BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I have the cell phone carrier with the worst coverage ever -- Tmobile I get nothing on most of the GAP and C&O unless I'm near a major city. I can get tmobile from pittsburgh to about fayette county but that's it. That being said, I can use Wifi to hook into the cell network, so that helps.

AT&T, no coverage at Roundbottom, and the short (~1mile) stretch just before and after on the GAP.

Thanks for the Tmobile update. I forgot about the Roundbottom drop out. That gets me every time!

I forgot i also get awesome coverage again in Somerset county right outside the tunnel with the beautiful view of the valley, mountains, and wind turbines. And once again the coverage picks up very well around frostburg into Cumberland. I've never had a problem though as I've asked fellow gap users to use their phone to make a quick phone call and people always oblige. That being said, T-Mobile has expanded their network over the past year so it will be interesting to see if my coverage expands during this spring's ride on the gap. For the c and o it parallels the highway for quite a bit and services is good there, but the rural dead zone between Cumberland and Hancock and then again between Hancock and Harper's ferry leads to less coverage. Where is the Roundbottom dropout?

I use Tracfone. My recollection is that I'm pretty good up until Roundbottom, drops out until around Connellsville, drops out again until around Ohiopyle proper. That may have changed, recently, though. My understanding is that depending on the phone (Tracfone), the phone uses different carrier networks (i.e. Verizon vs. AT&T).

That's all great, thank you! Roundbottom is the campground just south of Perryopolis, before Connellsville. It's a great sub-24 option, but I remember now that we always have to do out last internet stuff about a mile before we get there. it's a weird little deadzone.

I have Virgin and I get squat along the whole trail. I stopped riding the GAP alone due in part to the lack of coverage.

There's enough people on the gap to feel comfort without cell coverage. The Western end of the c and o is a bit scary without coverage. The time I did it was right before memorial day but on days 1 and 2 (Cumberland to Hancock to Harper's ferry) sometimes Id go 2-3 hours without seeing another human. You can also spend about $45 and get an att sim card and use their month by month plan. Verizon has something similar but those phones won't connect in "partner" areas. Back then that meant Cumberland and the majority of the c and o. That may have changed over the last 3-4 years.

There’s enough people on the gap to feel comfort without cell coverage. Let's clarify that it's enough for you to feel comfortable, not for everyone, as Rusty just said that she doesn't.

I'm working on a Pgh-DC map that shows the cellphone deadspots along the route. I'm doing final edits now. http://type2-clydesdale.blogspot.com/p/pittsburgh-dc-bike-maps.html

Sometimes I think that there are too many people on the Gap to feel myself comfortable and safe. :)

What emma said.

I'll elaborate on why it became uncomfortable and not such a good idea: I'd chat with other cyclists along the way and they'd ask me: "So, you're out here ALONE?" ---if this interaction happened in an area where there wasn't anyone else around, hearing those words from a lone male in an isolated place freaks me out. ---why do you find it so remarkable that someone is cycling alone on the GAP? Men do it all the time and no one bats an eyelash. Either these people think: 1> it's unsafe for me to be out on the GAP alone. II: I'm ill-prepared to deal with a flat or a broken chain. I'm not. Stop thinking women can't deal with mechanical issues. Grrr. I'm kinda clumsy and with my luck I'd fall and break a bone... and not be able to call an ambulance. So, I thought better of going it alone.

Good points, everyone. I didn't think about the male/female thing and how creepy males can be. Sorry about that. No slight intended. I was thinking about the I crash and get hurt scenario.

I understand how some of you feel.... but I don't think women should be discouraged from riding alone so I wanted to chime in and add a different perspective. People say things like that to me all the time... "you're going camping alone???" "you do that alone???" "aren't you scared???". And yes I am a little wary sometimes but 1) I do take precautions to protect myself, 2) I don't want to live in fear and not do things that men do just because I'm a woman, 3) I think that if a creepy man is looking to attack a woman, he'd go to a place where he is more likely to find women alone, and 4) I think that most people are generally good people and I won't live in fear because of a few crazies. There are woman who solo cycle around the world. I totally get that it is an individual decision and I just wanted to add my thoughts in so that maybe if a woman is considering traveling alone and is reading this, she won't be afraid to give it a try. Not judging anyone for feeling uncomfortable though. I do truly understand where you're coming from.

It is amazing that you Bree33 wrote this only 4 days ago. The woman I was supposed to ride from Pittsburgh to DC, backed out. I am second guessing my decision to continue anyway. My hubby is absolutely against it, as we have two children. But truthfully, I would've been the stronger cyclist of the two anyway (she doesn't even know how to change a flat). It feels like such a double standard. That being said, part of me feels like riding alone is reckless, and part of me feels like I could be hit by a car riding my local roads anyway. Ugh.....the struggle....and first world problems :)

There are more than one lady on the board that traveled GAP/CCO on their own.

That is AWESOME!!!!!! That is all I needed to hear!

oh heck yeah, kegood -- I have done lots of solo overnights on the GAP! If you are comfortable traveling solo in general, like, not just biking, the GAP is really no different.

Whenever I ride the gap solo my wife is anxious, so sometimes the anxiety is spouse specific rather than gender specific. (: I'm riding again right before Memorial day so she'll be anxious for another 2-3 days again.

My father talks a lot about how he worries when I ride the GAP/C&O. I don't have the heart to tell about the hazards there pale beside what I face day-to-day on the streets.

I live in Cumberland and regularly ride parts of the C and O canal near Cumberland.  In my experience with Tracfone on the ATT carrier I have coverage from Cumberland to the Town Creek Aqueduct.  Coverage does get spotty around Spring Gap.  I haven't ridden the Town Creek to Paw Paw Tunnel section yet, so I can't comment.  Nor have a ridden beyond the Paw Paw Tunnel. The Paw Paw tunnel area is a complete dead zone in my experience.  Though I do get coverage when I hike the mountain path over the Paw Paw tunnel when I reach the summit and for a half mile or so back down the south side.

Vannevar bush's map has denoted areas of cell phone coverage for Verizon for gap and c and o.   I have TMobile which has improved coverage over the years, and I've never had a problem asking a fellow biker to use his or her cell phone for a quick home checkin.