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Community Corner

From Moon to Wheeling: Biking Along the Rail Trails

The 64-mile trip from Moon to Wheeling, W.Va. was quite an adventure.

I had two days off, so I decided to bicycle to West Virginia.

I’d been considering the Panhandle Trail for weeks, but it seemed too good to be true. Could I really ride my bicycle from Moon Township all the way to Wheeling, W.Va.? Was this trail network as smooth and efficient as it seemed? Nobody seemed to know. My hard-core cyclist friends had never even heard of. So there was only one way to find out.

At 10 a.m., I arrived at the trailhead in Coraopolis with a backpack, a seven-speed hybrid bicycle and my camera. A gravel trail of crushed limestone snaked into the distance with trees and tall grass flanking it.

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If all went according to plan, I could take this route, the Montour Trail, all the way to the town of McDonald, where a crossroads would lead me to the Panhandle Trail. This would lead to Colliers, W.Va., and after a quick dozen miles by road, I’d take the Greater Wheeling Trail the rest of the way.

Total distance: about 64 miles.

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Pedaling the first few miles was slow going because I was accustomed to riding on pavement. Instead of potholes and traffic, my wheels contended with a sticky, textured dirt trail. It was a small price to pay -- I passed mile markers every 10 minutes or so, and the landscape was breathtaking.

What’s remarkable about this trip is that just about anybody can do it. Sure, I’m a year-round cyclist and I sometimes brave blizzards or blazing heat to keep in shape, but I ride a Fuji Crosstown, a pretty average bicycle. I wear normal shorts, sneakers and T-shirts. My backpack is nothing special, and because I planned to stay in a hotel, I traveled light – some Cliff bars, plenty of water and an iPod.

This is a particularly great ride for Moon residents. Even if you don’t have time to travel all the way to West Virginia, the Montour Trail offers miles and miles of uninterrupted cycling.

Despite some bumps, the trails were in great condition, thanks to the Rails to Trails initiatives that had designed and constructed these paths. Such trails have replaced defunct railroad lines across the United States, and cross-country cyclists are fanatical about their level ground and beautiful scenery.

Along the way, I passed through forest, swamps and farmland. I spanned bridges, skirted creeks and rounded secluded houses. Meanwhile, snakes wriggled across the gravel and hawks circled above.

I broke away from only a few miles from Colliers. My directions advised riding a regular road, which climbed over some high hills and drifted back into the Ohio River Valley. This was the toughest part of the journey – steep roads, no berm and extreme curves. As I downshifted to my lowest gear, my burning calves kept pushing. There was nowhere to go but forward.

When I finally found the Greater Wheeling Trail, the path offered very different vistas: It cut through the middle of several towns, and smokestacks protruded from the Ohio shore. This region is much more industrial than Washington County, but the river and hills turn an autumnal orange in a waning sun, and the sight is spectacular.

The last few miles were a bitter battle because I wasn’t accustomed to riding so far in one day, and my legs burned. I sighed with relief when the famous Wheeling suspension bridge came into view, and soon the old brick mill town enveloped me. By 7 p.m., I had booked a room in the no-frills Wheeling Inn, and there was just enough time to order a calzone and flip on the old television. By 10:30 p.m., I was dead asleep.

After all, I would still have to ride back the next day, but as they say, getting there is half the fun.

This story originally appeared on Moon Patch

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