PA Pine Creek Pedal

“This is a bicycle trip. The plan is to do the entire Pine Creek Rail-trail. Total length is 60+/- miles From Ansonia to Jersey Shore. Included is a stop in Cedar Run for ice cream, potentially a splash in the creek if the weather requires it and some good fellowship and fun. If we go north, (upstream) there is an ice cream place in Ansonia that is worth stopping at. If we go south, (downstream) we will end in Jersey Shore where there are no doubt places to quench a thirst and/or celebrate.

We will be starting 9:00 am or so to make sure we have a good full day to see the sights and still complete the ride before dinner time. Those who want to arrive Friday night, there are campgrounds in two state parks as well as along the creek. Both areas require advance arrangements.

Please make sure your ride is in good mechanical shape as there are not a whole lot of bike shops along the route. Older kids should be able to handle this trip.

The route is an abandoned railbed. It hugs and crisscrosses Pine Creek through some very picturesque scenery. The southern end is more congested that the northern end but south to north is a net gain in elevation. There is no grade greater than 3% along any of the route. The surface is crushed limestone. It is a superb trail. From Blackwell to Ansonia is entirely through the Grand Canyon at Creek level. It is a lovely trip.”

“I'll have to check the date, so I'm down as a maybe for now.”

“If it was three weeks later I'd be all about it.

I'll be renting a place in Wellsboro for a week from (9/8-9/15) so if you want to get out on the WRT or MST during that week let me know.
last edited: 7/11/07 12:51:35 PM”

“Sept 8/9 or Sept 15 would be doable for me. What about you lost soul? How would those look?

The trip page has been edited to indicate a possible change of date.
last edited: 7/11/07 2:29:36 PM”

“I'd have to rent a bike too. Any good shops around there?”

“This link is to a google search for bike rentals in Ansonia PA. I am sure you can take it from there.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Bicycle+Rental+Ansonia+PA&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a”

“Either weekend in Sept. works for me. There was also a bike shop in Blackwell. It was for sale last summer, so I don't know if it's still there.”

“Okay we are moving the date to Sept. My preference would Sept 8 or 9 as my wife is scheduled to work the next weekend which would make my transportation harder to arrange.”

“the shuttle cost for a bike from Jersey Shore to Ansonia is obscene in my opinion. If we station cars I am sure we shuttle bikes ourselves. I can take three on my rack.”

“Cool trip Rev.

I did a ride on the D&R towpath from central Jersey to Frenchtown on the Delaware, 140mi round trip. Slept under a bridge and caught some catfish.”

“The 9th works for me. If needed I can bring my pickup to shuttle bikes.”

“Please note: This trip has been rescheduled to Sept 9, 2007. The trip page has been edited to reflect the change of date. Please feel free to sign up and attend. It will be a fun ride.”

“The 9th works for me as long as I can get a bike. It's been a long time since I've been on a bike so you guys have to promise to take it easy on me.”

“nogranola.. How tall are you? or what's your inseam?”

“It's been a long time since I've been on a bike so you guys have to promise to take it easy on me.”
nogranola
10:36:03 AM


I forsee pain in your future.

Get a gel seat or something
last edited: 7/13/07 9:42:15 AM”

“We'll go north-south. There's more congestion on the southern half but there are also about a billion bail out places. South-to-North is "uphill" but also, once you get into the canyon you are committed for the next 20 miles.”

“There is still a bike shop sign in Blackwell but I could not tell if was still in business. The propterty appears to still be for sale and it did not look like there was an OPEN sign or an entrance sign. So I would suggest that you not count on that one. Big Pine Outfitters in Waterville rents bikes. They are about 15 miles from the southern terminus. Ansonia is closer by far to Wellsboro. I think there are several choices there.

There is a very nice designated campground south of Blackwell and north of Rattle Snake rock. I have some pics of it I will post. It has composting toilets and a well pump. I don't think it is something to use for this trip, but it is worth knowing about if people want to spend the night before setting out on the West Rim Trail early in the morning.”

“Rev--

I ain't tall at all--probably about a 30-32.”

“I may have a bike you can use if all esle fails. My wife would not be going on this ride as 60 is way too long for her. She bites the dust after about 15. her bike might be a bit small for you but if it is that or not ride... you could ride. It has a seat post suspesion but not fork... not a biggy on this trail. See about renting one to get a proper fit... but if we need to we could do that.”

“

This is the campground off the Pine Creek Rail Trail. It is just north of Rattlesnake Rock and South of Blackwell. I added a few shots of the campsites. Not backcountry by any means but nice if you are using Rattlesnake rock as base or gathering place for the West Rim trail.”

“There was some additional interest in this trip at the Drunk=furst so I thought I would bump this up again. Think it will be noticed amongst all the other stuff going on?”

“I've bumped up to a ?. I have to be up north on that Sat. anyway so this hopefully will fit in. But frankly I'm not interested in biking through a monsoon so if a tropical storm hits that weekend I'm out.”

“But frankly I'm not interested in biking through a monsoon so if a tropical storm hits that weekend I'm out.”
ki0eh
8:26:19 AM
7/24/07

I'm thinking that probably goes for all of us. But we'll see as we get closer.”

“I'm a maybe on this.
My bike needs a lot of work.”

“if it monsoons and its blowing the right direction - you could rig a sail and go FAST!”

“Right into a tree! LOL”

“GreenMonkee....

What work does it need? If it is a once over and adjustment we may be able to take care of that sometime before the ride date. I am planning on being up in the area the Saturday before so I could meet anyone who needs bike tuning and we could run thru the simple stuff and get a bag night in to boot. Not a problem.”

“It'll need a lot more than that. It survived the fire last year and got some water damage. Been collecting cobwebs ever since.”

“You guys could probably camp in the back yard of our cabin if you like, there is a shower and a refrigerator. I don't have any tiki torches though, and it's a bit over an hour to Jersey Shore (bit under half an hour to Darling Run)”

“PARTY!!!!!!!!!!”

“Good, there's still a pile of unsplittable wood to use up...”

“ki0eh... I'll be getting in touch with you to arrange the use of your yard. Sounds like a good place to congregate. Thanks for the offer.”

“I have updated the trip page with additional information and suggestions. Please check out the trip schedule and hints.

Flamingo (my wife) has agreed to drive sag wagon for us. This will cut down on the equipment each rider needs to carry. It also allows emergency situations to be responded to faster.

The pace is well within the abilities of almost any adult or young adult rider. Bring your teenagers if they want to come.

There is a swimming hole in Pine Creek at Rattlesnake Rock. That is one of the scheduled sag stops so additional clothes and bathing suits can be placed in the sag wagon and changed in the privies at the access area.

Once we are out of the canyon gorge there are composting privies placed along the trail at reasonable intervals. There are several scheduled sag stops planned for regrouping and/or resting. This should be a very pleasant but engaging trip.”

“Bunch of guys from the local radio station just rode the trail yesterday. Took them 6 hours ride time so I think I am pretty comfortable with the program I outlined on the trips page. This should be a good trip.”

“Looks like a nice setup, always good to meet at the downhill end. You'd still be welcome at the cabin but it's at least an hour to Jersey Shore from there...”

“If flamingo is driving sag for us... do we even need to shuttle? It would take an 1.25 hours or so to make the drive from Jersey Shore to Darling Run up Rt 414.

Lost Soul... where would you be coming from and would you rather meet Sunday Morning, or Saturday evening?

If Nogranola gets a bike from Ansonia it would closer for him to meet at Darling run. He would need a shuttle back.
How does this sound...

ki0eh and Lostsoul and I meet at Jersey shore we drop 2 cars in the lot on Sunday Morning. Three bikes, three riders and the sag driver head to Darling Run to meet there by 9. We meet nogranola and any other riders at Darling Run and head south. Sag wagon moves south with us.

Reaching Jersey Shore, there are at least three vehicles available to transport riders and bikes back to Darling Run. That should allow for any other people who decide to be last minute arrivals at Darling Run.

Does that seem workable? If anybody has a better idea... let me know.”

“How big is the sag wagon vehicle?”

“tiny... :)

Chevy Metro.... I have a three bike rack for the back and it will seat 4 tops...

It will do the job but just barely. Of course once the major transfer is done... it only needs to hold gear and my wife.”

“I have a 6 passenger pickup truck, maybe the sag doesn't have to drive all the way up to Darling Run but can go right to Tiadaghton or Blackwell (although amusing oneself for 2 or 3 hr respectively might be tough at either location)”

“First sag stop is scheduled for Rattlesnake rock. I don't see nay point in having the sag a Tiadahton and RR is only two miles south of Blackwell. More room, swimming hole, just a nicer location I would think.

What if we meet at your place Saturday night. We load the bikes into the pickup, gear into the sag. Pickup goes to Darling Run. Sag goes to Rattlesnake rock. Then at the end we can get people back to their vehicles and go where ever from there?

That sounds like it would work.”

“I guess if someone shows up at my cabin Sat PM and tells me what to do, then I'll know in good time. ;)”

“I need some help. I have a tendency to over think things that are really very simple. But as a result I get confused and frustrated.

I have very little experience in shuttling cars as most most of my trips have been solo or that issue has been handled by someone else.

This has got to be simpler than I am making it, so please give me a hand here.

I have a very small car which will be the designated sag wagon. It will be making preselected stops along the sixty mile route. My car can hold three bikes and three riders plus the driver. There is also available a six passenger pickup as well as presumably two other vehicles.

The route is linear 60+ miles meaning that a loop is impractical. What is the best way to deal with spotting cars, meeting and shuttling riders, bikes and vehicles. The shuttle service provided by local outfitters is wicked expensive. Something in the range of $100 each over that distance.

Please help me work this out the easiest way because I am sure I am making it far to difficult.”

“On that general topic, when me and my buddy use 2 cars, we often get confused as to what to leave in the shuttle car when dropping it off, and what to bring with us in the "trailhead" car. LOL. Anybody else have that problem? It's a simple enough thing, but perhaps too simple, so we just rush through it sometimes.”

“Depends on the number of participants. But I would think that the truck should be left at the bottom to carry the bikes back.”

“Sarge - always take your boots and your packs with you in the trailhead car. That rule has served me well. :)

Rev, I wish I could go but will be in FL for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary weekend.

I do have a pretty good mountain bike (Trek 8000) someone could borrow, but I live down near Philly. Let me know if that helps anyone. (I don't know the fram size but I am a little under 5'11".)”

“I do always like the idea of meeting at the end and cramming in to get to the beginning on shuttle trips, after all one smells better at that point. There is usually a problem of getting someone to drive the first driver back, but if a sag vehicle is the only one needed to go to the start then it's already back. It seems like all of the participants are probably heading further south on a Sunday afternoon after the ride. So the only problem will be if the sag vehicle isn't big enough to handle the participants, which certainly will be the case if there are more than 3 participants.”

“Dang Fritz, thanks man! I'm gonna print this out and tape it to the trunk.”

“I like to help where I can, Sarge.”

“This trip is not restricted to the testosterone crowd. Ladies you are invited to join us. You can either put some smack down and leave us guys in the dust, or you can add moderate the pace, or both.

This is a family friendly event. But I would suggest the kids be older in order to handle the distance if they have not already proven they can do 60 miles. Children covered under state law will be expected to provide their own helmet. Helmets are strongly encouraged, but not required for adults.

Final official meeting and shuttle instructions will be forthcoming shortly.”

“We will be meeting at Jersey Shore terminus at 7:30 am for auto shuttle to the north end. Depending on who all shows up there we'll work out transportation to Darling Run.

If anyone wants to simply meet us at Darling Run at 9:00 am you can do that. But be aware that travel back to Darling Run will not be assured except for someone who drives a shuttle car up and left it there. Also, anything to be left in the sag wagon will have to be dispatched at Jersey Shore to make sure it is loaded. If there are any questions, let me know.”