We are excited to pedal our bikes from Pittsburgh to Washington DC in a couple of weeks. We have been planning and researching our trip as well as the best way for us to get to and from the trail. Here is a peek into how we plan our bike trips.

Inspiration

There are so many different places you can look for research. We have a book called the Great Rides of the Americas. While we were perusing the book, we found the Great Allegheny Passage Trail. We knew that we wanted to ride this trail from the few pictures featured in the Great Rides of the Americas book. Now, all we needed was a reason to go to Pittsburgh and begin the trail. Lucky for us, we had a cousin announce his wedding in Philadelphia. The next thing we knew, we were planning our multi-city trip starting in Pittsburgh to DC and finishing in Philadelphia.

Research

Next came the research. We knew the route. It is now time to figure out the timing of the trip. After reading and researching many different sources, we knew we did not want to fly by all the amazing sites. We wanted to take the trip slow and steady with plenty of time for stops and explorations!!! During our research phase, we also looked at travel costs to get to and from the trail. It would be best to consider this when you are not within a drivable distance of the trail. The extra fees can add up quickly, making you forgo your plan and add it to a wish list at a later date!!!

We carefully read about each of the towns to select the towns we really wanted to stay at. Eric has wanted to visit Antietam for a very long time, and we can easily bike through it and only add another 6 miles to our trip. It is important to see what sites there are to visit close to the trail as well as on the trail. Taking the time for a slight detour will pay off if the destination has been on your wish list for a long time.

Packing

When packing for a bike trip, when you have to fly to the start of your trial, your bike has to get packed up and either put under the airplane or shipped. We are choosing to box up our bikes and check them on our flight. Many Airlines have recently changed their policies, and the bike box is now priced the same as your first piece of luggage as long as it is under a certain liner length and 50 pounds. Check each airline for their specific guidelines. We are using American Airlines. So the bike boxes are the same as the first checked bag as long as they are under 50 pounds.

Next comes packing the bike into the box. It is important to make sure the bike is well padded and will not move around while in flight. Taking extra care when packing up your bike will ensure that the bike arrives with no issues that need a quick fix because you have to get on the trail!!! We plan to pack some of our panniers in a box with our gear. We will each carry a pannier and our trunk bags onto the plane while, of course, wearing our helmets because where else is easier to pack a helmet.

Last-minute details

The main last-minute detail is the actual packing of the bike. We wanted our bikes out to complete a few more training rides, so we waited until two days before we left to pack our bikes. We had a ton of fun packing our bikes into the boxes. We got out the scale to make sure that the boxes were under 50 pounds, so we don’t have to pay the extra weight fee. As it turned out, my bike was over 50 pounds, so I had to carry my pedals onto the plane so that the box was not overweight.

You never totally feel ready when you set off on a bike tour, but we are confident in our plan and daily mileage. We will also have our shopping list to go shopping for food for the first few days when we arrive. Locating the closet grocery story is important. Once we are at the hotel, we will assemble our bike, charge our battery’s and then hit the trail for our Allegheny Adventure!!! Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to stay up to date with our ride. Subscribe to our youtube channel so you can see our videos of our ride in the following weeks after we return.

Let’s hit the trail!!!

Now it is time to put the boxes in the car, drive to the airport, get on the plane and start this next epic adventure!!!!

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