Alhtough cyclists ride along this dirt path on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, mules once used the path to tow canal boats. in Great Falls ParkThat's Great Falls Park where they do the recreated boat rides.

Jason Bell traveled 376 miles in August, but he didn't spend a dime on gas.

Towing a single-wheel trailer behind his Trek Navigator bicycle, the Evans City man traveled from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

During the seven-day trip, Bell pedaled along the Great Allegheny Passage, a rail trail between Homestead and Cumberland, Md. It then connects to the C&O Canal Towpath, which continues to the nation's capital.

Bell had biked part of the trail in 2008, traveling with his grandfather, Alex Bell, and father, the Rev. Wayne Bell, who died of cancer the following year:

So the latest trip had a way of bridging past and future as Bell embarked upon the journey.

“It's one of those opportunities when you get to do it by yourself: It's a miraculous thing,” he said, explaining the joy of smelling the flowers along the way.

“There are some people who try to challenge themselves to see how fast they can go. For me it was to stop and see those things I wasn't able to see the first time.”

Though Bell describes his trip as leisurely, the 37-year-old high school teacher averaged some 50 miles each day — pedaling over compacted, crushed limestone on the Great Allegheny Passage and over “two ruts in the dirt” on the C&O.Though rail beds tend to be flat, Bell saw a slight incline as he left Pittsburgh, which sits at about 700 feet above sea level. After traveling for 125 miles, he hit the Eastern Continental Divide at 2,392 feet.“That's the highest point on the trail,” said Bell, who took part in only minimal training before his trip. “From there to Cumberland you could pedal once and coast the rest of the (20-plus miles) down.”Bell's trailer was equipped with a waterproof tarp to protect his tent, sleeping bag and other provisions.For part of the trip, Bell cooked dehydrated meals on a single-burner stove and slept at campgrounds. But he wasn't without a few comforts.Some campgrounds, especially those along the Great Allegheny Passage, offered amenities like composting toilets, hand pumps for water and groomed fire pits.“Most even provided you with firewood,” Bell said of the free service, likely meant to deter travelers from disturbing the landscape.Early on the trail in Ohiopyle State Park, the campground even had hot showers.Ohiopyle was but one location where the trail can be accessed by road. In those cases, travelers might find bike repair shops, restaurants and a gamut of places to stay.

After a rainy ride on his third day, Bell found such amenities in Rockwood, a borough in Somerset County.An old lumber and feed mill with a second-story opera house had been repurposed to contain vendors who sell pizza, ice cream and various retail products.“The girl at the opera house let me into the Hostel on Main. It cost around $20 for the night, but I needed the washer and bed was nice,” Bell said.“The people in Rockwood were great — helpful. It was like they had all taken a class on making sure people came back.”“It is a model for sustainable economic development,” Bell added. “From 2008 to 2011 the number of new playgrounds — the number of new businesses — has easily doubled.”Linda McKenna Boxx of Latrobe, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance board of directors, said about 800,000 people visit the trail each year. Of those, about 25,000 travel its entirety. An economic impact study done in 2009 concludes visitors spend more than $40 million annually in the trailside communities.“As the trail has gotten longer, people are staying longer, spending the night at guest houses — and B&Bs and inns are starting to pop up,” she said.“It's small businesses that are popping up. We've yet to see a Hyatt or a big Sheraton,” Boxx added. “So these entrepreneurs are going to be looking for properties that suit their needs, and a lot of times they use the wonderful old historic properties.”The mill and opera house are but one example of historic preservation along the trail: The Big Savage Tunnel, a 3,295-foot rail tunnel near the Eastern Continental Divide, took several years to refurbish. The tunnel is now equipped with lights, and its entrance embellished with colorful murals.A few miles to the south, the Western Maryland Railroad's Frostburg depot features a museum and old-fashioned turntable for redirecting trains.On the C&O trail at Potomac, Maryland, an 1830s tavern has been transformed into a visitors center, where mule-drawn canal boat rides are offered by workers in period clothing.“It's such a bridge from the past to the future,” Bell said.

With the exception of his first night in the landlocked Dravo Cemetery Campground not far from home, Bell was never alone at the campgrounds. And fellow riders routinely hailed him along the way.Sometimes, the greetings were as brief as “There's a great swimming hole up there,” as one woman shouted in passing.Although Bell estimated most riders at somewhere in their 20s, he encountered a three-generation family and a trio of 40-something women pedaling along the path.He also met some cyclists from Ecuador, a duo from Boston who arrived via private plane and a trio of Christian evangelists who helped him with a shifter repair. All were welcoming and warm.“All that resentment and distrust that we have of each other ... you are out in the woods and none of that stuff matters. Everyone is a good person,” he said.“I never got a name. I never got a phone number. But I got a lot of great conversation.”

The Great Allegheny Passage is a 150-mile hiker-biker trail in Pennsylvania and Maryland. It links to the 184½-mile C&O Canal Towpath that continues to Washington, D.C.The crushed limestone trail was built on former rail beds of the Baltimore and Ohio, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie, Union and Western Maryland railroads. It is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, one of eight nationally designated scenic trails.Construction of the trail began in the 1980s by the The Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven trail organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland.Landmarks along the trail include:great allegheny passage• Fallingwater, an architectural landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright• Carrie Furnace, part of the Steel Valley Heritage Trail, along the Monongahela River• Ohiopyle State Park• Salisbury Viaduct• Meyersdale, Bollman Truss Bridge• Eastern Continental Divide• Big Savage Tunnel• Mason-Dixon Line• Borden Tunnel: 957 feet long, unlighted• Western Maryland Scenic Railroad• Brush Tunnel: 914 feet long, lighted and shared with the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad• Bone Cave: an archeological site containing bones of saber-tooth tigers and other extinct animals• Canal Place, the head of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Cumberland, Md.• Allegheny Mountainsc&o canal towpath• Paw Paw Tunnel, a 3,118-foot unlighted canal tunnel• Antietam National Battlefield• Harpers Ferry, West Virginia• Monocacy Aqueduct• Great Falls of the Potomac River• Mather Gorge and the Potomac palisades• Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

<I>When he is not cycling, Jason Bell teaches Spanish at Ellwood City High School. He lives in Evans City with his wife, Jill Perry, and their daughters, 6-year-old Sierra Bell and 14-month-old Silvi. He hopes to return to the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath, someday with his daughters. Above left, the towpath is shown near Potomac, Md. At left, Bell takes a break at the Paw Paw tunnel in Allegany County, Md., also on the C&O.</I>

<I>Tandem travel is the latest in a bimonthly series about Butler County residents and their vacations. To share your trip with Butler Eagle readers, call Sandy Marwick at 724-282-8000, Ext. 252. </I>

Bell takes a break at the Paw Paw tunnel in Allegany County, Md., also on the C&O.

After seven days and six nights, Jason Bell arrives in Washington, D.C., where he celebrates near the Lincoln Memorial. With no plan to pedal the return trip, Bell had prearranged a ride back to Evans City.

Although Bell camped out most nights along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath, he didn't lack comfort. Composting toilets, fresh water and stocked fire pits were among amenities he found there.

This map from the Allegheny Trail Alliance shows the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail that links in Cumberland, Md., with the C&O Canal Towpath. It then continues on to Washington, D.C., for a total of more than 300 miles.