Through the Pennsylvania Hills (Aug '10)

For the past few years, I've been wanting to hop on the bike and ride up home to PA. I know that there are some great views as you go through PA, although traditionally the roads themselves leave a lot to be desired. We we roll up home, we're usually taking the fast-moving highways to get up there quickly since our visiting times are limited. But even from the big roads - especially I-99 between Bedford and Altoona - you're treated to some fairly impressive scenery. I knew that it would be all that much better if I could get on the Raider and hit the state roads and cut across the hills on the less-traveled routes.

So that was my plan when I hit the highway after 8am on Thursday the 5th of August. I'd gone over the PA map several times, looked at online maps and even hit a couple web sites that I've looked at before. Things shaped up nicely. I got a Sharpie and an index card, and proceeded to mark out my turns. I slid the card into the viewer flap of my tank bag, grabbed my backpack, and hit the road. 

View Columbia, MD to Portersville, PA in a larger map

Keeping it simple.

Traffic was busy but mostly going in the other direction. I rolled west on I-70 toward Frederick with an eye on the sky. There was a 40% chance of scattered thunder showers and from my seat it was looking more like 80%. After a few splatters on the windscreen, I figured I might as well don the rain suit. I was in for a long day and I didn't want to spend it wet. Besides, I tote that suit around with me all the time anyway; might as well get some use out of it, right? Of course, once I got back underway again the rain stopped and I didn't get another drop the rest of the day.

I'd decided that I would take my time and stop frequently to enjoy the scenery but more importantly, keep loose. I rolled up on the newly-renovated South Mountain Rest Area between Frederick and Hagerstown and figured I might as well take the opportunity to doff the suit and check on the new restrooms. Rolling into the parking lot, I spotted a pair of bikes parked with a couple guys & their ladies standing around, so I pulled up next to them. We got to talking and the one guy asked where I was heading. "Up north of Pittsburgh," I replied. My inner monologue added, "Yeah, I'm tough." I return the question, "Where are yinz headed?" He says, "Sturgis." Suddenly I didn't feel so tough. They were planning on doing 500 miles the first two days, then trying for 750 on the last day. My grand adventure of about 600 miles - round trip - didn't seem that impressive. Still, my can wasn't use to much more than the occasional 100-something-mile ride on a Saturday, so it was going to be a challenge nonetheless.

I continued on I-70 then broke off on I-68 at Hancock toward Sideling Hill. I stopped at the rest area there as well, mostly to just enjoy the scenery. The geologic formation that became visible when they poked through the mountain is just fascinating. I'd love to spend a couple days with a geologist and learn about the many layers of earth that are on display. 

Sideling Hill

After another visit to the facilities and some stretching, I rolled on westward for a few miles before jumping off at Exit 68, Orleans Rd. I went north, hung a right at the "T" on Rt. 40, then after about 100 yards I hung a left on Orleans Rd for the northward run. You only go a few miles on Orleans Rd. until you enter Pennsylvania and the road becomes Rt. 26 (a.k.a. Clear Ridge Rd.). Surprisingly, the road actually improves upon entering Pennsylvania. What a road, too! There are plenty of sweeping curves, rolling hills and even enough sharp curves to keep you honest. The road goes through the Buchanan State Forest as well. I saw a lot of great scenery, some deer, and very few cars. Parts of Rt. 26 are newly blacktopped (particularly around Clearville), and the rest of it is very good road. I did encounter a few spots where some gravel had washed out into the road, however. 

At a curve on Rt. 26 in the State Forest.

Rt. 26 in Buchanan State Forest

Rt. 26 took me right into Everett, PA, where I changed directions to head west on Rt. 30 for a spell. It was getting close to lunch so I stopped at the Landmark Restaurant just inside Bedford for a steak salad (with fries, of course!) and coffee. That was a good place to spread out my map and refocus on the next leg of the trip which was really the most unfamiliar to me. 

Lunch break!

Rolling on west on Rt. 30, I left Bedford and proceeded to Schellsburg where I turned north again, but this time on Rt. 96. This was a fantastic road with beautiful scenery: hills, farms, and small towns like New Paris and Pleasantville. This is exactly what I'd been hoping for! A route up through the hills of PA with all of the curves, hills and scenery that one could imagine. The only "bad" part about it was that I had to keep looking at the road! There was so much to see; I was commenting to KS when I returned home that I'd like to have some sort of a voice recorder so I could just talk to myself, as it were, in order to keep track of all of the things I see out on the road. 

Covered bridge off of Rt. 96. Like a dumdum I didn't write down the name.

As good as Rt. 96 was, I think Rt. 869 was even better. There's no town at the intersection of the two roads; you're rolling north on Rt. 96, Rt. 869 comes in from the east, and suddenly you're on 869 north. Whatever - you're still heading in the right direction. There's more great scenery on the way to and through the Blue Knob State Park, where I stopped at a pull-off to enjoy the forest, hit my bottle of water and take couple pictures. If the rest of Blue Knob is like the little portion that I drove through on Rt. 869, it's definitely worth a return trip for more investigating!

The 96/869 split.

There's a lot of scenery like this on Rt. 869

Pull-off in Blue Knob.

Rolling road in Blue Knob.

After hitting the end of Rt. 869, I made a left on SR 2006 and only went a short way before turning right (north) on Rt. 160 toward Ebensburg. Yet again, I was treated to a great road and excellent scenery, but I was starting to get into some more population so traffic and buildings picked up a bit. Just outside of Ebensburg I was surprised to roll up on a factory that had a huge field of wind turbine blades laid out. I've since learned that the factory is operated by a company called Gamesa, and at this particular plant they produce two different types of turbines. 

Rt. 160 took me to the outskirts of town and after following signs to Rt. 22 but before I hit it, I made a quick stop at Ebensburg Yamaha to check out their inventory and to see if they had any cool new shirts. Moving on out, I hopped on it for a short trip west to Rt. 219 north, which was another short trip before turning onto Rt. 422 and heading west for the rest of my trip. There's some nice scenery along 422 but the road was easily the worst that I'd been on - as far as conditions are concerned. I've been on 422 many, many times over the years and there always seems to be construction going on somewhere, just like it's larger relative (the PA Turnpike) to the south. 422 alternates between two and four-lane between Ebensburg and Kittanning, with Indiana being in the middle which has the four-lane section on either side of it. There's some nice scenery along the way, and some small towns with nice restaurants like Tina's Log Cabin Restaurant in Elderton where I've had a pretty good steak salad (with fries mixed in, of course) for less than $6. Before I started on the last leg of the trip, however, I made a stop at West Penn Choppers  on Rt. 422 near Kittanning to check out their store and take a peek at their workshop. 

The rest of the trip was uneventful and I arrived at the folks' place near Portersville just shy of 300 miles and eight hours. We usually make it in five hours at 280 miles, but my new course and frequent stops added to the totals just a bit. The stops were well worth it, though, giving me opportunities to enjoy the scenery and to keep from getting knotted up in the saddle. I hope to be able to take that route again with family and/or friends.