I spent the last couple of days with my brother riding rural Pennsylvania. What a treat. So many great roads, it's almost impossible to make a bad choice. Small charming towns, lots of places to stay.
We left Toronto late Sunday afternoon, arrived in Bradford, PA at about 8:30pm. We had agreed to bring our camping gear, but my brother forgot his sleeping bag, and was too cheap to buy one on the road. So, the Flea Bag Inn it is! I prefer the old style mom 'n pops where you can park right at your front door. So easy to load and unload, and great to have a beer, swap tall tales, and tinker on the bike.
We didn't cover a lot of ground, but that was never the intention. Took our sweet time, with no particular destination in mind. Plenty of breaks. Beautiful weather, thankfully not blistering hot.
Wolfe's General Store in Slate Run:
This happened Tuesday morning:
Right here in the woods:
But 50,000km is kid's stuff! My brother's '04 GS is about to turn over 200,000km. Wow!
We rode plenty of gravel on Tuesday. Much of it through dense forested areas, no traffic whatsoever. They are seemingly endless, going off in every direction for miles. A few slick spots in the shade here and there, but pretty easy, nothing scary. I didn't need to get up on the pegs not even once.
Ramm Road overlook, near Jersey Shore:
Just north of Lock Haven:
We finished Tuesday with a run up route 44 to Sweden Valley. I've ridden it many times, but it never gets dull. What a thrilling ride! On to Coudersport for gas and a break.
We carried on, returning to Bradford for a final night. I had a small brain fade on the way there, then the Guzzi decided to take an asphalt nap:
No harm to the rider, and barely a scratch on the bike. I wasn't even really annoyed; in fact, we had a good laugh!
I forgot to to turn on my GPS tracker until lunch time on Monday, so here's half the day's ride:
And all of Tuesday:
As mentioned, not great distances covered:
- Sunday, Pickering, ON to Bradford, PA 351km
- Monday, Bradford to Williamsport 397km
- Tuesday, Williamsport back to Bradford 354km
- Wednesday, Bradford to Pickering 336km
- Total: 1438km
No trouble at the border in either direction; a Nexus card and a NY State EZPass make crossing effortless.
Pennsylvania is within easy reach for GTA riders. Get out there, find some adventure, and have a great time. Beware: deer are everywhere and active even during the daytime. Ride safely.