On September 23, Pat and I lead a bike ride for many of our Southern Tier friends and Pittsburgh friends that took us from Washington DC to Pittsburgh using the C&O Trail and the scenic Great Allegheny Passage. It was a trail ride of 335 miles. In years past it was a moderately easy ride on the C&O Canal Tow Path and through the beautiful Allegheny Mountains and along the long and meandering rivers to our destination at the Point in Pittsburgh, Pa.
However, this year we encountered five straight days of rain that quickly turned our scenic ride into a grueling adventure. We had to maneuver around flooded areas along the Potomac River and plow our way through quagmires of mud. While riding the 65-80 mile days we had to lift our bikes over fallen trees and squeeze past landslides that blocked the trail.
Swarms of mosquitoes feasted on us as we pushed our bikes through ankle deep mud where the Potomac River had overflowed its banks and left behind a sticky earthen paste. We were only able to free our pasted wheels by dipping our bike into swollen streams that rushed to the Potomac from the saturated hills above us.
My good friend and Southern Tier alumni, Clyde, summed up our experience best with these words. . .
“I was thinking about all the mud. The wipe-outs, the wheels that would no longer move, and of course the proverbial detours that were ignored. But lest we forget that mud has been an integral building component since the beginning of time. It's admired for strength and adhesiveness. In many ways I think the mud symbolizes the strength and the closeness of the group. This shared experience will surely be commented on for years to come. "Mud you say, let me tell you about the mud of '18.
And I would surely be remiss, not to mention that 50's doo wop group. Dick and the Sagets. Christine, Emily and Dick. With guest appearances from Annie, Jenn , and Bob made our life sooooo much easier. Not only toting our gear but making delicious sandwiches, fruit, snack bars, and new found favorite belvita. (thanks Ted) But it was the smiles and good cheer that made a hard ride tolerable. Can't thank you guys and gals enough.”
So beautifully put Clyde!
I would like to thank all of the members of our 2018 team for the smiles through the pain of this ride.
Thanks You,
Annie, Jennifer, Emily, Christine, Dale, Brian, Clyde, Nick, Bob, Dave, Dick and Pat.
