The Camino will Provide

Ohiopyle, PA to Meyersdale, PA

Our fourth day on the trail begins with the sun slowly burning away the fog from the nearby hills.  It is a brisk morning in the mountains and we layer up for the ride.  We stay in the forest as we follow the Yough river up to Confluence, the point where three rivers meet.

It is also close to the place where a very young brash British officer George Washington engaged French forces and was the spark that started the French and Indian War.  Nearby, he hastily built Fort Necessity in 1754 to defend his troops.  Unfortunately, we was out numbered by overwhelming French and Indian forces and ended up surrendering on July 4th (yes, that date is correct).

Our encounters are much friendlier.  We meet a group of four from Arizona, a couple from DC, a few single riders, and then all the friendly locals and bed and breakfast owners.  There are also lots of volunteers on the GAP who help maintain the trail.  We have seen their work as we pass cut trees, new gravel, and welcoming signs, maps, and even volunteer staffed visitors centers. 

We are able to swap stories of international and domestic travel, give suggestions on where to stay along the way, and there are lots of trail updates. “Be careful on mile 9 coming up, it is really soft (new gravel)” says the single rider who just finished that section.  There is a long discussion about the sink hole on mile 16 on C&O Canal, which is the trail David completed last week in the flood conditions. “Are you going to try and bike through or get a shuttle?” Is the common question. We count ourselves lucky that we are not biking that route.  This talk and camaraderie on the trail reminds us of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage that we completed last spring.  There is something unifying when you do a challenging adventure together.

Whenever there was a difficulty or unexpected turn on the Camino, fellow pilgrims and locals would tell us, “The Camino will provide,”  as almost a spiritual guidance.  So, if it was a long day and we needed a bathroom or food, magically a coffee house would appear with a w/c sign as well.  Pouring down rain? A vendor selling umbrellas and ponchos would appear in the town square.  It is a phrase that Siri and I have adopted as part of our travel philosophy.

So, when David tells us he is not feeling well and can’t bike anymore, we take a deep breath and say knowingly, “the Camino will provide.”.  We are in a small village with no services, still have 12 miles of biking left of our long 42 mile day, no car, and three bikes to get to our bed and breakfast. 

The Camino Will Provide.   We make several calls, we triage if we need to find the closest clinic or hospital (not yet), and after a bit we formulate a plan – another bed and breakfast has a shuttle that can pick up two of us and two of the single bikes.  Siri and David will take the shuttle.  That leaves Mike and I to bike the tandem together (new things for everyone) the 12 miles to our bed and breakfast.  Ready…Go.

The shuttle appears within the hour and Siri has a great chat with the owner of the other bed and breakfast about the history of the GAP as they drive through Amish and Mennonite country.  Mike is a trooper as he learns the joy of tandem biking (without clips!) and we take off through the forest trail and enjoy the scenery of the 1/2 mile long viaduct (converted rail bridge) over the expansive valley.

We all make it (Yeah!) it to our elegant bed and breakfast right out of a Victorian novel.  Mike and I enjoy the advertised “free beer and wine” on the front porch as we talk with Siri about options for tomorrow.  With David down for the count and fast asleep, and the weather report for a torrential downpour, we are thinking we will not bike the last portion and just shuttle back to Pittsburgh.  After pizza and the obligatory ice cream, and more conversations, we head to bed with a 95% chance that our GAP adventure has come to a close.

It has been a good ride through great scenery.  Interesting people and stories along the way.  We are a bit bummed not to finish the last 30 miles since most of it will actually be down hill – it would have been a good reward after biking uphill for the last 120 miles.  But, things happen for a purpose and it gets us back home much earlier.  We will see what tomorrow brings.  We just keep the mantra alive …

The Camino Will Provide