Promoting long distance unsupported cycling in the Pittsburgh region
Okay, first off, let me be clear…it’s actually 108K, if that deters anyone 🙂
This one has a mix of traditional and new segments, with the majority of roads smoothly paved (but a few miles of unpaved dirt and occasional gravel to keep it interesting).
Starting at the Park-n-Ride lot in downtown Carnegie, PA, we take advantage of the early hour to avoid the worst of the crazed shopper traffic on Rt 50 in Heidelberg, before taking classic cycling roads Thoms Run/Presto-Sygan/Millers Run to rejoin 50 in Cecil Township. After crossing under the Montour Trail in Venice, we’ll gradually climb to Hickory before enjoying a long fast descent to our first controle at the Avella Uni-Mart.
We’ll then do our best to avoid roads with any paint on them for the next twenty miles or so miles, until we join Steubenville Pike and head east to our next controle at the Florence Grab-n-Go.
After a very brief stint on trafficky Rt 18, we’ll try to avoid consistent pavement entirely as we pass through Hillman State Park, with a pause at the Lyle Covered Bridge for a photo controle.
Continuing eastward, we’ll pass through more country roads (as well as an enormous Amazon distribution facility) through Imperial PA to a short stint on the Montour Trail and another photo controle, this time at the Enlow Tunnel.
Finally, we’ll climb back up the ridge, then make our way to Carnegie via the reverse of our classic Ewing Rd/Ridge Rd/Bayer Rd route.
Registration closes: Thursday September 19th
Inspection opens: Saturday September 21st 6:30 AM
Ride start: Saturday September 21st 7:00 AM (06:45 time limit)
Requirements: current RUSA membership, signed waiver
EPoP: Due to abject laziness on the part of your humble RBA, we default to electronic proof of passage (e.g Strava or other GPS track) in the Pittsburgh region brevets. That said, if you prefer olde-schoole printed paperwork such as cue sheets or brevet cards, I’m happy to provide them…just let me know at least three days in advance of the event, so that I have time to prepare and print.
Route: