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My girl Low Brow is riding from PIT-DCA this week. 340ish miles. I am super proud of her.
Her most recent Facebook post:
Now leaving Williamsport, Maryland. Its pouring rain. Two more days till we reach DC.
WOOOOOWOOOOO! You go girl. See ya soon. XO.
by 
Is PIT-DCA an event, a route, or just generally riding from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.?
yea yea. call me lazy, im a travel agent. i guess there’s a bike path that goes from pittsburgh to dc and that’s where they’re riding.
The bike path is mainly the C&O canal towpath.
Not really. C&O from Cumberlanhd, MD to DC. 184 miles of dirt twotrack that passes within yards of this very desk at mile 124.5. And I woulden’t call it a “bike path” exactly. It’s dirt twotrack that largely is unimproved from the time when it was abandoned in the last century. It runs through some pretty remote areas and is a really great place to get away from it all, even for an hour.
The Cumberland to Pittsburgh leg consists of the Allegany Passage, a converted railroad right of way, and that does more closely resemble a bikepath. Crushed stone and, at points, full of cyclists, joggers, dogwalkers and assorted riffraff, particularly on a sunny wekend. Hey, at least it’s car-free.
Actually pretty smart riding it west to east, as parts of the passage run through some pretty hilly country. Westbound is largely downhill. And the whole journey is on the order of 400 miles and change. Not the continental divide race to be sure, but still a damned respectable hunk of riding and I don’t care who you are.
is there a close-up picture of the friend so we can see if she is hot or not?
Gordon, any lady that will go on a ride like that one is a keeper in anyone’s book.
JTE, debatable. Desperation is a mighty force.
Gnomeboy speakin’ from experience?
Hey kids… I am indeed on the C&O at this moment, first leg was Allegheny. Poured all morning and I am covered in mud. Kinda like a giant CX race, minus barriers. Muddy, dirty, loving life. My cross bike needs a shower. So do I. Looking forward to that tomorrow. Talk to you all soon. Cell/wireless reception is spotty . Love ya Judi.
Xoxo
Low Brow
It has been shown to me, JTE, that Low Brow is indeed, worth keeping around… mohawk and all.
damn fucking straight. she used to whip ass in roller derby, plays hockey, she’s got a master’s degree and speaks fluent german, she has a gorgeous tattoo that covers her entire back, and she rides bikes. pretty cool chick. xxoo girlie, be safe. see ya soon.
Yep, she’s a hot mess:
Ya know, I ride the C&O damned near every day of my life. That pitcher there^^^reminds me why I have fenders.
Low Brow, was that first photo taken from the railtrail a couple miles west of Hancock? It sure does look familiar.
…that looks about as real as it gets…
…a bike, a small gear bag & so it all comes down to heart, legs n’ a vision…
…props, low-b…
…may you ride smooth & strong, all day(s) long…
Got a feelin’ she’s way ahead of ya, buddy.
that is what im talking bout. that girl is on target!
she got website or sumpin? hook it up fro wheel!
j
if she has anything left… we’re on for 150 mile in 2 days, little state park luvins here in the A,tx. She CAN come. roll 8am friday. pack heavy or light its all good
A masters, an ass you could bounce a quarter off of, roller derby AND 400 mile rides ??
Excuse me while I go off and contemplate how weak and worthless I am.
Thanks for the support boys… and as for my ass, today it is so sore a quarter would hurt. I think I was past Hancock already… and yes, I regret not having fenders. But then again, I’m a dirrty girl at heart. Thanks for all the positive words.
LB
LB – Gun CX is coming up. we can get real fuckin’ dirrrrty racin’ that. one more day!
Hellsyeah.
Jimmy, next time I’m in Austin, we’ll ride for sure. I love that town. Bike friendly, great hills, cool people.
Low Brow: It’s On!
what the fuck is this? match.com?
dont hate judi. your married now,,, remember
BTW me 2
its just a bike ride, promise
I’d hit it.
LB just sent a text: “ass is sore, but im having fun. less than 10 miles to DC!” yea girl, awesome!
@BGW: Can you even get an erection? I mean foreground/background…WTF?
…‘lame-lla’…
…okey dokey…that sez all i really need to know…
…& ya, “background, foreground…wtf” is right…the fuck are you talking about ???…
…btw…i’d send you a picture but that’s what got brett favre in trouble…i don’t wanna lose those big sponsorship dollars drunkcyclist pays me…
Lamella,
I wouldn’t fuck with bgw if I was you.
He’ll whip it out and bitch slap ya with it.
And yea….background/foreground ?
Let Brett Farve be a lesson to us all.
…3xf…
…maybe she found my avatar thingy & my mention of zen & cycling & it went ‘zoom’, right over the top…
…just speculatin’…
she made it. girlf just posted a pic in front of the white house with her bike. her facebook post says “In DC.” i commented that she’s on DC too. haha. i crack myself up.
Obama did not let us wash our bikes in his front lawn fountain. Dammit.
And yet you did not try to blame it on Bush. Impressive.
Oh, the horror. The horror.
Ya rode 400 miles thru mud.
Ya can find a garden hose I’m sure.
Then crack open a beer while waiting for whatever meal you need at the end of that.
FFF – LB isn’t a drunkcyclist.
Maybe not, but from what I’ve heard she’s a hardman by anyone’s standard. Roller derby yet. Dang.
9:12 and I’m trying all to not hit the local place.
LB ain’t.
Right now I ain’t.
No insult meant.
I was just saying…
it’s all good…
Just got fed… the most awesome meal of my life. Cleaned my bike with Hilton towels. They’ll probably charge me but I don’t care.
Already dreaming of my next tour. West Coast for sure. Road.
come home so we can hang already. i miss ya.
“Buy you a cream soda after the game…”
Hitting BWI airport in the am. Will be back in no time. Coach has me on rest week off the bike, (which means I will play hockey instead). Life is good. We’ll hang asap. Thanks for all the encouragement and support!!!
Sick! Hit me up when you get to DC if you wana kick it with some cool people in a shady bar!
LB, safe travels today. call me if your plane is delayed yo. im working all day. ‘iffy’ ride tomorrow morning, should be done by 2p. then maybe we can hang. dominic is working all day/nite tomorrow.
Sounds like a cool route. ..So many ways to bike tour and they’re all, every damn one, Good.
Kark, like I said-I ride the C&O just about every day of my life. “Tour” or just getting away from it all for an hour-It’s all good.
yeah Joe, that looks really interesting.. It could make for a quick, one week, impromptu tour. Maybe even on the cheap. (relatively speaking)
Hey Lowbrow, would you consider writing up a trip report type thingy? quick synopsis, or detailed, but distances, timing, accommodations, navigation issues would be of particular interest and of course highlights. Would be much appreciated by this guy. Thx.
Kark – totally will. Have all the lodging and mileage info, as well as highlights, etc. Lemme get my shit together and I’ll have something for ya tomorrow.
Kark, I have intimate knowledge of accomodations and points of interest along the western half of the C&O, as I am native to the area. If I can be of service, by all means give me a shout.
Go to Weavers for pie. The most important part of the whole route. The apple caramel pie is so good I’d do the ride all over again just for that. Joe would back me up on this, I’m sure!
Low Brow; Cheers and thanks. Looking forward to it!
Joe, Thanks for the offer, and I may indeed ping you on that. It’s not in immediate plans but I’m looking to make it an option for a quick punch of the ‘reset’ button. Pittsburg being 9-10hrs away from me it could be done without much notice or prep and I assume it’s credit-card-tourable which makes it even easier and permits it being done in early or late season too.
Low Brow, negative in Weaver’s. Them pies comes in frozen on a truck and the restaurant in general is a clip joint. Lots of the cyclistsd who eat there fall victim to the “this is where the truckers eat so the food must be good” syndrome.
Not saying eating there will kill you. If all you want is replenish your carbs it’s better than Hardee’s, but what isn’t. Next time through though, you might want to trade your adequate dining experience for a truly memorable one. Try The Lockhouse, about a block farther, also an Main Street. When you see the iron bridge across the canal you will have reached your destination.
Try the onion soup. Damned near a meal right there, as are the appetizers. My favorite is a tossup between the loaded fries and the drunken mushrooms, which simply must be seen to be believed. ‘Shrooms in wine sauce, served on toasted ciabatta bread. Enough to share with a friend.
The prime rib is amazing; you could cut it with a spoon. The seafood sampler is more than a sample. Carb imperial, enormous scallops and shrimp and I can’t even remember what else. Simply stupendous. Three or four pasta dishes, daily specials, ribs that fall off the bone. If you’re not up for all that, the burgers and wraps are excellent. We’ve tried ’em all and we keep coming back, so there ya go. Did I mention there’s a full-service bar that always has a couple tasty microbreews on tap, plus the most generous whiskey pour in town?
Oh yeah, you like dessert? They got dessert. Try the Chocolate Confusion. The deepfried cheesecake ain’t bad neither.
*crab imperial, not “carb imperial”* Your witness, Dr. Freud.
Oh damn, we missed out! We were so hungry (and had so much horrible food at other stops) that Weaver’s seemed good at the time. I’m into anything with sugar (since I don’t get to drink anymore, I have to replace it with sugar addiction) and we were STARVING. It was that big glass case with a million and one frosted items that did me in…
Ok, report coming in a few…
Don’t get me wrong, Low Brow. I’m not saying Weaver’s is bad. Just that The Lockhouse is the best damned restaurant I’ve ever tried. I love turning my friends on to it. Next time you gotta try it for sure.
Ok, Kark, here ya go…
Initial calculation on milage and lodgings didn’t take into account for a few detours, miles off route to go into towns, miles to lodging, lunch, etc. What can I say, my first tour. All in all it was around 358 miles. Below are the stops made, and the info gathered ahead of time on lodgings and pricing.
Stops:
Pittsburgh to Ohiopyle
Ohiopyle to Frostburg
Frostburg to Paw Paw
Paw Paw to Williamsport
Williamsport to Leesburg, VA
Leesburg, VA to DC
Lodging:
Ohiopyle
http://www.ohiopylelodge.com/g2a.htm
$130
http://www.youghplaza.com/rooms/standard-rooms.php
$125
Frostburg
http://www.trailinnatfrostburg.com/rates.aspx
$80-100
http://www.frostburginn.com/page3.html
$60
Paw Paw
Grandma’s Country Inn $60
Williamsport
http://redroof.com/
$65
Leesburg
Hampton Inn ~ $100
It sounds like Joe has good info on the C&O portion, so I’ll let him give you the highlights on that portion. Know that the first part(Allegheny) is much easier terrain, so get the long miles outta the way there, because parts of the C&O get rough, esp. with rain.
Hope this is helpful to you.
LB
Very cool. Thanks LowBrow. Good stuff. fwiw, the extra miles are normal in my limited experience. Did you actually plan each days distance and hold yourself to it or just wing it and stop when it felt right?
Personally, I’ve never done the planning thing beyond maybe a key day or destination here or there. I usually just let the legs tell me what they’ve got in them for the day and only once have i ended up flamed out, far from a bed and suffering.
m
We had to plan our stops to a certain extent, because if you pass a town, you may not see another one (or any food, etc.) for 60 or so miles in some cases. Adequate camping sites are more freuquent though, so if you set yourself up for a hybrid of camping and credit card camping, you will have more options (and fewer expenses). Depends on how much stuff you feel like hauling.
Like I said, easier to get big miles out of the way on the first day or two (if you are travelling in the direction from Pburgh to DC). Nicer terrain, faster/smoother miles. We never did more than 72 miles in a day though.
“because if you pass a town, you may not see another one (or any food, etc.) for 60 or so miles in some cases”
Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks LowBrow.
You’re very welcome. Hope you get to check it out. Have fun.
Running PBG to DC, if you manage to hid Cumberland at the end of the day there are accomodations aplenty. Hancock is only about 60 miles from there. Three motels, two or three B&Bs and a bunkhouse at the LBS. And I guarantee you will not leave hungry. From there it’s another day to Shepherdstown. Two words-Bavarian Inn. Another day will get you to Georgetown.
At least that’s one way to split ’em up.