My idea for a long bike trip occurred more than a year ago, when a late winter snowfall stirred a longing for warm weather and invigorating outdoor activity.

It was March 2007 when I first imagined a vacation in which my husband, Steve, and I would ride our bikes along the just-completed Pittsburgh-to-D.C. Rails to Trails, pedaling 335 miles through Pennsylvania's lush countryside and along Maryland's historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

I even planned an itinerary: At 40-plus miles a day, we could make the trip in a week. We would stay at quaint roadside hotels and sightsee at the many historical landmarks along the way. And to celebrate our success when the journey ended, we'd feast on Maryland crabs at some wharf-side cafe.

But ever practical, even in my imaginings, I decided that waiting a year to undertake such an adventure made sense. Steve and I needed time to build stamina and get our aging bodies into shape. He also needed a little convincing. Once an avid biker, Steve wasn't sure he wanted to spend his vacation with his bum pressed to a bike seat.

So last summer, from April through October, the two of us spent many weekends pedaling Western Pennsylvania's bikeways: from Freeport to Butler, along Moraine State Park's lakeside trail, even east to the more challenging (steeper) Ghost Town Trail in Cambria County.

Last year's training season culminated in a two-day, 80-mile ride in October along the scenic Allegheny River and Sandy Creek trails. Packing minimal necessities in my newly acquired saddlebags, we rode from Emlenton to Oil City and back the next day. When we were finished, the ride from Pittsburgh to D.C. seemed possible.

Throughout the winter, Steve and I tried to stay active. He took brisk walks through Adams Park, even when temperatures dipped in the 20s, and I swam at work on my lunch hour.

Today, more than five months since our last bike ride, the big trip is at hand. In late May, Steve and I — joined by two other couples — will embark on our journey, although not exactly as I had first imagined it.

Instead of quaint hotels as havens at the end of the day, we're camping — it's less expensive. And there really aren't any hotels along the trail. So when our day's ride is over, I won't be sipping gin and tonics by the side of a hotel pool but cooking dinner over a campfire.

We also slightly shortened the trip. We'll begin our ride in Ohiopyle rather than McKeesport, saving more than 50 miles of pedaling.

The biggest change, however, is in the riders. The men in our group — Steve, our brother-in-law and my college roommate's husband — decided visiting Civil War battlefields was more appealing than spending seven days on a bicycle. They're planning day trips to Gettysburg, Manassas and Antietam, but agreed to drive sag-wagon — a minivan loaded with camping equipment. They also promised to be there at the end of our ride each day, a gin and tonic in hand.

The bike trip isn't what I had first imagined, but the planning is over. There's nothing left to do now — except getting back into shape.

Linda K. Schmitmeyer is a freelance writer living in Middlesex Township. Her e-mail address is lks260@zoominternet.net

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