PA to WV to MD

All in all, Pittsburgh was a blur of scrambling to pull my gear together, which included assembling my bicycle, and recovering from sleep deprivation in order to be able to hit the road. With the help of Thick Bikes (http://www.thickbikes.com/) and Kraynick's Bike Shop, I got the parts I needed and managed to put my bike together just before closing at 4 p.m. on Saturday. After which, Phil who was also at the bike shop kindly treated me to a delicious pizza lunch and then I passed out for 15 hours at my awesome host Rachel's house. 

I woke up on Sunday with the hard realization that my knees would probably not survive the full ride home. I decided to cut the full trail in half, riding from Cumberland, MD to Leesburg, a 150-mile ride. In no time, Alison was picking me and my gear up in Pittsburgh for a night in Morgantown, WV. The next day she brought me to Cumberland, MD where the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail begins and where my first day of riding four months ago in June ended. We started together with a short 5 mile ride to a hiker/biker campsite for a fun night of camping. 

From there, Alison returned to school the next morning and I headed down the trail for a 60 mile ride to Hancock, Md. It was a beautiful Fall ride passing through the colored trees. The West Coast is gorgeous, but the one thing it doesn't have is Autumn leaves. I saw tons of cyclists riding north to Pittsburgh; there is nothing quite like the sight of a loaded bicycle. I stopped midway to eat at Bill's where my parents dropped me off on my first day to join the group. I was overjoyed to see the same bartender sitting in the exact same place that we first found him in June. I chowed on pizza and talked to a few locals before setting off to finish my ride in Hancock. I stayed the night in the backyard of a bike shop (http://www.candobicycle.com/) that has cots and showers.

The Paw Paw Tunnel. The first time I rode through it with Jeanne, I crashed into the wall because of how dark it is in the middle. This time when I rode through it i was prepared with lights and managed to stay on the bike the full ride through.