On day 2, we woke up at Roundbottom Campground at around 7:20 am, which was later than we were all expecting. We had a reservation to tour Fallingwater at 1 pm, 30 miles away, so we broke camp and were on the trail by around 8:30.
We had about 1 bottle of water between us, and had to ride about 8 miles until we could get more drinking water. Thankfully, we encountered a KOA campground earlier than expected that was a nice oasis!
During the ride, we definitely noticed the incline and, with our packs, kept pace at about 10 mph. It turns out that we climbed 480 ft. over the 42 miles for the day. Overall, though, the trail was far more rural than Day 1 and we went over several scenic wooden bridges.
We arrived at the beautiful Ohiopyle State Park area around 1, which has swimming, camping, rafting, and other adventures. Fallingwater is about 4 miles from here, up a winding country road. After talking to locals, who largely seemed appalled that we would bike on the curvy, hilly highway 381, we opted to take a shuttle to Fallingwater, rather than bike there. Locals also had very different “estimates” of the distance to Fallingwater, some reporting it was 3-4 miles uphill and some approximating up to 7 miles uphill.
Whatever the real distance is, we were happy and relieved with our decision to opt for the shuttle decision, especially since we noticed the shoulder of the road was about 10 inches. Best $21.20 per person we’ve ever spent.
Fallingwater was wonderful:
We went inside, but were not allowed to take pics. Our guide was also very adamant that no one touch anything when we were inside the house. I, of course, being tired and hot from all the riding, accidentally let my hand graze a sofa, and got scolded. Oops. It was an amazing property, though – the waterfall is actually built into the house, and the different floors of it resemble the natural flow of the water cascading down the rocks. It all has fancy architectural terminology that our guide kept talking about, but I can appreciate the beauty of it even if I can’t remember it all now.
Another highlight of this sight-seeing detour is that the 3 of us wanted to get our picture taken in front of the vista above. A group of other tourists were nearby, and out of all of them, Lauren asked a teenage boy if he would take our picture. Which would normally be fine, but this particular boy happened to have two casts on his arms because he had what looked like two broken wrists. He was a sport and took our picture anyway.
When we got back to the shuttle place we were glad to see our bikes were still there. I’m not sure what our plan would have been if they had gotten stolen or something, but I’m sure we would have figured something out:
After riding 11 more miles we made it to Confluence, and the River’s Edge Loft:
Anna Marie, the owner, walked us around to the back of the property where there is a 2 story brick building with an antique shop in the first floor and a 1 bedroom loft apartment on the second floor with 1 full-size bed, a futon, a full kitchen and bath, and, most importantly, AC! The first floor also has a storage room that is the perfect place to store our bikes.
Ahhhhh!!! Showers!
We had been given an enthusiastic dinner recommendation for a place called The Lucky Dog in Confluence. We hadn’t eaten a proper meal all day and we were starving. At first glance the place seemed questionable, but the burgers and beers just might be the best we’ve ever had.
I’ve been on many rail trails, all with varying levels of support from towns along the trail, and Confluence was a great, well-supported stop. In my opinion, what makes a great support stop is if there’s a bike shop in town, as well as lodging where the proprietors accommodate the needs of touring cyclists by, say, not requiring 3-night minimums at campsites/B&Bs and by allowing bikes to be secured in rooms or storage facilities overnight.
Today’s Mileage: 42
Tomorrow’s Itinerary: Confluence, PA to Rockwood, MD
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