This blog records the adventures of a father (Thomas Hall) and a daughter (Liz Hall-Constanzer), who after twenty years have decided to team up to bicycle 318 miles from Pittsburgh to DC over abandoned railroad trails and long-forgotten canal paths.
LIZ--between 19 and 54 years of age, roller blades, excels in text-messaging, works for the Vanguard Group in Malvern, PA and is married to Drew--an avid soccer, volleyball, bowling ball, and poker player--who thought it was a rather good idea for his wife to bicycle 318 miles rather than him. They have two children-- 1 year and 2 years old; the first weighs in at 180 pounds and the second at 4 pounds: Sampson the Great Dane and Delilah the Chihuahua.
The Great Allegheny Passage and the C & O Canal are history-travel at its best. The GAP trail was once a circuitous rail system that transported goods and food through eastern rural America to cities at a time when our country began the transition from isolated villages and towns into a connected, industrial nation. But go even further back in history: enter onto the C & O Canal which starts near Cumberland, WV. The canals, of course, were scooped-out earth that formed empty semi-circles. These long earthed-out "roads" were 12 to 15 feet wide and 6-10 feet deep. By the ingenious use of dams, diverting of water, and use of gravity through a water lock system, long canal boats soon transported goods and food from farms and villages hundreds of miles away. The boats' energy source was as green as they get--they were propelled down the canal by a team of horses or mules walking the canal path next to the boats.
So this father/daughter team--Liz and Tom--will narrate their journey through this interesting mix of natural beauty and history by bicycle. We hope you'll enjoy our journey and especially the pictures that we'll send along the way.
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