Great Allegheny Passage to C&O Canal: Pittsburgh to DC

[couloirman]

Note that this thread is specifically about the GAP and the C&O together (which has mainly been done by cyclists). A thread for the GAP (Pittsburgh to Cumberland) only is here:
fastestknowntime.proboards.com/thread/1426/great-allegheny-passage-pittsburgh-cumberland
And a thread for the C&O Canal Towpath is here:
fastestknowntime.proboards.com/thread/398/canal-md-dc

The Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (or the GAP and C&O as they are affectionately referred to) form an approximately 335 mile continuous trail from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. The GAP is mainly well groomed crushed limestone that rides fast, and the C&O is mainly dirt road double-track that turns to cement-like mud with huge potholes, puddles and downed trees after rainstorms. I was weeding through everything I could find on the internet about speed records on the trail, and am finding the info difficult to come by.

As far as I have been able to find on the internet the sub 24 hour time has yet to happen, but it is entirely possible that someone (or maybe even several people) has already done it and just didn't brag about it. Here is the closest account of a 24 hour ride I can find. This couple rode the entire trail Pgh to DC on a tandem bike in 24 hours 19 minutes. It appears that they had a support crew that met up with them routinely for water, supplies etc... That is the fastest time I have seen mentioned anywhere for the entire 335 mile trail.

According to the bike washington website (http://bikewashington.org/canal/plan-days.php) "Paul Gruenberger also claims the unsupported record time of 12 hours and 36 minutes set in September 1991 for the entire C&O. The Supported record is 11 hours 41 minutes." This info has not been updated in some time, but I can find no references of anyone doing it faster. It only refers to the C&O portion of the trail from Cumberland to DC.

I am posting this thread because I am setting out next week to try to break the 24 hour barrier. Has anyone heard of a faster time than 24 hours 19 minutes anywhere? If so, please let me know as I would like to have a mental grasp of what my average speed will need to be for the entirety of the trail before I go out. Would be a bummer to shoot for 24 hours only to find out days later that the record was actually much shorter.

I will be biking solo, carrying all my supplies with me (food, H2O, repair/first aid kit) and will have no support crew. There are water pumps treated with iodine along the C&O that I may or may not use depending on if I run out of water or not, but I am starting out with 9L of H2O so I don't expect to need anything extra. I will be leaving Point State Park most likely on October 7th at around noon, but will move the start date a day or two either direction depending on the weather. I can post a spot messenger tracker if anyone cares to follow. 

[Superman]

Did you actually do this? How was it? I have also been thinking about doing the entire trail at once and had no luck finding any information on records, until finding this site.

[COrider]

c-man I keep trying to post this. Sorry if it keeps appearing.

I would love to hear about your ride as I'm planning to do the very same thing in June. My wife and I did the ride last year in 5 days as a recon. In particular, I'd like your thoughts on….which direction, what bike and which tires, time and place of start, anything you'd do differently, any lasting impressions or thoughts. Right now I'm planning:
* D.C to Pittsburgh because the C&O is the worst part of the path; best to do it first
* Early a.m. start on a weekday to avoid traffic at D.C. end
* My 11 year old Scott CR-1 road bike with soft seat and 28mm, hard case tires and (maybe) mt. bike shoes and pedals
* No support or supplies hidden along the way (did you start with 9L of H2O because of little faith in the C&O water pumps?)
* Minimal repair / first aid gear

At any rate, congratulations on your ride, however long it took!
CO

[GranvilleGravel]

I tried this same trip on July 25, 2015 - GAP/C&O in 24 hours. I fell just short in 24 hours 37 minutes. I was self supported which ended up making a big difference. I hadn't been on the trail before and see now that it takes time to get off trail for supplies. I was expecting more access to quick food. I made some other mistakes too that cost time. Fun trip though!

[couloirman]

Congrats man-- so close to 24 hrs! At least it was fun either way, and is the fastest solo self supported ride I have heard of thus far so kudos.

I think Pittsburgh to DC is the best way to do it. C&O is indeed the worst part of the trail in terms of trail condition, but if you can get it when it's dry it isn't too bad and at least it's downhill with little drops at all the locks. The biggest reason to do it Pgh to DC in my opinion is the epic downhill from the eastern continental divide all the way down to Cumberland. Also technically the GAP is closed at night so an early start in Pgh puts you off the GAP well before sundown. Don't forget to bring a bell on your bike for the C&O-- they are mandatory! Don't skimp on lighting either, it's a really dark trail at night with lots of little (and BIG) critters running across it. I think 28mm tires are too narrow just for comfort sake of your rear end, and, well, you know, wider tires are faster anyway (opens can of worms haha). But you will see plenty of people on the C&O with road bikes, I just wouldn't want to torture myself with that little cushioning. And yeah, I brought a ton of water because I'm picky and hate the taste of iodine from C&O pumps but I will bring a lot less next time and do it when it's cooler out so I sweat less in general.


I bailed last season after mechanical issues (I gave up mentally and took a long nap on the C&O) and am going to give it another go on Thursday. I have to be in DC for a conference on Saturday anyway so I figure, why not! And hopefully all the leaves won't have fallen yet. I learned a lot last season and will be attacking it smarter this year with smaller tires (38CC challenge gravel grinders set up tubeless on a generic carbon cross bike with drop bars), oval chainring, aerobars (honestly, mainly just for comfort and pressure off numb hands as opposed to real aero benefits), and less weight on the bike in general. Hopefully it isn't too cold later this week!

[Ivan]

Hi couloirman!

I am going Pittsburgh-Washington this Saturday, 24th. Lets go togeher!

check this out - mbarace.com

Respect,
Ivan

[Matthew]

Hey there, thanks for the motivation, just looking for confirmation of completion, and any details you are willing to offer. I rode GAP last year unsupported in 10 hours and have ridden C and O and GAP on a 3 Day ride. Want to do both in sub 24 this June

[Greg B.]

I can confirm that Seth and Rebecca did it in 24 hours and 19 min in Sept 2013. As far as I know, that's the record. They did it on a tandem. You can read about it here: bicycletimesmag.com/335-miles/

[PBIGuy]

Has anyone run either the C&O or GAP continuously?

[trevorrecycles]

Here is my submission, solo self supported cycling. I ate a meal and bought food in Cumberland. Please let me know if another such record exists!

Chesapeake and Ohio Rail / Great Allegheny Passage Speed Ride 341 miles

imgur.com/gallery/BnaW3

[trevorrecycles]

Jul 12, 2016 19:54:01 GMT -5 trevorrecycles said:

Here is my submission, solo self supported cycling. I ate a meal and bought food in Cumberland. Please let me know if another such record exists!

Chesapeake and Ohio Rail / Great Allegheny Passage Speed Ride 341 miles

imgur.com/gallery/BnaW3

I did this from 11:08 AM July 10, 2016 at mile 0 of the C+O to 9:35PM July 11th in Pittsburgh.

[couloirman]

Nice! I have tried several times now and been thwarted a bunch. Im trying again later this week. Great work Trevor! Solo trip? Write up a TR anywhere?

[Luke Skyrunner]

This is all great stuff. I was not close to 24 hours, but I am not a biker, I am an Ultrarunner. On my bike attempt I converted my full suspension bike to as much of a hybrid as possible. A speed attempt was never going to be in the cards, my ride was the first part of June after weeks of rain and I got caught in a monsoon that lasted 8 hours. My time for the entire Gap and C&O was just under 29 hours.

I am more interested in a speed attempt at running the entire C&O Canal. Does anyone know what this time is?

[trevorrecycles]

Here is a better link: imgur.com/a/2feXl

Couloirman -- solo, self-supported, although I bought food at a grocery store in Cumberland. No TR. Ride for a long time, don't sleep. ;-) Also, tandem records are always faster than individual rider records. 



Also, it looks like Luke above me here set the record at 29 hours. We need a picture though ;-)

[Joe McNemar]

I am going to bike this trip Saturday March 4th 2017. I plan on stopping in Cumberland. I will be unsupported. If anyone is interested in doing this with me and I feel good I may try and do it in 24 hours.