In the summer of 2010, brothers-in-law Marty and Jim embark on a cycling trip along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal, a 335-mile trek from their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Jim's boyhood home in Washington, DC. Chance encounters with colorful local characters and other surprising escapades during five days on the trail make for nonstop laughs. As they travel through forests and along winding rivers, they experience the breathtaking scenery of western Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, exploring early American history while learning more about each other as well as themselves. This true story is for adventurers and cyclists as well as couch potatoes looking for a lighthearted take on friendship and some hilarious fun.

The Great Allegheny Passage Trail forms a hiking and biking route stretching approximately 150 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland, where it connects with the C&O Canal Towpath to reach Washington, DC. The trail is the culmination of many years of work by the Allegheny Trail Alliance, which joined seven separate trail organizations from Pennsylvania and Maryland to acquire and develop the land. Formerly an Indian path, trade route, military road, railway link, and part of the original National Road-the trail is truly a path to American history. An Uncommon Passage guides readers through the fascinating story of this trail, as a critical link in the western expansion of colonial America, and a pathway to the development of the Southwestern Pennsylvania region. The book explores the British outposts and forts, early settlers and frontier life, developing towns and cities, rise and predominance of industry, later environmentalism and preservation, natural resources, rivers, flora and geological features that comprise the trail and its environs. The engaging narrative is complemented by an extensive selection of historical illustrations and the contemporary photography of Paul g. Wiegman, all of which reveal the stunning scenery and pictorial history of the region. An Uncommon Passage offers a journey through both time and space to capture the heritage and surroundings of a region that would grow to prosper and help build a nation.

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a bicycle rail trail extending 150 miles between Pittsburgh, PA, and Cumberland, MD. Defunct railroad lines function as a restored corridor, connecting southwestern PA and northern MD. Visualize a crushed limestone trail that rambles through urban neighborhoods, fertile farmlands, and panoramic mountain ranges. The weight of your body propels you through a marvelous natural world that dovetails scenic waterways. Listen to rustling leaves through a cacophony of bird songs, or breathe in the sweet aroma of blossoming wildflowers and fruit trees. Marvel at ancient ruins from the region's rich coal and steel heritage. Pedal across iron giants-refurbished bridges and viaducts- or travel through the cold, ghostly, darkened train tunnels. All these experiences, and many more, await you on the Great Allegheny Passage. Whether you are a twowheeled explorer or an armchair adventurer, it's time to decide. Are you ready for a truly amazing ride? Biking the GAP is a visual documentary of the trail, focusing on all unique and historical points of interest; the strength of this trail lies in the total sum of its parts rather than a handful of specific spectacles. The photography comprehensively represents the complex trail in all its character, charm, and personality.

The first edition of The Great Allegheny Passage Companion told stories of the trail's first 100 miles from McKeesport to Meyersdale. Now author Bill Metzger takes you on a journey along the completed GAP Trail from MP 0 in Cumberland, Maryland to its terminus at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. www.greatalleghenypassagecompanion.com The history and heritage of the trail come alive in Bill's inimitable style - humor blends with serious scholarship in this look at the railroads and other industries that preceded the trail's development. No matter when your trail adventure and the book come together you'll understand: What will I see when I get there? This is gonna be great! What am I looking at right now? What did this big concrete thingie used to be? Why did this happen here? Why indeed? What’s on the other side of those trees? Maybe I’ll come back when the leaves are gone. What did I see when I was there? Sorry I missed that. Guess I’ll have to come back again. You'll learn something about the trail and the people of southwestern Pennsylvania - how they lived in Days Gone By and how they made the Passage the wonderful experience it is today.

This comprehensive guidebook profiles more than 180 waterfalls in Pennsylvania, all scouted by award-winning photographer Jim Cheney.

Cyclists are everywhere, the cautionary bumper stickers tell you. More than ever before, bicycle culture is everywhere, too: from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine, city planners are making big changes to city infrastructure for the increasing numbers of people who are leaving their cars at home (or deep-sixing them altogether) and upgrading to two wheels. Biking in the city is no longer just for bike messengers with a death wish. Biking's benefits are myriad: better fitness, smaller environmental footprint, quiet and low profile, cheaper, greater accessibility. For each new, non-competitive cyclist in the consumer marketplace, there is at least one bicycle that needs to be fixed, maintained, and customized. Cyclists are looking for communities of like-minded people to learn the basics of repair and maintenance, the tricks of the trade, and get some super inspiring ideas for making their bike reflect their lifestyle choices. Quarry's The Urban Biking Handbook: The DIY Guide to Building, Rebuilding, Tinkering with, and Repairing Your Bicycle for City Living is a hardworking, illustrated guide to the cycling lifestyle. Not only does it teach tons of repair and maintenance techniques, it shows such popular skills as converting a multiple-gear bike into a fixed-gear bike (or fixie), building your own wheels, and how to build a Frankenbike from parts scavenged from several bikes. All the techniques and projects are framed by spotlights on urban bike culture worldwide: profiles of bike mechanics, bike builders, bike artists, and more.

How to make city cycling--the most sustainable form of urban transportation--safe, practical, and convenient for all cyclists. Cycling is the most sustainable mode of urban transportation, practical for most short- and medium-distance trips--commuting to and from work or school, shopping, visiting friends, going to the doctor's office. It's good for your health, spares the environment a trip's worth of auto emissions, and is economical for both public and personal budgets. Cycling, with all its benefits, should not be reserved for the fit, the spandex-clad, and the daring. Cycling for Sustainable Cities shows how to make city cycling safe, practical, and convenient for all cyclists.