thank you for the advice and the map, it has been helpful in making my plans!!

klarson90

That's what I thought. Thanks for solidifying my plans to avoid the C&O. I will also be watching the weather leading up to when I get to Pittsburgh if it looks dry for a few days (before and during my ride) I will take the GAP.