The Great Ride

THE GREAT RIDE journeys more than 355 uninterrupted miles of bike trail spanning from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Consisting of two connecting trails – the C&O Canal Towpath (D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland) and the Great Allegheny Passage (Cumberland to Pittsburgh) – the path draws cyclists from all over the world who come to enjoy the step back in time as they ride through a historic U. S. artery. Viewers follow the trail alongside a diverse group of cycling tour guides, each of whom travels a different section of the bike path. They include: two married military veterans whose cycling is a source of stress relief; four friends from Cleveland who founded the organization “Black Girls Do Bike”; a nature photographer; a trail maintenance worker and volunteer; and others. THE GREAT RIDE begins with the military couple as they set out from the U.S. capital and follow the old mule path alongside the C&O Canal. The journey continues up to Harper’s Ferry, along the Potomac River, and across the Mason-Dixon Line. The cycling guides then top the Eastern Continental Divide and bike through western Pennsylvania’s mining and steel-making corridor before finishing at Pittsburgh’s landmark Point State Park.