Bike trips with friends are the best times and Charles Corbett from Malton is about to embark on an incredible adventure in the US. If you’re looking for bike tour or gravel ride ideas, read on for inspiration and bike trip tips, including travelling with your pride and joy, training and kit.
In a little under a week, Charles Corbett is heading out on an incredible adventure which will take him and three friends from downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C. Having added a Trek Checkpoint SL 6 AXS to his stable of road and mountain bikes, the Malton resident is enjoying a few days in Richmond, Virginia, before heading to Pittsburgh this weekend, ready for the adventure to begin on Wednesday 17 May.
The Great Allengeny Passage
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath
Charles and American friends Shade, Alex and Kevin are taking on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) combined with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, riding 330 miles over 5 days. Charles also plans to enjoy riding around Pittsburgh, Richmond and nearby Pocahontas State Park either side of the main trip.
Here’s how it breaks down.
|
Day |
Date |
Start |
Finish |
Approx. Mileage |
|
1 |
17th May |
Pittsburgh, PA |
Connellsville, PA |
60 |
|
2 |
18th May |
Connellsville, PA |
Cumberland, MD |
90 |
|
3 |
19th May |
Cumberland, MD |
Hancock, MD |
60 |
|
4 |
20th May |
Hancock, MD |
Harpers Ferry, WV |
60 |
|
5 |
21st May |
Harpers Ferry, WV |
Washington DC |
60 |
Charles runs an engineering and specialist technical consultancy and previously worked for a company based in Richmond, which meant he made friends and travelled extensively in the US. Having done a number of US mountain and road bike trips in the past, this route has been on his bucket list for some time now.
Charles told us: “The first half of the trail is known as the GAP and is on old railway beds. There’s some climbing but as it’s railway, you’re going through tunnels and not having to tackle too many steep inclines. The second part, along the towpath, is not so good a surface and there are parts where we may need to walk the bikes. We’ll wait and see what it’s actually like. But there’s going to be some amazing scenery and it will be nice to be riding in warmer climes. The temperature should be around 20 degrees so pretty warm for a long ride but pleasant too.
The Trek Checkpoint SL 6 AXS is Charles’ first gravel bike and it’s perfect for this adventure. The 500 Series OCLV Carbon frame is lightweight and the IsoSpeed decoupler under the seatpost soaks up fatiguing bumps. Combine the two and you’ve got the perfect ride when endurance is key. The nimble-yet-stable progressive geometry works with IsoSpeed to offer a genuinely comfortable ride, even over hundreds of miles.
The whole Trek Checkpoint range comes with mounts just about everywhere, so you can travel with bags on the handlebars, frame and forks, as well as mudguards front and rear. There’s even internal storage in the frame that’s ideal for storing things like tools, spare inner tubes… or your lunch burrito! The Checkpoint SL 6 also has the SRAM Rival AXS wireless electronic drivetrain which delivers reliable and precise shifting for more efficient riding, small energy savings on changing gears which really mount up when you’re riding for days.
At Big Bear Bikes, we know Checkpoint has a proven pedigree for epic adventures as two friends of the store have had brilliant trips on theirs. Read these blogs to find out more about Rob Davies riding Land’s End to John O’Groats and Mark Grange taking on the Hebridean Way, both of which featured a mix of road and gravel riding.
Charles has a good level of fitness and, though he has never done a gravel ride before, has completed triathlons, a half Ironman and other long rides. Even so, he has upped the mileage on his regular rides in preparation for his US trip.
He said: “Mostly I’ve been just training to get the mileage in. I’m excited with a healthy dose of trepidation as it’s going to be a long time in the saddle. It’s the gravel and the continuous mileage per day, doing 60 miles on four days and then 90 miles on one day.
“Any one of the days on their own would be fine; it’s putting five days back to back that’s the challenge but all we have to do is get to the hotel. It’s not a race. There’s no time constraint beyond getting to the accommodation each day.”
The group are riding light, as they are staying in hotels every night, rather than camping. Each is taking one set of riding gear, with a spare set of bibs and trousers, tops and flip flops for the evenings. Charles’ digital gears require a charger but there’s plenty of storage space in his handlebar bag and frame bag.
Having taken his mountain bike to the US twice before, Charles is no stranger to flying with a bike. However, safely transporting the Checkpoint does present a few more concerns, given its value and sophistication over his second hand aluminium mountain bike. Essential is a decent bike bag or box, and on previous trips Charles has hired or borrowed from a friend. For this trip, a Charles bought a new Evoc Bike Bag Pro through Big Bear Bikes - we also rent them if you don't want to buy one. It's an excellent bag, which while lightweight has fantastic protection and a very good system for securing the bike. Having used an Evoc bag before Charles told us, “The latest design has some significant improvements, including the Pro Bike Stand and the Clip On Wheel 2.0 making for very easy movement through airports.”
If borrowing or hiring a bag make sure you get it earlier than needed, as whilst the systems are good it takes some time to figure out how to break down your exact bike to fit the bag and use the securing system. With the Checkpoint the size of the handlebars, especially the flare, meant a bit of time spent manipulating the bike on the stand and within the bag to get it secured with maximum protection. Pipe lagging, old bits of foam and bubble wrap are all useful additions for extra protection. Also, don’t forget any computers, lights or gear batteries need to be removed and carried in hand luggage.
Charles' packed up Trek Checkpoint
In terms of flying with a bike bag, it is important to check the airline's baggage restrictions before booking as the costs can vary considerable between carriers - see above from Yellow Jersey insurance. Charles flew with British Airways, which accepts bike bags up to 23kg as part of your allowance. It's likely you will need a fare with two hold bags: one for your kit and one for the bike bag. Fortunately, due to frequent travel, Charles has silver status with British Airways so automatically gets two bags. No special paperwork is needed, but do be aware that you need extra time at the airport as after check-in as the bike bag will have to be dropped at the over-sized luggage point and likewise when collecting at baggage reclaim it will likely be a separate area.
We'll be adding updates below as Charles heads out on the trails. Check out our Facebook and Instagram too.
Travel was fine. After three flights the bike bag arrived in Richmond and the bike was undamaged once unpacked. I put it together the evening I arrived to check everything was ok, so I would have time if I needed to sort anything. I spent Tuesday to Friday getting over jet lag, doing some gentle runs and on Wednesday May 10 a 34-mile spin (see map image) down to the James River to check the bike was all working. This included 1,161ft of elevation gain and just over 2hrs 30 of moving.
Shade and I spent time sorting out the bikes, putting on protective tape for the bag attachment points, distributing kit etc.
Headed out to Pocahontas State Park for a gravel ride, no tarmac. Great riding, in heavily wooded terrain.
We picked up a rental on the Saturday evening, a massive Ford Expedition, for the drive up to Pittsburgh the next day. We took all four bikes, and it was about a 6 hour drive. We unloaded at the hotel downtown then headed out to the airport to drop the car.
Pictured next to the car are, left to right, Charles, Alex, Kevin and Shade.
We did 30 miles on the Three Rivers Trails, a great trail system that runs along each shore of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers - mostly tarmac but some gravel sections. A great way to see the city.
You can read more about the three River Heritage Trail on the website
A 20-mile loop on tarmac from downtown out to a couple of parks, utilising the amazing bike lane network in the city. Less than a mile or two wasn’t on a bike path or lane. Some cheeky little climbs, as Pittsburgh is a hilly city.
The bike has been great, exactly what I wanted. I used it on what I would term proper road rides, solely gravel and a mixture. It's super comfortable, responsive when it needs to be and with good handling. All the gear bought for the trip works well: frame, handle bar and saddle bags, fender set and so on.
A real mixture of riding and terrain. The Richmond 34 miles was road riding, with a small amount of single track down by the James River. Pocahontas State Park was double and single track, undulating through the woods - stunning scenery. Pittsburgh riding has been more cruisey generally, The city is really well set up for cycling and there are lots of cyclists.
The first day of the ride was sunny but a little chilly. After riding the 1.5 miles to the start, a medallion set on the very top of State Point Park we headed out. The first 20 miles were on tarmac, mostly designated trail but with some short sections on the road. We headed out from downtown Pittsburgh, through Southside and industrial areas of the city and outlying towns. After 20 miles we hit the old rail bed proper, it was a beautiful crushed limestone surface for the remaining 40 miles. Barely any climbing at all, just 300 ft over the 61 miles. The scenery was stunning, running along rivers virtually all day and once off the tarmac, it was through dense deciduous woods.
The biggest day of the trip at 90 miles, topping out at the Continental Divide. The trail continued with a wonderful, smooth crushed limestone trail and for the first 66 miles was a very steady incline up to the Eastern Continental Divide (the point at which the Gulf of Mexico & Atlantic watershed meet). Passing through Ohiopyle State Park 16 miles in, pushed on to Confluence for a mid-morning pit stop. We then pushed through to Meyersdale at 58 miles, the terrain changed from woods to more open, rolling farmland. After a decent rest, on to the last push. The final 8 miles of climbing brought us to the Eastern Continental Divide, quickly followed by the Big Savage Tunnel and then the Mason-Dixon Line (border between Pennsylvania & Maryland). We were leaving Pennsylvania, through which we had travelled 130 miles and into Maryland. Luckily from the Eastern Continental divide it was 22 miles downhill to Cumberland - we flew through this last miles, making our best speed to date. Having left at 0800 hrs we rolled into our trail side hotel at 6pm.
Having completed the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) on the second day of arriving in Cumberland, we left in the morning on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (C&O). The two trails join in Cumberland, and we headed out for three roughly equal days to complete the 184.5 miles to Washington D.C. Immediately it was clear this was a different trail, whereas the GAP was a wide, smooth crushed limestone surface the C&O was down to single lane in parts and considerably rougher.
The first 15 miles were negotiated in reasonable time but then the previous big day started to become apparent. This wasn’t helped by a detour around the Paw Paw tunnel as the trail was under repair on the eastern side; it was 1.5 miles of hike a bike, climbing over 650 ft. Once past the detour, the surface improved, still not as good as the GAP but better than the morning. This made the last 20-mile run into Hancock faster than the start of the day.
The longest day of our trip along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (C&O), at just over 68 miles. An early start saw us complete the 25 miles into Williamsport by 0945 hrs. Then it was another 30 miles to Shepherdstown for lunch. A fast section along the edge of the Potomac gave stunning views of the wide river, and there were several impressive dams across it. The trail was better than the day before, largely double track and with a smoother surface albeit not as nice as the Great Allegheny Passage.
A final hard push of 12 miles saw us arrive at the crossing to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Unfortunately, this is a pedestrian bridge running alongside the railroad and is reached by a significant flight of stairs - the quads felt it after 67 miles. Luckily, it was only a mile or so from the bridge to the hotel.
The final push was upon us, after a pleasant afternoon exploring the historic Harpers Ferry it was an early start to finish the trip. Everyone was revved up for the last 61 miles of the trail, and we set off at a reasonable pace. The first 37 miles were smooth, crushed gravel and even though we had already completed 270 miles the average speed was the best of the trip.
Unfortunately, the trail surface changed for the worse at 23 miles remaining. A much rougher gravel trail, with significant potholes and mud/puddles from overnight rain. This also coincided with increased traffic on the trail as we approached first Great Falls and then Washington D.C. itself. The combination of poorer surface and increased traffic slowed progress.
The only significant biking incident of the whole trip happened around mile 16 to go, a cyclist with a badly overloaded bike coming the other way decided to overtake some walkers straight into our path - clearly, he didn’t look. I tried to take evasive action and managed to avoid him but unfortunately, Kevin didn’t have anywhere to go so ended up running into the back of me; luckily there was no major damage. Having sorted both bikes and people we got underway again.
The trail runs right into Georgetown, although the final 3/4 mile is redirected along roads to the Mile 0 marker. This is hidden away on the Potomac shore behind a boathouse where the first inlet lock is - somewhat anticlimactic.
After the obligatory photo at mile 0, we hopped on the D.C. bike paths to take us over the Potomac to Gravelly Point, a five-mile ride away, where Shade’s wife would pick us up. To the roar of jet aircraft (Gravelly Point is next to Reagan Airport directly under the flight path) we finished the ride, a total of 354 miles over the 5 days since leaving the hotel in Pittsburgh.
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