Bicycling

The local Temperature said 48 degrees, but snow is still on the ground. Took a ride up to the "Path of the Flood" Trail, it was open where cars can do, but the trail itself was still snow covered. I did walk along the trail for a little bit, but there was enough snow on the trail to enter my sandals so I had to turn around (I actually needed boots). I then took the trail to the other side of Johnstown and started on what had been my Favorite Trail before the Rails to Trail "Path of the Flood" trail came into being. Here are some photos of the trail from the from the spring of 2006:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=324x1154

Since I had done the Rails to Trail route first, I just covered the Johnstown Portion of the Trail and stayed out of the Conemaugh River Gap. Yes, in Sandals with Snow on the Ground but none on the actual road (through there is still solid ice on the side of the road). The road surface itself clear except the sides where Automobiles rarely go, those are covered with all types of crud. Given the Path of the Flood is snow covered, I will try the Conemaugh River Gap tonight after work. It is a two hour trip for me, through when the "Toon de Toona" was running, those racers did it under an hour when it was one of the legs of that bike race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tour_de_Toona

The Tour de Toona ran at about the same time as the Tour de France, but had a female division so most of the premier women cyclists showed up for the Tour de Toona while the men went to the Tour de France (and the Tour de Toona male section was clearly inferior to the female section of the race).

Being a Female dominated race, the Tour de Toona never obtain the support the Tour de France has and ended up closing down in 2011 do to a lack of sponsors. I mention it now for the Conemaugh River Gap was one of its premium sections and they did it in less then 1/2 to a 1/3 less time it takes me to ride that same distance.

The Path of the Flood follows the path the waters from the dam that broke in 1889 that destroyed Johnstown. It presently starts at South Fork, south of where the dam was located, through the narrow passes of the Little Conemaugh to Johnstown Itself, then down the Conemaugh river as it slowly dissipated.

http://www.indianacountyparks.org/links/pathofthefloodtrailbrochure.pdf

The Actual Trail uses the path of the old "Southern Cambria Railway" from South Fork to Mineral point, then goes under the main line of the old Pennsylvania Railroad (Now Norfolk and Southern). to the path of the old Portage Railway built in 1836. The path then goes through the oldest Railway tunnel in the US, the Staple bend tunnel, then down "Incline #1" then along a 36 inch in diameter water pipeline to Franklin Borough. The water was for use in the Steel Mills of Johnstown. This is the trail that is snow covered today, but in a week or so should be clear of snow.

Utube video of Mineral point to Franklin Borough, this was made BEFORE the Gap in the Trail was finished AND before someone sprayed the Knotweed so the path could become passable. The knotweed has been replaced by native vegetation along the path, through the Area is still heavy with knotweed, an invasive plant from China, Korea and Japan. The small wooden bridge has been removed and replaced by a large plastic tube covered with dirt. The riders also use a bypass that still exists but as part of improvement on the trail you can now go on a much improved trail. I did look for a more recent video but could not find any, and I just do not do videos: