Tag: cycling in west virginia

A Bad Road – Cycling US40 in Pennsylvania

Day 34 – St Clairsville to Grantsville – Cycling US40

118 miles, 13:05 elapsed time, 9.5 hours pedaling, 11,400 ft elevation gain, 8400 calories burned

The pre-dawn morning air chills us, up high on a hill overlooking the area surrounding St Clairsville, mounting up for another day in the saddle. The coming sunrise spills warm orange and rich reds across the sky. The view across the hilltops is breathtaking, and we take a few pictures, knowing full well these aren’t the kind of shots that translate into anything other than “ho-hum” if you’re not standing there.

With this chilly air, I’d love to have bit of climbing to warm my joints and muscles as a beginning to the day. However, as soon as we leave town, we begin a two-mile descent steep enough to require quite a bit of braking. It’s cold enough I’m uncertain about potential icy spots on the road as we fall into the coldest air at the base of the descent, where the road crosses the old Blaine Hill Bridge over Wheeling Creek.

The old Blain Hill Bridge after descending through the chilly morning air
The old Blain Hill Bridge after descending through the chilly morning air

It won’t be the last time today I’ll wish for another layer of warmth…

The road follows Wheeling Creek for several miles, meandering through old towns and past 200 years of history few people remember. It’s early in the morning on a Sunday, so traffic is extremely light, giving us a chance to stop and take lots of photo’s as we cross the Ohio River twice. The second crossing uses the old Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

Dave As We Follow The Creek
Dave As We Follow The Creek
Dave Crossing The Old Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Dave Crossing The Old Wheeling Suspension Bridge

This is a beautiful old bridge, built in the middle of the 19th century. It spent two years as the longest suspension bridge in the world, and was the first bridge across the Ohio River. Dave and I walk the bridge, taking lots of photos, soaking in the history and beauty of the place.

In Wheeling, we begin to rely heavily on the maps I planned and loaded into my Garmin. Prior to this as we’ve crossed the country, we’ve just used these maps as a backup – something to get us back on track if we stray to far from our route in our meandering. Here is Wheeling, we just take whatever turns the Garmin tells us to take, and are rewarded with a wonderful ride through town, following an excellent bicycle path for several miles along an old railroad grade, dropping us off in Elm Grove east of Wheeling. Continue reading “A Bad Road – Cycling US40 in Pennsylvania”

Bicycle Touring in West Virginia – Grafton to Romney

Day 14 – Grafton to Romney in West Virginia

Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.

Below is a map of a day across West Virgina. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.

 Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.