Day 5, June 26, 2011

I woke up at 7:30 and left the campsite at about 8:30 or so. I arrived at Cumberland mid-morning. I went to the Cumberland Trail Bike Shop to chat. They were a nice bunch of guys and offered to wash the mud and grime off my bike that had accumulated along the sometimes muddy C&O trail. I hung around town for s bit and took some pictures. Later on in the afternoon, I began the Allegheny Passage Rail Trail.  The Allegheny Trail connects the C&O Canal Trail and runs from Cumberland to Pittsburgh, PA. The trail utilizes unused railway beds. The Allegheny is much smoother (and much less muddy) than the C&O trail. It’s comprised of packed crushed limestone and is close to asphalt in terms of it’s surface. (Yes, it is possible to ride a bike from the heart of D.C. to Pittsburgh without ever riding on the road. Now, what’s not to like about that?)

I stopped about 15 miles up the trail in Frostburg, MD, a college town at about 1800 ft elevation. It’s a steady climb out of Cumberland for the first 20 miles. The going isn’t too difficult, though, since, being a former railway, the grade never exceeds 2%. I decided to stay at the Trail Inn Café located just a few hundred yards off the trail. The Café serves decent sandwiches, beer and wine. The Trail Inn is a charming little place and offers a variety of accommodations from a few tent sites, a hostel (where I stayed), and private rooms. The Trail Inn also offers wifi to guests of the café and lodgers. The owner, John, is a gregarious and personable man. I managed to negotiate a slightly better rate on my stay. (I shamelessly used the humble school teacher ploy.) I would definitely recommend The Trail Inn to anyone traveling the Allegheny Trail. Few places along the route offer the value that can be found here. For those who might want a break from the primitive campsites along the C&O canal, the Trail Inn is an oasis at a reasonable price.