Friday, June 22, 2007
By Larry Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If there is one long-distance bicycle trip to be on this year, the 335-mile Greenway Sojourn from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh is it.

It begins tomorrow at Station Square where, after leaving their motorized transportation in the parking lots, 500 men, women and children ranging in age from 5 to 87 will board buses to the nation’s capital. They will return there on their bikes next Saturday.

The Sixth Annual Sojourn, hosted by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and the Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA), includes bicyclists from 31 states and the District of Columbia.

The RTC, a non-profit organization based in Washington, is the nation’s largest trails organization and has more than 100,000 members. It is dedicated to connecting people and communities by creating a nationwide network of public trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors.

Ten fifth-grade students from Helen Faison Arts Academy will join the group in Cumberland, Md., and will pedal parts of each segment en route to Pittsburgh. Riding with them will be the local chapter of the Major Taylor Cycling Club, an African-American organization.

The sojourn will have the largest single group of riders to use the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile long trail that begins in Pittsburgh and extends to Cumberland.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are about this ride,” said Linda McKenna Boxx, the president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven rail-trail groups that maintain the passage and are working to complete the final section between McKeesport and Pittsburgh.

The sojourn is the grand opening of the now-connected passage and the C&O Canal Towpath, a long-established 185-mile trail that begins in the Georgetown section of Washington and ends in Cumberland. There will be a “Golden Spoke” ceremony marking that event Wednesday at the Western Maryland Railway station in Cumberland.

The towpath and the passage form the longest non-motorized, multipurpose trail in the nation, one that also is used for walking, jogging, running and cross-country skiing.

With the exception of one 62-mile day, the cyclists will ride about 40 to 45 miles a day and camp at night. Their tents and camping gear will be loaded on trucks every morning and delivered it to the next overnight stop.

The C&O section of the trail parallels the Potomac River. Landmarks include canal locks, lock houses and aqueducts. The ride will be remembered for the beauty of the mountains and rivers and the marvels of bridges and tunnels that were built to last. Among the latter in Pennsylvania are the Keystone and Salisbury viaducts and the Big Savage Tunnel.

After the ride through the Eastern Continental Divide near the tiny town of Deal in southern Somerset County, they will begin a long, gradual descent that ends at Station Square. They will find the smooth crushed limestone trail in Pennsylvania to be more fanny-friendly than the bumpy sections of the towpath.

The sojourn includes all meals, gear transportation, rider transportation, bike mechanics and people “mechanics.”

Among the latter are Dr. Paul Simpson, 54, of State College, who practices internal medicine 35 miles away in Lock Haven, a commute he makes on a bicycle.

“It’s fantastic,” he said of the 21/2-hour ride. “It helps keep me in shape and it saves gas money.”

He and other members of the medical staff wear a red jersey with a white cross on the front and back so they’re easily recognized.

Their advice to riders is to drink plenty of water, wear sun screen, announce their intention to pass others on the trail, take time to enjoy the ride and appreciate the history of the areas they are pedaling through.

Bill Grun of Bucks County, who has been on every sojourn, prides himself of getting to know everyone on the trip.

“It’s easy to do because they all pass me,” he said, with a laugh.

Grun, who rides about 1,000 miles a year, recently celebrated his 87th birthday.

For more information on the RTC and ATA, go to www.railstotrails.org, www.atatrail.org.

(Larry Walsh can be reached at lwalsh@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1488. )