Speed Touring Route Across PA

Bent Tourists:

Just throwing this out there to see if there might be any interest in a 3 day tour across the state of Pennsylvania. The route is something I've worked on pretty extensively. It was originally conceived back in 2015 and has been updated a bit here and there. I've either ridden or have driven on about 85-90% of the route to verify that it's high quality - safe, scenic, and fun. I am not a city boy, so know that my standards on this front are pretty high. Most of the route is on pavement, but there is some rail trail and some bombed out pavement on the old abandoned turnpike section near Breezewood.

If you have heard of Crush the Commonwealth, this is sort of intended to be a much kinder, gentler type of ride (think puppies and kittens instead of cruel and unusual punishment).

I am thinking credit card touring, so we can travel light and (relatively) fast. That said, the daily mileage is meant to be kept in check so no extraordinary feats of strength are required. Moving averages in the 11-13 mph range plus some reasonable stopping opportunities will allow the the first day (being the longest most likely) to be done in mostly or entirely daylight. I am thinking late May through June timeframe, but obviously nothing has been set.

Again, not looking to impress anyone with speed, but the length of the route, condition of the surfaces, and amount of climbing mean this not exactly a smell the flowers type of tour. It's half way between a 600K brevet and a wine and cheese tour through wine country. (We probably can round up a pint or two of suds at the overnights.)

There are actually two versions I have developed - which only differ in the first 144-155 miles (depending on which version you are looking at) from Pittsburgh to Bedford. The two routes are about 8 miles different in length. Climbing is a little worse on the non GAP version, but still not a big difference in the grand scheme of things. The non-GAP version is more interesting in my opinion, but requires a little bit of city riding in Pittsburgh. Both require a little city riding in Philly.

Version including the GAP trail: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/6762091
Version using the West Penn and Ghost Town trails instead: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37181472

I would anticipate overnight stops in Bedford and Shippensburg for either route when sticking to 3 days of riding.

If we wanted to stretch it to 4 days, the GAP route would work a bit better and would have a stop in OhioPyle or Confluence, Breezewood (or somewhere roughly near there), and Columbia.

Some of the highlights include trail riding through Western PA forests, the abandoned turnpike with it's two tunnels, ridge crossings at the eastern edge o the ridge and valley section of PA, Amish farmlands in Lancaster County, riding along the Schuylkill river and PA's two great cities - Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

You may have noticed this a point to point ride. Car rentals or some other form of transportation back to Pittsburgh would need to be arranged. My dear wife has promised to pick me up in Philly, and we could take two other riders and their bikes back to Pittsburgh. Before you ask about Amtrak, be aware that taking a bent on there can be problematic. A better bet would to have a bike shop in Philly pack your bike and ship it back to your home, if you wanted to take the train back to Pgh. Or simply ride back and make it a double!

 

Sounds amazing. I read your posts, which have been very helpful. What kind of FTP would be required (roughly) with this kind of terrain?

 

On a related topic, have you seen the data from the Rev MBB FWD on climbing? He has built a very light bike with a triangulated Bottom Bracket and is going up hills faster than a road bike. Also a lot of interesting data on seat angle, glut engagement, and power output.

 

Not much. In terms of W/kg, let's say at least 2.75 or so. In other words, a solid recreational cyclist. What I am proposing is significantly easier than doing a 600k brevet, and many of the folks doing that sort of thing aren't incredible athletes by any measure. Long distance is about eating, pacing, and tolerating being on the bike a lot. You don't need to be fast.

 

Yes, I have. Stiff frames and glute recruitment are both very important to effective climbing. A MBB like Marco's is not the only way to get there, though (generally speaking).

 

Steamer can correct me on this but after reading his description, I was struck by the type of bike that would be most useful on a ride like this - one that I believe resides in the middle land between my two steeds. The M5 is very efficient on pavement and the Burley with it's large fat tires is made for dirt roads. However, neither does well in the other's territory.

Marco's ride was the first one that legitimately tempted me to try the dark side, if even only for a while ... a tremendous combination of form & function.

 

It doesn't require particularly fat tires or offroad capability. The non-GAP option is slightly more demanding. One time we road from Pgh to Ebensburg on thst route, here is what we were riding. My bike is the grey one. It had 32mm touring tires. It was perfect. On the route that uses the GAP, anything would work fine, including 25mm road tires. The only other sticking point is the abandoned turnpike, which is in bad shape. But riding that in daylight and taking ones time to avoid the worst of it would make it no big deal. It's only 10 miles long. I've seen worse pavement in rural eastern Ohio.

 

It looks like a great tour Tom, but you and your wife would have to drop me off at the hospital after the 24% grade. Probably before that

 

Yeah, me too. By the way, that peak is a Phantom. There is a tunnel there that RWGPS doesn't recognize.

Edited to Add: That actually happens twice, and adds 1300 feet of climbing to the total you see reported that doesn't actually exist.

The amount of climbing isn't extreme - is about 58 feet per mile for the non-GAP route, and about 49 feet per mile for the GAP route.

 

Sounds great. My FTP is 3.2W/KG on a DF. My bike in NY is a M5 CHR 25mm tires. I would like to upgrade to 28mm but have too many 25mm tires sitting around to justify the waste.

 

Yes, he has M5 CHR tests in there too and found that the DF, M5, and Rev were all roughly the same (with the M5 and Rev faster than the DF but within range of error).

When I'm in Thailand, I'm confronting up to 33% grades. (No joke, and in a race, too!) I know I can't do that on a MBB, and doubt I could do that on my M5, but I can do it on the DF. On the bright side, it is also not possible to do on an automatic motorbike. There are signs all over the place saying no automatic transmissions allowed.

 

How does your bent FTP compare, or are you not sure? Chances are decent it's still above 2.75.

25mm isn't ideal, especially for a very reclined bent, but it will work if you are careful in selected areas, especially on the old turnpike.

 

I'm not sure about my M5, as it is relatively new and has a 20 degree seat. On the flats, I average about 25MPH on long rides. I need to address the wheel/tire size issue. I made the mistake of buying Zipp wheels without measuring the rim width. It turns out that they are not as wide as I had hoped, and I have no idea whether 28mm will fit the brakes/frame without a wider rim. But I happen to have a 28mm tire so can check. Anyway, it does poorly on gravel but is ok if the road is merely in poor condition.

The wheels present other problems off road. They are 303 front 404 rear Zipps. I need to sell them and buy something that is not as deep as I'm not stable in crosswinds. Costly mistake.

 

Well, I see that I'm ranked #1 for climbing on Recumbent Riders International Strava group. Ha ha, maybe I will be OK.

 

Yes - riding on loose gravel (1/2" or so) sucks all the joy out of the ride for me on the M5 (Conti 5k - 25mm front / 28mm rear). Otoh, the 2.15" tires (~55mm) on the Burley make the same trails a joy.