Doug Kline
Guru
I’ve done the GAP C&O greenway ride from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC two times. Once on my old steel framed commuter bike and once on my S40. The S40 was fun, fast, and comfortable. It’s the better horse for that course.
GAP is short for the Great Allegheny Passage which is a 154-mile-long crushed limestone rail-trail. It is easy to ride on with just about any bike. The surface drains well so it is rideable in the rain without trouble. It also has plenty of services along it.
C&O is short for the 185-mile-long Chesapeake & Ohio Towpath, which is a national park. It is the remnants of the towpath that mules used to pull boats along a canal built between 1828 and 1850. Canal boats could make it all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Railroads came along later and were faster to build, so the canal was never built all the way to Ohio. The C&O is mostly a dirt path which gets muddy. I’ve been riding the C&O for over 20 years. The park service is slowly improving the surface. The worst surfaces (that required MTB 20 years ago) have been fixed, but it is still a bouncy surface in many places.
My S40 in downtown Pittsburgh at the start of the trip. I'm using a Thor Easy GS seat without headrest.
These are things that are useful to know if you want to plan a trip.
Equipment: I have a 2016 S40 that I can fit 35mm tires on with rim brakes. I ran with tubeless Continental Terra Speed tires. They are fast, grippy, and comfortable, but have a reputation of wearing out quickly. They performed very well even in the wet parts of the trail. It was great fun having the fastest bike of the bunch. I was not careful with the tires and rode off trail plenty of times. I ended up with 2 punctures which the Muc-off sealant sealed. Even so, I think I’d still run those tires over picking more robust ones as speed is addictive.
Between the tires and a Ventisit comfort pad, I had plenty of cushioning for the roughness of the C&O.
I don’t have a headrest on the S40. I could not ride the C&O with my V20 with a headrest on this trail. It's just too bouncy.
Lodging: You need to decide how far you want to go each day and find lodging at host towns. At different points on the trip, I had between 12 and 20 people, so I had to choose stops with plenty of available rooms. If you have a small group, you have more options.
These are the overnights I chose going from Pittsburgh PA to Washington DC
Part of the fun of the trip is finding interesting places to stay. This is the Levi Deal Manson in Meyersdale, PA.
Routes: once you have your overnights picked out, you can map the routes for your gang. Here is my collection:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625241
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625259
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625530
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625576
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625618
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625631
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625677
Parking: we used the spothero.com app to find parking in Georgetown MD near mile post 0. We parked in a secure parking garage and had no problems.
Getting from Washington DC to Pittsburgh PA.
Luggage Service
I’ve done the C&O with just panniers before, but this gang wanted a luggage service. We used Sunshine Luggage Shuttle which took our duffel bags from hotel to hotel each day. It worked very well for a good price: https://www.sunshineluggageshuttle.com/
Paw Paw Tunnel
Check before you go if the Paw Paw Tunnel is open. It has been closed for a few years. If it is still closed, you'll need to take appropriate shoes to hike a mile and a half over the hill that the tunnel goes through.
A few additional photos from the trip
Part of my gang at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. 12 made it all the way to the end. We had 20 people total at one point or another on the ride. I just published my itinerary and friends joined in where they wanted to.
The GAP winds through old railroad bridges and tunnels.
My wife and I had to stop at our milestone for the year. The only advantage to turning 62 is I now have a Lifetime Senior National Park Pass
Their elevation graphic at the top of the Eastern Continental Divide makes it look like a mountain. The GAP is an old railroad bed with a steepest grade of 1.75%. It's quite gentle. The drop down into Cumberland MD was fast.
Even though we had a heavy overnight rain, it didn't get all that muddy on the C&O. It's more muddy than the GAP, but the surface of the C&O has been slowly improved over the years and the worst parts have been resurfaced.
Riding along the Potomac River
12 of my gang made it all the way to milepost 0 of the C&O in Washington DC. This is a bit tricky to find. You need to look it up on Google Maps before you go so you have an idea how to find it. It is behind the Thompson Boat Center at GPS location: 38.899892, -77.057678
GAP is short for the Great Allegheny Passage which is a 154-mile-long crushed limestone rail-trail. It is easy to ride on with just about any bike. The surface drains well so it is rideable in the rain without trouble. It also has plenty of services along it.
C&O is short for the 185-mile-long Chesapeake & Ohio Towpath, which is a national park. It is the remnants of the towpath that mules used to pull boats along a canal built between 1828 and 1850. Canal boats could make it all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Railroads came along later and were faster to build, so the canal was never built all the way to Ohio. The C&O is mostly a dirt path which gets muddy. I’ve been riding the C&O for over 20 years. The park service is slowly improving the surface. The worst surfaces (that required MTB 20 years ago) have been fixed, but it is still a bouncy surface in many places.
My S40 in downtown Pittsburgh at the start of the trip. I'm using a Thor Easy GS seat without headrest.
These are things that are useful to know if you want to plan a trip.
Equipment: I have a 2016 S40 that I can fit 35mm tires on with rim brakes. I ran with tubeless Continental Terra Speed tires. They are fast, grippy, and comfortable, but have a reputation of wearing out quickly. They performed very well even in the wet parts of the trail. It was great fun having the fastest bike of the bunch. I was not careful with the tires and rode off trail plenty of times. I ended up with 2 punctures which the Muc-off sealant sealed. Even so, I think I’d still run those tires over picking more robust ones as speed is addictive.
Between the tires and a Ventisit comfort pad, I had plenty of cushioning for the roughness of the C&O.
I don’t have a headrest on the S40. I could not ride the C&O with my V20 with a headrest on this trail. It's just too bouncy.
Lodging: You need to decide how far you want to go each day and find lodging at host towns. At different points on the trip, I had between 12 and 20 people, so I had to choose stops with plenty of available rooms. If you have a small group, you have more options.
These are the overnights I chose going from Pittsburgh PA to Washington DC
- Pittsburgh PA – Wyndham Grand Downtown (next to Point State Park)
- Connellsville – Comfort Inn
- Ohiopyle PA – Ohiopyle Suites – We stayed 2 nights and did some hiking and visited the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwaters estate.
- Meyersdale PA – Levi Deal Mansion – this is the crown jewel of our lodging. I planned the trip week based on when we could get in this wonderful stop.
- Cumberland MD – Fairfield Inn – Where the GAP meets the C&O
- Hancock MD – 1828 Trail Inn and Riverrun B&B
- Harpers Ferry MD – Town’s Inn
- Washington DC – milepost 0 - we headed home
Part of the fun of the trip is finding interesting places to stay. This is the Levi Deal Manson in Meyersdale, PA.
Routes: once you have your overnights picked out, you can map the routes for your gang. Here is my collection:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625241
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625259
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625530
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625576
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625618
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625631
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37625677
Parking: we used the spothero.com app to find parking in Georgetown MD near mile post 0. We parked in a secure parking garage and had no problems.
Getting from Washington DC to Pittsburgh PA.
- It is possible to take Amtrak. We didn’t do that because it took too long, didn’t have enough bike racks, and it dropped you off in downtown Pittsburgh around midnight. But other people do this option.
- Do a one-way rental SUV from Avis or Enterprise. Some of our gang did it this way and it worked fairly well.
- Hire a transport service. We used Bill’s Car Service which was able to take 7 riders and 6 bikes including my S40. https://www.facebook.com/BillsCarandTransportPGH/
Luggage Service
I’ve done the C&O with just panniers before, but this gang wanted a luggage service. We used Sunshine Luggage Shuttle which took our duffel bags from hotel to hotel each day. It worked very well for a good price: https://www.sunshineluggageshuttle.com/
Paw Paw Tunnel
Check before you go if the Paw Paw Tunnel is open. It has been closed for a few years. If it is still closed, you'll need to take appropriate shoes to hike a mile and a half over the hill that the tunnel goes through.
A few additional photos from the trip
Part of my gang at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. 12 made it all the way to the end. We had 20 people total at one point or another on the ride. I just published my itinerary and friends joined in where they wanted to.
The GAP winds through old railroad bridges and tunnels.
My wife and I had to stop at our milestone for the year. The only advantage to turning 62 is I now have a Lifetime Senior National Park Pass
Their elevation graphic at the top of the Eastern Continental Divide makes it look like a mountain. The GAP is an old railroad bed with a steepest grade of 1.75%. It's quite gentle. The drop down into Cumberland MD was fast.
Even though we had a heavy overnight rain, it didn't get all that muddy on the C&O. It's more muddy than the GAP, but the surface of the C&O has been slowly improved over the years and the worst parts have been resurfaced.
Riding along the Potomac River
12 of my gang made it all the way to milepost 0 of the C&O in Washington DC. This is a bit tricky to find. You need to look it up on Google Maps before you go so you have an idea how to find it. It is behind the Thompson Boat Center at GPS location: 38.899892, -77.057678
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