It didn't sound that monumental at first. All you had to do was get on a bicycle and ride 335 miles over abandoned rail lines and canal towpaths from Pittsburgh to Washington in nine days. But our confidence became tainted slightly as the game plan details unfolded.

Starting at Pittsburgh's Point, a magnificent water fountain, was easy enough. Lots of people were walking around. One of them volunteered to take a photo which quickly went up on Facebook.

Within minutes, the reality set in as my former colleague and good friend Len Barcousky and I headed off onto the abandoned railroad beds that would continue for the first 150 miles along the Great Allegheny Passage. We passed through towns named West Newton, Ohiopyle, Myersdale and Cumberland, Md., stopping each night at guesthouses or bed-and-breakfasts for a good night's sleep.

From Cumberland on, we had the ghost of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal on our left and the mighty Potomac River on our right. Ahead were 185 tougher miles of riding on rocky towpath before rolling into Washington.

We put our pride on hold at first. After all, Len and I were somewhat soaked and very muddy following two summer rainstorms, and now we stood lost as the traffic on a highway viaduct rolled along over our heads in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.

After making a couple of inquiries and walking the bikes for about a mile, we found our final night's lodging.

It was all downhill from there, but not on the bikes. We hopped in a rental car the next morning and humbly drove back to Pittsburgh. It was a great adventure and gave us confidence we could survive other challenges.

We're thinking Iditarod next time ... huskies, not bikes.