Get Up and Ride: a story of two friends and a cycling adventure on the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal

"A Cycling Version of 'A Walk in the Woods'"

"The author nicely intertwines a story of friendship and American history through an adventurous and humorous bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. Good fun!"

In the summer of 2010, brothers-in-law Marty and Jim embark on a cycling trip along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal, a 335-mile trek from their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Jim's boyhood home in Washington, DC. Chance encounters with colorful local characters and other surprising escapades during five days on the trail make for nonstop laughs.

As they travel through forests and along winding rivers, they experience the breathtaking scenery of western Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, exploring early American history while learning more about each other as well as themselves.

This true story is for adventurers and cyclists as well as couch potatoes looking for a lighthearted take on friendship and some hilarious fun.

"An adventurous tale"
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"'Get Up and Ride' integrates plenty of local color and history to complement a series of mostly amusing anecdotes in presenting a narrative that tends to draw in readers pretty much immediately."
- The Almanac (South Hills, Pittsburgh, PA)

"Insightful, full of tips, and very humorous."
- Subaru Drive Magazine's Favorite Book Picks, Fall 2021 (Carol Miles)

"A laugh-filled journey... the book also chronicles Shea’s decades-long friendship with Marty, a sculptor and inner-city high school art teacher, who has taught his tech-exec brother-in-law to slow down, welcome new experiences and appreciate small moments."
- Notre Dame Magazine

"'Get Up and Ride' contains sometimes hilarious accounts of Jim and Marty's adventures and the people they met, interleaved with flashbacks from their long, storied friendship. Jim also sprinkles in the history of the towns along the way... the reader learns about George Washington's role in 1750's western Pennsylvania, the struggle between the French and British for control of Pittsburgh, and the history of several important Civil War conflicts along the C&O Canal."
- USC Today Magazine

"The honest start to 'Get Up and Ride' leads into a journey - physical, metaphorical and humorous - along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal trails. An entertaining read."
- Uniontown Herald-Standard

"A true detailed GAP/C&O trail experience with humor and history.”
- Meyersdale Historical Society Visitor Center

“A humor/adventure work with some local Connellsville color and history.”
- Connellsville Daily Courier

“A new book full of humorous tales about biking the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal.”
- Monocacy Monocle

“'Get Up and Ride' is the top humorous C&O/GAP cycling adventure book of 2021!”
- Brunswick Main Street

“Shea shows his humorous side in describing their search for a milkshake in Meyersdale. They found it at Donges Drive-In, where they each had two shakes that included a total of 12 scoops of ice cream for each man.”
- Somerset Daily American