Setting out from Washington D.C. to check off my buddy Ben’s bucket list item of riding all the way to Pittsburgh on the C&O and GAP trails. We also, easily, convinced our other college friend Pat to join us. Over the 4 days, we had such a blast riding this trail and cannot recommend it enough to those who enjoy riding, scenery, history, and nature. Long days in the saddle and so much American history viewed along the way.

The C&O section of trail, that runs from D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland is a cinder gravel trail that is mostly smooth. Following alongside the Potomac, you pass through a history of this country. One where towns relied heavily on their proximity to a navigable river, or in this case, a canal to ferry goods inland from the port cities. These small towns, once wealthy from extraction industries like coal, are all a shell of themselves and depend mostly on weekend tourism from the nearby cities.

The Great Allegheny Passage, or GAP trail, that runs from the continental divide downhill to Pittsburgh ended up being mostly paved, with a handful of crushed gravel sections. Nearly complete opposite from the previous days trail of rural, remote riding, the GAP trail cuts through one old town to the next.

For more information, check out this source: https://gaptrail.org/two-scenic-trails/