One overnight, two trail days, three distances, four rest stops, and, most important, only five days left to sign up for That Dam Ride.

The well-organized annual round-trip ride along the Great Allegheny Passage to the base of the Youghiogheny River Dam in Confluence, Pa., sponsored by the Mon Yough Trail Council, offers bicyclists their choice of starting in Boston, Connellsville or Confluence. The ride will be Sept. 11-12.

The at-your-own-pace ride -- provided you can pedal at least eight miles an hour -- travels along small towns bordering the Youghiogheny River, continues through tree-shaded sections of Ohiopyle State Park and ends near the base of the dam.

The Boston bicyclists will pedal 69 miles, the Connellsville contingent will chalk up 30 miles and the Tour de Confluence participants will tally about 12 miles in and around the southern Somerset County town. Veteran cyclist, author and historian Bill Metzger and I will conduct the tour.

Overnight accommodations range from camping at the Outflow Campground maintained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the floor of the Confluence Fire Hall to guest houses and bed-and-breakfasts.

If you want to camp and need a tent, call Boy Scout Troop 15 at 412-461-2559. For a small donation, they'll provide the tent, set it up and take it down for you.

There will be rest stops with energy beverages and snacks in Cedar Creek Park, Connellsville and Ohiopyle. Lunch will be served Saturday and Sunday at Connellsville. The Trinity Lutheran Church in Confluence will serve a spaghetti dinner, complete with salad, garlic bread, soft drinks and dessert.

There will be coffee, juice and light snacks for breakfast Sunday morning. If you'd prefer something more substantial, the scouts will provide ham, egg and cheese sandwiches for a donation of $2.50. Sisters' Cafe in Confluence, which opens at 6 a.m., offers a full breakfast menu.

REI will provide bike mechanics Saturday in Connellsville. Brad Smith of Confluence Cyclery and one of his employees will be at the Outflow Campground late Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning to resolve any bike problems.

The $65 per person cost includes gear transport, dinner, two lunches, rest stop fare, a T-shirt, prizes and entertainment Saturday evening by Waldo Young. The Tour de Confluence costs $35 and includes dinner, a T-shirt, prizes and entertainment.

Proceeds benefit the Mon Yough Trail Council's trail maintenance program and nonprofit organizations that provide volunteer support and services for the ride.

For more information, go to www.thatdamride.org or call 412-754-1100, mailbox 4.

Larry Adams, who mows the grass that borders the 42 mile stretch of the Great Allegheny Passage that goes through Somerset County, usually sees about four rattlesnakes a year.

"He's seen 18 so far this year," said Brett Hollern, Somerset County Trail Coordinator. "No one has been bitten and if trail users don't bother a snake, it won't bother them."

Kevin Spradlin, a reporter for the Cumberland (Md.) Times-News, wrote Sunday that trail users have seen rattlesnakes near the Borden and Brush tunnels.

Spradlin wrote that Glenn Therres of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, said the department received a photo showing 12 rattlesnakes in a single location. He said state and local officials are monitoring that den but haven't disclosed its off-the-trail location.

Therres said trail users who encounter a snake on the trail should go around it or wait until it slithers off into the vegetation bordering the trail. "Rattlesnakes are pretty docile," Therres told Spradlin. "They shy away, move away from a human."

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