CRANBERRY TWP — Kevin Cramer is no stranger to the 334-mile bike trail from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

However, this time the trip was the first for his 10-year-old daughter, Kayla.

Two years ago, Cramer made the 135-mile trip from Cumberland, Md., to Pittsburgh with his son, Cameron, who was 4 at the time. Cramer and his daughter took a longer route together.

The Cranberry Township father, 38, said the duo battled rain storms, detours, mud slides and potholes to make it to the nation's capital. Cramer said Boston, a town in Elizabeth Township, provided a four-hour detour.

“I convinced Kayla to do the whole thing this year, just to say we did,” Cramer said. “It was a lot of fun, and we rode a lot.”

While there wasn't a set-mileage per day, Cramer said some days would produce 59 miles. However, the eight-day trip from June 14 to 22 had some less-strenuous days, with Cramer noting the shortest distance they rode was 39 miles.

One of Kayla's favorite parts of the trip was meeting new people.

“We met a ton of other people at camp doing the same trip,” Cramer said. “There were riders from the East Coast, coming down to Western Pennsylvania. We met people riding cross country, from Chicago and New York.”

Kayla, who will attend Haine Elementary School in the fall, said the trip was challenging.

“We had to walk in some mud,” Kayla said. “But I liked the challenge. I would probably do it again.”

However, that wasn't what Cramer initially heard from his fifth-grade daughter.

“After the C&O Trail last year (the Cumberland, Md.-to-Pittsburgh trail, which is 184 miles), she didn't like the thought of doing another long ride,” Cramer said. “She wanted a YouTube channel, and I told her she had to do something. I think that was her motivation, to get content for a YouTube channel.”

When they weren't biking, Cramer said the duo would relax and play at campgrounds.

“We would swim in the pool or just sit around with other people,” Cramer said. “Because she's 10, we would sleep most of the time. She would sleep and I would edit videos.”

Cramer has a YouTube channel of his own, filled with biking videos, called 334 Miles of Fun. He documented the recent trip with Kayla on the channel. He said the trip with Kayla was the first time he did the entire Pittsburgh-to-Washington, D.C. trip.

“In 2016, I did the GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) part, which is 150 miles,” Cramer said. “In 2017, I did the C&O part, but in 2018 I just combined them. There was a portion of the C&O that was still mud covered and had a lot of silt from the river. I don't know how many miles it was, but we had to walk it. We were still sliding all over the place.”

Cramer said the only downside to the trip was getting “eaten up” by mosquitoes during the walk.

“We had a rainstorm the following night, and we tried to push it too far, so it started raining before we could put up the tent,” Cramer said. “We wanted to make it to the next campground, but the rain forced us to stop. That was the night before we were done, so we just woke up and finished the next day.”

Cramer's wife Becky, who rides herself, said two years ago that she expected a phone call on the trip with Cameron. However, the story wasn't the same this year.

“Kayla is very determined and Kevin had made a statement that they're going to try and finish one way or another,” Becky said.

“I didn't expect a phone call expecting fatigue or needing a break. If I did get a call, I thought it would be because of the trail conditions. I thought the weather conditions would put a barrier on things.”

“Kayla is dedicated so I didn't have a doubt she wouldn't make it the whole way,” she said.

Cramer called the trip a great ride and “very family doable.”

“The C&O part is challenging, but if you have the time and patience, you can do it,” Cramer said. “The GAP trail is a lot smoother than the C&O part. I do think it is a good family ride. But, you have to have a lot of patience and be willing to take a lot of breaks.”

Since Cramer has taken both of his children on the trip, he's trying to convince his wife to go.

However, she said she might be a “little more dramatic” facing a challenge such as a 334-mile trip.

“That would be his most challenging adventure,” Becky said, laughing. “I think that is somewhere in the works. I'm sure I'll be joining them in one of the years.”

“Kevin has the patience of a saint,” she said.