The Pine Creek Rail Trail or PA Grand Canyon is supposed to be one of the most beautiful spots in all of Pennsylvania. My friend Tracy and I had been trying to plan a bike camping trip there for at LEAST 2 years, but if you have been following this blog you know that 9 times out of 10 when I’m trying to plan an outdoor adventure it rains a lot and I have to cancel. We actually had the campsite booked 3 times last year and due to heavy rains we didn’t go. I was nervous to check the weather as the weekend of our trip approached – honestly a big part of me didn’t think we would actually be going because we had to cancel so many times before. The weather was supposed to be perfect so I dug out all my camping things the night before and stuffed them into my panniers. In the morning, I was making breakfast and a glass jar fell out of the top shelf right onto my glass stove top – completely shattering it. I texted Tracy I would be a little late as I picked the glass shards out of one foot and put a bandaid on the cut on the other. I assured Tracy I wouldn’t need stitches, but just needed to clean up the glass that was now all over my kitchen and then I would be over – there was NOTHING that was going to stop our trip.
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I was a guest on The Joyride Podcast
EXCITING NEWS FRIENDS!!!
One of my favorite podcasts is The Joyride Podcast which focuses on women cyclists – and it is awesome. I have been an avid fan of the show since close to the start of the podcast when I binge listed to all the episodes.
I was delighted to be a guest on the show on the first episode of season 3! If you want to listen to me talk about bikes with Cat, the host, check out Episode 31 of The Joyrode Podcast here – or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
ENJOY!
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 10
Friday I had plans to meet with Jill from the Summit Chicks (Raina was out of town) – we had plans to meet for lunch to catch up and walk over to the highest point of Washington DC, which is in Fort Reno Park. I decided to keep my bike in my hotel room and take the metro. I haven’t ridden the metro since I was little on vacation in DC with my parents so I was a bit worried about making it on time, but it turns out that google maps makes it really easy. You just type in where you are and where you want to go and there are options for drive, bike, walk and public transportation – it was awesome. I typed in the time I wanted to be there and it gave me the time I should leave, the metro line I wanted to hop on, how many stops until my connecting stop, the connecting stop line – everything was really spelled out – piece of cake. I would HIGHLY recommend using that if you are somewhere and need directions!
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 8
I rode around some streets in DC trying to find the least busy route to my hotel, but unfortunately Google Maps took me on some pretty busy roads that I didn’t feel comfortable riding on. I ended up walking my bike down that street until I got to the Francis Scott Key Bridge and was able to ride across on the pedestrian sidewalk. I checked into my hotel and was slightly embarrassed that it was a ton of business people and stinky lil me.
Bikepacking Trip – Day 2
If you missed day 1 of my trip – start HERE! 🙂
I woke up in Leesburg, VA, packed up my panniers, and headed out to the front desk to wait for the shuttle to take me back to the Ferry. The 3 guys who were cycling the whole trail were on my shuttle again and we wished each other well as we got off the ferry and started the final portion of the trip to DC. They told me they would be taking their lunch break at Great Falls if I wanted to join them.
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 7
This video shows how you get from Georgetown to mile marker 0 on the C&O trail. It can be a little tricky to find – a lot of people think the trail ends in Georgetown, but SURPRISE!! You have to go about .5 more miles or so along the Rock Creek Park Trail and then turn into the parking lot for the Thompson Boat Center, pass a bunch of row boats and BOOM! Mile marker 0. It is such a lovely view to end a great bike trip! 🙂
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 6
Cycling through Georgetown into DC on the C&O Canal Trail.
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 5
Here’s the 5th episode of my bikepacking trip – I got to explore Great Falls along the C&O trail which was AWESOME!!
Harpers Ferry – DC Episode 4
Here’s episode 4 of my bikepacking trip to DC – this is the start of day 2. I take the ferry back across to the C&O trail and see some pretty cool wildlife along the way – including a giant pesty bee and a deer that jumps right in front of my bike!
Bikepacking Trip – Day 1
I was supposed to bikepack the GAP and C&O trails from Pittsburgh to DC on my week of vacation, but a hurricane decided to crash my trip so after going through MANY backup plans I decided to still go, but cut my trip short. I was having trouble finding a train ticket for my bike, finding a ride, finding hotels…etc. After MUCH research I decided to start at Harpers Ferry where my dad dropped me off, bike to White’s Ferry and take the ferry across. From there a shuttle would pick me up and take me to my hotel in Leesburg, VA. The next day I’d take the shuttle back over to the C&O trail and continue into DC where I would spend the rest of the week cycling around the city. I haven’t been to DC in….I can’t even tell you when the last time was.
blisters and bug bites 