Bikes, Trails, Friends and Beer.

Get Up and Ride: A Humorous Story of Two Friends Cycling the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal (2020) – Jim Shea joins his dedicated cyclist brother-in-law for a ride from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. over a pair of dedicated trails. Through the beauty of the mountains and the wonderful people they meet along the way, they share an adventure on two wheels.

Why I Liked It: A wonderful, quiet story about the joys of riding with people you like.

Jim Shea was not a dedicated cyclist before his brother-in-law Marty put him back on top of a bike. The two men couldn’t be more different. Jim is an engineer with a Type A personality. Marty is a free-spirited artist who takes life as it comes. But they enjoy each other’s company despite it all.

In 2010, Marty (who is a dedicated cyclist) decided the two of them needed to ride the 340 miles of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the C&O Canal from Pittsburgh to the nation’s capital. Jim’s riding experience was minimal, but he felt up to the challenge. Their differing experience levels and personality types result in some interesting adventures. They will also meet some interesting people who are on or along the trails as well.

If you’re not familiar with the trails, here’s a quick look. These are two separate trails. The GAP runs from the Point in Pittsburgh (where the Monongahela and Allegheny meet to form the Ohio) to Cumberland, Maryland (and vice versa, lol). It’s a 150 – mile – long rail-to-trail of both crushed stone and pavement. Open to hikers and bikers, it crosses the Eastern Continental Divide near Frostburg, Maryland, as it follows the Youghiogheny and Casselman rivers. At Cumberland, riders make a short traverse to find the end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath. Built on the path used by mules who towed the boats along the canal, it’s now a favorite trail for runners, bikers and hikers. From Cumberland, it runs 184.5 miles to Georgetown in the District of Columbia. Between the two paths, users will pass through woods, tunnels, and some significant history of our nation. Depending on their skill and the time in their schedule, most riders seem to take 3-5 days to finish the entire trip. There are plenty of shorter out and back trips as well.

The book is interesting because Jim Shea tells the stories in the same tone commonly used in social situations. It’s easy to imagine sitting in Marty’s yard with a beer in hand (a very important detail, as you’ll learn) and listening to them sharing memories. Shea had never written a book before, just as he’d never ridden a bike that far before. Marty is dedicated to activities that can be done while sitting down. This included drinking beer (the two bonded over an annual pilgrimage to a brewery) and bicycling. While his favorite saying seems to be “A Marty at rest tends to stay at rest”, he would often leave Jim behind while he pedaled on ahead.

There’s nothing quite like sharing stories among friends. Jim Shea’s “Get Up and Ride” is a solid example of just that. Riders and non-riders can enjoy the trip.

Rating – *** Worth A Look