PNC Legacy Trail Relay rider Charlie Beaumariage was in his pajamas when he heard someone tapping on the kitchen window of the Rockwood Trail House Bed and Breakfast in Somerset County.

"Get dressed," said Linda McKenna Boxx, the president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, the coalition of seven rail-trail groups building and/or maintaining the Great Allegheny Passage. "They'll be here in 15 minutes."

"They" were a relay team of six bicyclists coming from Deal, a tiny crossroads community in Somerset County that sits on the eastern Continental Divide. The first team left Friday afternoon from Washington, D.C. with a congressional proclamation celebrating Pittsburgh's 250th birthday. The last team arrived yesterday afternoon at Point State Park.

"I looked at my watch," said Mr. Beaumariage, 61, a retired design draftsman and avid cyclist who lives in Mt. Lebanon. "It was 4:15 a.m. They were an hour ahead of time."

Mr. Beaumariage put down his coffee, got dressed and got on his bike. The passage, which runs past the B&B, is a 150-mile non-motorized, multi-purpose trail that extends from Cumberland, Md. almost all the way to Pittsburgh.

The relay ride was part of the Pittsburgh 250th celebration, which included 85 cyclists riding 335 miles from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh and 18 teams of relay riders who covered that distance in 24 hours. They were later joined by hundreds of cyclists in Mc- Keesport and Pittsburgh.

Waiting for Mr. Beaumariage in the predawn 48-degree weather yesterday in Somerset was Mark Imgrund, 51, of McMurray, a retired software executive and president of the Montour Trail Council. They were met by Jeff Leach, 43, of South Park, and Devon Doran, 29, of Mt. Lebanon, both PNC employees who had started at Deal.

But where were Monty Pooley, 46, of Marshall, who works for Sara Lee; Michael Mesoras, 54, also of Marshall, a medical director for Aetna; Dan Oshop, 56, of Robinson, an electrician who biked around the world in 2000; and Michelle Johnson, a 31-year-old project engineer from Butler who had stayed overnight in Somerset?

They had been told to be at the Rockwood trailhead an hour early -- and they were. They were disappointed to learn their teammates had departed.

Mr. Oshop, who arrived in Rockwood before Messers. Pooley and Mesoras and Ms. Johnson, caught up to Messers. Beaumariage, Doran, Imgrund and Leach. Mr. Pooley and Mr. Mesoras joined them all in Confluence.

Ms. Johnson, the last to arrive in Rockwood, realized she wouldn't catch up to the early departed. She followed "a super, super guy" to Route 281 south and drove to Confluence in time to join the relay team that rode to Connellsville.

Meanwhile, her teammates sped down the smooth crushed limestone trail to and by the tiny communities of Markleton, Fort Hill and Harnedsville and then down the short asphalt ramp into Confluence. Along the way they a surprised a possum and several mice. They, in turn, were surprised by a Great Horned Owl on the Pinkerton High Bridge between Markleton and Fort Hill.

"It buzzed us as we were crossing the bridge," Mr. Leach said.

After passing the proclamation along to the next relay team, Messers. Beaumariage, Imgrund, Mesoras and Oshop rode to Sisters' Cafe in Confluence for breakfast. The eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, French toast and homemade toast disappeared quickly. So did the coffee, orange juice and water.

In a comment echoed by others at the table, Mr. Pooley, who rode the trail last Sunday, described the 20-mile trip as "a great ride on a great trail" and something they'd do again. "It was a blast," Mr. Imgrund added.

With the exception of Mr. Oshop, who had a ride back to Pittsburgh, they pedaled back to Rockwood and then drove to Pittsburgh to join other relay riders who had gathered at the marina in McKeesport, the Hot Metal Bridge, the PNC FirstSide Center and Point State Park.

The group in McKeesport included County Executive Dan Onorato; former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, who championed the creation of bike trails in the city and the region; and 85 bicyclists who started out from Washington, D.C. last Saturday for an eight-day ride to the Point.

They all rode the Great Allegheny Passage from McKeesport to Point State Park via the Riverton Bridge, Route 837, The Waterfront and Sandcastle. Kennywood/Sandcastle President Peter Jr. McAneny gave the riders permission to ride through. He and Mr. Onorato said Friday that they had made "significant progress" to accommodate the trail through the water park.

Waiting for them near the Hot Metal Bridge were several hundred bicyclists, including Ken Swimkosky, 40, of Robinson, and his daughter, Kaydi, 14, who were on a tandem bike.

Brad and Ann Zajac, both 58, of Adams in Butler County, were joined by "Rocky," a 7-year-old tri-color Papillion who rides with them in a blue bag. "People don't expect to see a dog in there," Mrs. Zajac said with a smile.

Frequent riders Bob and Karen Craddock of McCandless, who find biking to be "a great way to relax" and "a wonderful way to clear your mind," have ridden several sections of the passage.

Manuel Zuniga, of South Oakland, was pulling a child carrier that was holding his son, Andres, 2.

Volunteers Carol Jacobs and Joann Ladesic, both of Robinson, and Carol Bires, of West Mifflin, bid the riders farewell as they rode the Eliza Furnace Trail toward the Golden Triangle.

Holly Cairns, of the North Side, and her 5-year-old godchild, Juliann, of Hermitage, were cheered and applauded as they trailed the group down the Boulevard of the Allies, which was closed to vehicular traffic for the occasion.

"I think this is a fabulous way to get around the city," said Ms. Cairns, 41, who commutes to work. "Biking is something anyone can do."

For more information on the Great Allegheny Passage, go to www.atatrail.org.