It may be near the end of May, but this morning felt more like February. I left Ebensburg, PA at 8 AM this morning with temperatures hovering around freezing. Fortunately, conditions improved in the summer sun with the afternoon offering ideal riding conditions sans the stubborn headwind.
The first half of today's ride followed a 35 mile rail trail named the Ghost Town Trail. With alternating dirt and gravel surface and a gentle downward slope, the trail made for much easier riding than the hilly road/highway riding of the previous several days. This beautiful trail follows the Blacklick Creek and visits several small towns with names like Nanty-Glo, Vintondale, and Dilltown - towns shrunken relative to the heyday.
Distance - 85.7 miles
Cumulative Distance - 436.4 miles
Vertical Elevation - 5486 feet
The first half of today's ride followed a 35 mile rail trail named the Ghost Town Trail. With alternating dirt and gravel surface and a gentle downward slope, the trail made for much easier riding than the hilly road/highway riding of the previous several days. This beautiful trail follows the Blacklick Creek and visits several small towns with names like Nanty-Glo, Vintondale, and Dilltown - towns shrunken relative to the heyday.
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| Black Lick Creek |
Halfway up the Ghost Town Trail in Dilltown, I stopped at the Dillweed Bed and Breakfast which caters to cyclists on the trail. As the sole patron on a cold day, I had a chance to chat with the owners who told me that each year brings a handful of cross-country cyclists through their doors. They also proudly highlighted a local newspaper article about two high school students who are planning their own cross-country ride on the TransAmerica Trail in a couple weeks.
The owners also spoke about the decline in the coal mining and manufacturing economy in the area. Today, the regions major employers are hospitals and defense contractors in the Johnstown area - the latter a legacy of the expert appropriator, the late Congressman John Murtha. Aside from historical markers, the most prominent symbol of the region's industrial past is the Eliza Furnace - an industrial ruin dating back to the 1840s.
The furnace was used to produce more than a 1000 tons of iron in the 1840s as iron production soared in the opening stages of the industrial revolution. Abandoned towns, mine tailings, and even oil derricks attest to the region's later role as energy provider for steelmaking in the latter stages of the industrial revolution. Historical markers note that the abandoned town of Wehrum, formed by Franklin Roosevelt's maternal uncle, was the site of brutal clashes between workers and company police as labor sought to unionize. No mention was made that the wealth of president who secured labor's greatest legislative victories was amassed in no small part to the union-busting of his uncle.
No blogging tomorrow as I will take the Sabbath day to rest from cycling before setting out on Memorial Day for Ohio.
Starting Point - Ebensburg, PA
Ending Point - Pittsburgh, PADistance - 85.7 miles
Cumulative Distance - 436.4 miles
Vertical Elevation - 5486 feet
Counties - Cambria, Indiana, Westmoreland, Allegheny, PA
Wind - strong cross/headwind
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