Blog of Josh Hall

I’ve seen the app come up in my social media feed and I was strongly pessimistic. After a few people sent me the link, I figured I should do a first hand testimonial and send them that for when people send me it in the future but also if anyone else is curious about it.

From the ad and my understanding of AI recognition, I anticipated the app to work best for simple bricks. The more complex the element, the less likely it would be accurately recognized. That isn’t to say it’s a lost cause, just a lot of work to get where people want this to be.

The second thought I had was even if it were able to recognize a lot of pieces, it’s going to take a lot of work to get an inventory of builds that would be possible. They’d probably throw in a few simple builds that can be any color to simplify the matching and increase the variety.

So, let’s get to it…I was just going to open one of the large bins I have and see what it can do. To its credit, I skipped the first 2 steps of laying everything flat and removing all the big pieces.

So I snapped a pic, and here is what it looked like:

It has a cool recognition visualization process that highlights all the pieces it detects all around the collection. That was fun to watch. After that ran for a few seconds, I was, of course, give. The option to sign up for the pro/paid version. It appears there are more instructions with the pro version, but we’re not going to be building Hogwarts or anything intricate here.

With 265 bricks identified, here are my build options:

I am very underwhelmed. Seeing the wheels triggers me to think that it didn’t even detect wheels, so I looked deeper into what it did find.

I found inaccuracies in the 265 it found. It has a nice interface to tell you where in the collection to find it. That could be useful for finding that 1 piece, but in the time it takes to pull your phone out and focus a picture, you’d probably find anything you were looking for.

I think the real limitation here is wanting to keep the interface of an app on a phone. The LEGO fan community has been waiting for someone to invent a table top sorter, and this is part of the equation. You could sell a box that you’d dump pieces in, it would shuffle elements to a conveyor belt, identify a piece, and kick it out to one of a few openings. they could market different sizes of the box and pro features would get you regular inventory updates or firmware.

I don’t think we’ll ever get anywhere, for hardcore fans or for introductory builders, with pictures from a phone and a curated layout of pieces. May as well just use your imagination. It’d probably look AT LEAST as good as a 10 piece rocket.

I rode my bike from Pittsburgh to DC. I enjoyed the time alone, the time with others, the ups and downs (geographically and emotionally), the lessons, the tests, the process; the journey. I enjoyed – the journey.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about it. I had to step away from the real time highs and the ostentatious desires of something for others. As time went on, I found (or rationalized) that I want my journey to help others too. To be blunt, I don’t want to read pages of someone else’s bike ride, so I wouldn’t expect anyone else to read mine. If my journey can help yours though, I think that’d be awesome. If you want to connect with specifics, I’d love to hear from you. Use the contact page if you don’t know how else to get me.

I love to break things down to the W’s of journalism. I’ll break everything down from my journey in separate posts chronologically, but I’ll try to to hit all the dubs along the way. this first post is just a high level introduction to my story. I have had many friends and acquaintances tell me about their journey, before and after mine. I believe my present life is just a collection of my experiences and the people who have impacted me along the way are all part of it. All those who inspired me, with what their journey looked like, even when their journeys were before or after mine, have brought me where I am. If that’s true for you, I’d love to believe I’m part of your why or how and I’d love to know where you are on your journey.

At the risk of sounding like a recipe blog, I grew up on the Old National Pike (Route 40) just south of Pittsburgh, my dad being a civil engineer helped root a respect for the US transportation system – how we got all these roads and how people moved around before we had cars. I used to sneak into the National Pike Steam Show grounds behind my mom’s house and that grew my curiosity for train culture. My family used to do bike rides at Ohiopyle and Cedar Creek, so I grew up knowing about the rails to trails efforts.

I had riding the trail on my list of “30 things to do before I turn 30”. I got a few things out of order and didn’t reach my goal. The furthest…and only distance…I got was with my friend Ryan. It was important to me to be able to say “I rode my bike from my house to the Lincoln Memorial.”, so we started off from my front door in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. My house is now on Airbnb, and I have bike hooks that hang from the stairwell ceiling, for anyone who is starting or finishing their journey. We went down to the point, hopped on the GAP trail and cruised down to Sandcastle and the waterfront. From there, we looped around the high level bridge, scooted past his neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, and back to my house.

9 years later, my life was unrecognizable from 29 year old me, but the desire to finish what I started was just as strong. I knew I wanted to finish it. I knew a week long trip wouldn’t be sustainable, for me. My friend, Chad, chided me for not doing the “full ride”, like he had done with his friends, but I barked back that I think it would take more perseverance to break it up over months like I did. I’m grateful for friends, like Matt, who went out with me and we coordinated parking cars so we would only have to ride out 1 way. I’m forever thankful for my wife, Amanda, who dropped me off or picked me up, sometimes after hours of driving. Her support made this possible. My friend Billy taught me things about riding that were crucial to me finishing. I was inspired by Angela’s luggage transportation service, Sunshine Luggage Shuttle and Josiah’s bed and breakfast, The Ginger Bread House, just past Ohiopyle. Even more, I was awestruck at the requests and response to Amanda’s etsy store of her own creations of GAP Trail and C&O merchandise.

I am not a stereotypical “bike enthusiast” – never have been and don’t think I ever will be. I’m not an adrenaline junkie and I enjoy running more than I like riding a bike. I love to challenge myself though. That’s what this was all about, for me. If you have some people to do a continuous ride with, I’d recommend that too. the beauty of the canvas that is the 333.3 miles of trail from Pittsburgh to DC is that you get to splatter your own journey and vision all over it, from start to finish, at whichever end you want to call your start.

Click through for the rest of the journey:

Let’s cut to the chase and boil it all down. The C&O sucks. I hated it. I was caught off-guard and unprepared in many ways for it. The frustrations were unrelenting. I had to grow stronger, smarter, and more patient and tolerant of my own mistakes. That’s partially facetious and dramatic and partially deep truth. The history is kind of wild too, especially the Paw-Paw Tunnel.

I had just finished my celebratory late lunch as I finished my journey on the GAP trail. I didn’t realize it yet, but the ETA to my airbnb in Paw-Paw was off by an hour thanks to my directions telling me to take a few roads instead of staying on the path the whole way. As I put back on my metaphoric rose colored glasses and mounted my bike, I thought, “OK, C&O must be right up this cute little white boardwalk bridge.” And then panic set in.

Where’s the trail? What’s this train track? Did I go the wrong way? Am I on some sort of restricted rail access road? There was no one around. On the GAP, there were people to pass in both directions consistently. For the entire next 30 miles, I was entirely alone, never passing a soul going north and no one going south. For 2 hours, I was in panic mode as the sun started to go down and I was getting deeper and deeper into THE WOODS. I had planned for one more break, but I couldn’t afford the daylight. I had left my bike light on after going through the Big Savage Tunnel and the battery was dead. My cell phone battery was almost dead. Should I turn it off incase I need to call someone to rescue me? How far is it? I have no cell phone reception. JUST.PEDAL. FASTER. HARDER. I had to get to my van before dusk, because there was a sign that said no parking after dusk. Would they enforce it? Would they tow it? Would I have to explain myself? Would they come looking for me? What if I accidentally left a light on in my van and the battery drained? Did I leave my keys in Amanda’s car when she dropped me off at Meyersdale? JUST. PEDAL. I literally screamed. Multiple times. I was mad. I was mad at myself. I was mad at the C&O Canal. I was mad at my circumstances. Blame doesn’t fix anything. JUST. PEDAL.

I found my van just after dark. My legs were shaking. Now I have to find my airbnb. What can I eat? There were no restaurants, so I drove to gas station, which knew it was the only place around because they make pizzas and breakfast. My Paw-Paw Oasis became Liberty Gas station. I bought a 6 pack of beer and a large pizza. I drank a bottle in my car as I waited for my pizza to be done.

I had to make a new plan. The Paw-Paw Tunnel was closed, and I knew that, but I was traumatized by the C&O canal experience like a high school senior on track to be valedictorian but then fails a math test. My calculations were off. There was no way I was ready to tackle the bypass trail. I had to pivot.

I decided to drive to Hancock the next morning. I’d have to come back to finish the rest. I had to swallow my pride on that one, because up to this point, I was doing out and back runs to justify my struggle of not doing it all at once. This was cheating, it felt like. Had I been camping consecutive nights without a car, I would have had to push through.

I had a nice scenic drive up past Prospect Peak and stopped in a CVS for a few hydration packs. Thanks for the Galises for first exposing me to these. As I parked my van at the Hancock boat ramp, I noticed 2 trails (foreshadowing)…but, I just set out on what I knew to be the C&O. The plan was for Amanda to pick me up at the Big Slackwater boat ramp, but I ran into my first detour, and an undocumented one.

It didn’t start. My battery was dead. Amanda still had the rental. I tried using the Halo jump pack but it wasn’t turning over. I didn’t have jumper cables, so Amanda put on her extravert hat and asked a gentleman for help and he rescued me. Thank God that man had cables. The original plan was to go out to a nice place to eat as a thank you for driving out, but now I didn’t want to turn off my van and we aimed to just drive back home. I had a spark of inspiration after realizing we wouldn’t be getting home until after 9 though. Instead of going back 68, we’d go north to Bedford and stop at Jean Bonnet Tavern. I had been there before, but I knew I wanted to take Amanda there, even at the risk of not being able to start the van. After a great meal, the van did start back up and we headed home.

A few miles in, a freshly fallen tree covered the path. I can’t make this stuff up. Nature is against me.

Picking up my ~60 lb bike up and over it to continue wasn’t my first time and it wouldn’t be my last. As I came into Harpers Ferry, the tourists overran the trail. Groups of 20 foreigners taking selfies. I stood up on my pedals to become an intimidating presence. People started to respect me then. Instead of the “on your left” I started dishing out the “Clear the way” about 30 feet from them. #ain’tnobodygottimeforthat. I finished up at Brunswick. Amanda scooped me up and we did a little sightseeing at Harpers Ferry together, after she had just done some by herself. I had actually never been there and it’s pretty wild to see the tunnel and the massive cliff. I’d see it again. Amanda exposed me to checking off National Parks, so this excursion knocked off at least 2.

We headed a short drive away to the Roselius’. Though no blood relation, we always called them our cousins and Aunt Anita and Uncle Tom. I have so many memories in that house and with that family. A lot of life had passed, on both sides, so it was good to catch up. This was the first time that I was connecting with Aunt Anita and Uncle Tom as an adult, and certainly without my sibs and mom around. I loved making sense of my life and hearing their perspective of who my dad was to them. It was healing in a lot of ways, and I wanted them to meet Amanda too. Covid was wild at how close Amanda and I grew without any outside family and friends. But I digress. I didn’t head back out from Brunswick the next day though…I had unfinished business to take care.

I had decided that I wanted to be DONE when I rode into DC. To do that, I’d need to do the Paw-Paw Tunnel bypass. I had been scared by snakes, thrown by roots, rocks, and sticks, slowed by mud. I had been bored with the side scrolling video game layouts of the lock house clearing and back into the woods. I was close enough that I was ready to take on whatever it was that I needed to take on. Amanda dropped me off at the mouth of the Paw-Paw Tunnel and I went right in, knowing full well it was a dead end, but I was committed to completing the full thing. All the way in and then right back up and CARRIED my bike up the bypass. No one is riding up or down this. This is what I would envision a tough mudder to be like. Pointless, other than a mental goal in mind to complete the task. I must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, so I had to get back on course. Again no one out, but I wasn’t deterred. Then, I noticed some bikers about 50 feet to my left and 30 feet above me. Going both directions. What was that? I came up on a zig zaggy bridge that connected the two paths and decided to investigate. A chorus of angels sang and a unicorn pranced over a rainbow. I had discovered the Western Maryland raiload bypass. Smooth, wide, clear black top. I laughed at the C&O beneath me. I have zero guilt. That was just stupid and masochistic to complete. I sped across that trail all the way to Hancock with the feeling of total victory. I outsmarted C&O canal towpath and I had the upper hand, for the first time. Now, I just need to FINISH.

My final run happened on Nov 17th, the day after my 40th birthday. I was fine with that. It was a choice. I parked my van at Brunswick around 10am with the intention to take the MARC train back. It was just above freezing, but I came prepared with layers and wool socks…unmatched, but still. C&O wasn’t going down without a fight though…a train separated me from the path. There was no way to go around it, let or right. Didn’t matter how far I’d go down either way. A worker in a truck was on the other side of the tracks, and when the train stopped moving, I yelled across “Can I just go through it?!?” and his response was “I wouldn’t recommend it. They are always watching.” WTF. A local road by on his bike pleading with me to write the township about it because they’ve been trying to show that these trains are breaking legal agreements by blocking the trail and they need to pay for a fly over. Politics. I stayed warm by riding around the lot, but I was probably too patient since I waited over an hour for the train to get out of the way. I should have gotten out of sight and cut through the train.

I finished the C&O in a very similar way to how I started; panicky. It was getting dark and an it was starting to rain. I took the mile marker selfie and B lined to Union station, while snapping a photo of the Lincoln Memorial. I arrived 10 minutes before my train…the last train leaving for the day…departed. Thanks to the facebook group, I came prepared with my 2 bungie cords and the attendant showed me where he wanted me to load in and strap up. I had the car to myself. I had worked hard that day to earn the ride back to my van, but it was done. There wasn’t a big celebration or adrenaline rush. There was peace. There was pride and a smile. I did what I said I was going to do.

My bike was covered with salt and nonsense from the drive back. Hindsight tells me I should have cleaned it or at least sprayed it down before putting it away for the winter. It was all rusty when I brought it back out in the spring. I can’t say I’m in love with my bike, but I can’t say I want any other one either. Partly sentimental, partly practical, but still partly a vibe of “nah, I’m good. I’ve reached my peak biking interest.”

I’d entertain doing the full ride, but staying in hotels or airbnbs. I’d want to do it with people I love. I’d want it to be something that solidifies existing bonds. I’d want to share something sacred. I definitely enjoy the Meyersdale to Cumberland tradition in the fall. Maybe take it back a little further back, to Ohiopyle, Confluence, or Rockwood. I’m so grateful for all the decades of work that have gone into improving and maintaining the trails. If you go out, I hope the C&O treats you better than it did me, and I hope you tell me about your journey!

Click through for the rest of the journey:

The Greater Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail is wonderful. I strung together a bunch of day rides from one point out and then back. It is a gradual elevation increase from the point past Ohiopyle, but it was not noticeable – since I would reverse and experience the same path the other direction. It’s still biking, and I’m no biker. Just a dude who wanted to ride from Pittsburgh to DC because I thought it would be fun to say I rode my bike from my front door to the Lincoln Memorial.

I had already done the stretch from the point to Sandcastle a decade ago. Then I did the little jaunt from Sandcastle to McKeesport to connect up with where I had left off on the Montour Trail from my new house in Bethel Park. That part is easy enough. Just east of McKeesport is some hot nonsense of windy trails up and down and a bit of road work across the 15th street bridge an onto River Ridge Road. I hate riding bikes on roads with cars. I think this general area is the worst of the GAP, but just know what you’re getting into. Google street view helps.

Boston is a pretty cool small town vibe. It’s the first dose of “I’d never know this place existed without getting on this trail.” There’s a lot of spots like that on the GAP as you work along the Youghiogheny River. There are “towns” that make you think “Who the heck lives here and what do they do for a living?!?”. There are spots that make you wonder what it would have been like when trains rolled through here regularly. I had Beuna Vista as my stop for day 1.

Most people will do Pittsburgh to Connellsville in 1 day. It’s about 6 hours of riding. I didn’t get to Connellsville until Matt carpooled with me from Smithton Beach. So many sights to see, like this relic of a round house! There are so many old abandoned buildings and things that make you wonder what they were. We enjoyed a stop at Youghiogheny brewing, of course.

Up to this point, I had just been going out on Saturday or Sunday rides. If I wanted to finish this by my 40th birthday, I was going to have to get some longer runs. Amanda and I were also teaching a class at church on Sunday mornings, so I had to use my last opportunity for a back to back day. I used my $100 Airbnb SUPER HOST credit for essentially a free stay at a place in Paw-Paw. I didn’t write it fully in the facebook post because this was the turning point for me. This finished the GAP trail journey and started the C&O canal towpath. Meyersdale to Cumberland is perfect. It’s concentrated GAP awesomeness. It’s got an awesome view, The Big Savage Tunnel, The Eastern Continental Divide, the Mason-Dixon line (crossing from PA into MD), a 17 mile downhill cruise, and all the pomp and circumstance you would hope for into Cumberland with places to celebrate with food and drinks. I was so happy when I stopped on a bench to eat a late lunch. So proud. So innocent. So clueless. So unprepared. I had just done 150 miles of beautiful crushed limestone with a handful of benches every mile or so. The GAP is consistent, flat surfaced, and has dynamic views of the river and surrounding area. Doing it on the fall was beautiful with the leaves changing colors! I love the fall and I loved the GAP trail!

…but then, C&O needed to be done…

Click through for the rest of the journey:

As I said in the intro post, I had done from my townhouse in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to the Waterfront a long time ago. The Hot Metal Bridge had just been completed. It was a flat ride and interesting to see all the places I’ve only seen from the road. There’s been a lot of work to improve the trail, on all sides of the 3 rivers, and I’d only expect that to keep going in the coming years.

Trip 1: My house in Bethel Park is near the Montour trail, so I just needed to follow it to the GAP, right? well, sounds easy enough, but it’s not that simple and probably never will be. Amanda and I set out to cover the trail through Bethel Park, South Park, but the first frustration is having to get on a road by Sunset Golf, all because some storage unit has the land where the rail road used to be.

It’s definitely a bureaucratic problem that will likely never be simple. The next unfortunate spot is not being able to continue through Green Man’s Tunnel. That would have been sweet. Just a little stretch of nice open road and trail gets you sucked in enough to be surprised when it all goes away once you cross over Gill Hall Road. You’re not par of vehicular traffic without any pavement markings. Beware. Peters Creek Road is peaceful enough, but it’s still a road, and I hate riding a bike on roads. Helmet for sure.

Entering Large is the wildest irony. It’s like a bunch of houses and a bar got discarded into someone’s field. I don’t know why it’s called Large, because it’s not. Up an over a hill and you’re at route 51 and of course I recognize this from going to Century III as a kid. This is one of those times where it’s tough to have to turn around, but you have to be mindful of your distance and elevation to make sure you can make it back in a reasonable time.

Trip 2: Picked up from the park and ride. This lot is unreasonably LARGE. It’s probably as big as Large, honestly. nice little path into the woods on the way to McKeesport. Past a nice park, but then get your wits about you for a steep hill on 837. Traffic will pass you. Lots of big trucks with surrounding industry. It’s not for kids. Cross the Glassport Bridge, and barrel down into town. Steep hill coming up to Mansfield Bridge. I ignore all stop signs and red lights. I don’t even know the rules, I just want out. Over the 5th avenue Bridge and loop around the the left and there we go. We’ve reached the GAP at McKeesport.

A few weeks prior, I had taken my bike to connect the Sandcastle to McKeesport section that I had missed a decade earlier. It’s totally smooth and I really like coming over that big bridge and ride down into McKeesport. It’s a weird thing again that the GAP goes under the bridge and along the river but then dead ends, even with the destination in site. Seems stupid they’d even maintain that.

One of the cool things about the trails is that you can use google street view or revisit, forecast, or live vicariously.

Click through for the rest of the journey:

Here are the things I’d mention if we were talking in person and you were thinking about doing the trail.

Make sure you get your shirts, stickers, and gear from Amanda GAP Trail and C&O merchandise.

Do it in the spring, when days are longer and the tunnels are open.

Elevations are a thing. Factor in elevation changes to set your expectations of what mileage you’re going to cover each day. Uphill and downhill.

Lots of cool info in facebook groups. https://www.facebook.com/groups/505456612991195

My favorite part, and one I’d like to become a family tradition is starting at the caboose at Meyersdale and riding all the way to Cumberland. You got some great views, a tunnel, coasting downhill, landmarks, the mason-dixon line, fun 17 mil cruise down hill, easy in and out, places to eat and sleep, and benches. My girls were 11 and 9 and were able to do the +30 miles without complaining. Even enjoyed it. Solid day’s ride with breaks.

Do not feel bad about getting on the Western Maryland Rail Trail at lock 56 and Hancock, Md. Make sure you check out the Indigo Tunnel that way too. The bypass was like a middle finger to the C&O for me, it was wonderful. It was redemption.

Make sure you check on alerts and closures. Some weren’t even posted on the site. I don’t do riding on the roads, especially country roads.

Plenty of camp grounds on the C&O. In my view, doing it all in 1 long trip is just a 3-way balance between “how much stuff can I take with me”, “how much can I buy along the way”, “how low can my standards of personal care and quality of life be”. Some people get a kick from that. Some people want to bust it all out in 3 days or less and survive on energy bars and sports drinks. I think that’s a slippery slope into performance enhancing drugs. I also didn’t want to have a rain plan. That’s stupid. There’s no metal for that.

Don’t be stupid. Know how to change a tire and a chain and have spares with you.

I really enjoyed tracking my speed, distance traveled, and ETA to my destination. It was fun seeing how much stuff I ended up buying along the journey. I started off with just me and a bike. Then I got saddle bags. The I got the phone mount. Then I got vertical grip bars. Then I got the mirror. So many other things you can get.

If you do decide to use something for directions, make sure it keeps your path on the trail. MANY times, it would give me biking directions that got me off the path and onto roads, probably for speed, but it would throw my expectations off because I would obviously just keep riding on the trail. So even though it said the ride would take 5 hours, sometimes it really would take 6 hours because there was an a hour shorter route had I followed a road.

Nutrition is a thing. I didn’t realize how much of a thing it was. I could tell a difference when I just went out and rode for 3 hours vs going out for 6 hours with energy blocks and hydration packs. Worlds apart. That said, I didn’t really like the aspect of having to manage eating and such. I just wanted to ride. Maybe you’re differen.t

If you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy journaling about your trip or even the thoughts you have. I loved being in my head and sorting through all my mental jewelry. And listening to music.

Maybe I’ll update this page with more as time goes by and conversations happen, but it’s pretty straight forward.

Click through for the rest of the journey: