Crushing The Commonwealth

New Blog!

2008-03-01T20:24:00.001-08:00

http://ctcpa.blogspot.com/

2008 Race info posted there!

Dirt Rag article

2007-08-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

We made it into print(again).

Max and Chris had write-ups of this year's race in issue 130 of Dirt Rag, my version made it onto the website.

See it here:

http://www.dirtragmag.com/print/article.php?ID=893&category=features

Scroll down, or just read through the Great Divide Rave section to get to the CTC info.

I predict 30 riders next year and another 10 or so hours off the record.

Post Ride Meet-up

2007-06-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone want to meet up this weekend?

I'm thinking Saturday evening. Gooski's? Strip District Primanti's(last years post race meet up location)? Dees in Regent Square? My porch in Polish Hill?

Also, if anyone is interested, I'm looking to put together a write up of the ride for my new employer, Dirt Rag. If anyones is interested email me or we can talk about it Saturday.

Eric

Finished

2007-05-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

We had 10 people start and 10 people finish by midnight Sunday.

Finishing times

5:02 am

Max (winner of the sprint down Market to 6th street)
Chris
Nick
Eric

4:01 pm

Ted
Andy
Adam
Wes

7:37 pm

Ken

11:26 pm

Adam aka Aerobars

I'll post more later, I'm really damn impressed all finished in under 72 hours.

Anyone have ideas for a post ride meet up location?

Thanks for showing up and riding, looks like there is plenty of interest for next year.

-eric

End of Ride route

2007-05-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Chris helped out with a route on Bikely to get from Valley Forge to the Liberty Bell.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/CTC-end

More maps of the trail here:

http://www.schuylkillriver.org/trail_pages/vf.pdf

http://www.schuylkillriver.org/trail_pages/phila.pdf

When finished just give me a call on my cell, I'll get the number to you at the start. Don;t worry about the pay-phone, if someone wats to cheat in a race with no prize, far be it from me to get in their way.

Also, if you drop out, a call would be appreciated.

2 new riders bump us up to 10 confirmed

Chris
Max
Andy
Ted
Carol
Me
Nick
Ken
Adam
Wes

Also, due to complete lack of funds, T-shirts may have until a week or 2 after the race. If you can, get a shirt you want screen to Carol or me, we get down to printing shirts and spoke cards post race sometime. Max, I promise you a shirt this year regardless.

Weather report for May 18-20

Pittburgh
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Harrisburg
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Philly
Sunday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 73.

Roster Update and Help needed

2007-04-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Some updates:

Nick and Ken are in, Nick got his bike back after some sketchy Craig's list posting.

see the story here: http://bike-pgh.org/xdforum/viewthread/Report_Your_Bike_Stolen_/13/Two_bikes_stolen_in_Bloomfield/247/

Updated roster:

Chris
Max
Andy
Ted
Carol
Me
Nick
Ken

Maybes

Dan from Philly
Justin W

I think Carol has a few Maybes up her sleeve, too.

We need some help with the stretch from Valley Forge to the Liberty Bell. Last year this section ended up being pretty neutral, with a big pack of riders, some doing the whole route, some just along for the ride to Valley Forge. Nick got lost somewhere in the city when the bike trail ended, I'd like to not have a repeat of that.

I have a very dim memory of the route we took, maybe one of the Western PA folks can help us out with a Bikely map? I've got a CTC account that you are welcome to use.

Last year we had an official pay-phone to in call from at the finish. I was thinking about doing the same thing this year, but I doubt people will have a pocket full of change for the long distance call to my house. Anyone want to offer a phone with caller ID and an answering machine? And more importantly, is there a pay-phone at the Liberty Bell?

Tunnel Ride!

2007-04-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

CTC Tunnel Ride

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

As best I can figure from the low-res satellite pics on Bikely the route above should be pretty accurate to get you off Route S onto the abandoned turnpike, through the tunnels and back on route on the other side.

Direct link

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/CTC-Tunnel-Ride

More info here:

http://www.piketobike.org/

The entrance on the Breezewood side should be up a steep embankment. A bridge was removed here, but last year we had no trouble getting down from the trail, although I think we walked our bikes. Anyone have a better recollection of the end of the tunnel ride last year?

And on a sad note, Nick's bike got stolen a few days ago. I haven't heard from him in quite awhile, but I'll offer my assistance in getting you back on the road if you need it Nick. I don't think I have you email address anymore.

Roster so far:

Chris
Max
Andy
Ted
Carol
Me

Maybes

Nick
Ken (haven't heard from him in a while either)

If your name should be on here somewhere, email me.

randoneepa@gmail.com

Map of Neutral start

2007-04-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

CTC start

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Here's a rough draft of the neutral start. Notice start point has changed to the plaza at PPG place. Climbing up Mt Washington to start seemed a bit mean, so new starting points were thought of. The beginning of the South Side trail at the incline is another possibility.

I'm also working on a map and cue sheet to get you to the tunnels at Breezewood, and need help getting from Valley Forge to downtown Philly.

What do you think?

cue sheet here:

http://www.bikely.com/cuesheet/route/CTC-start

2007 Rules

2007-04-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'll try to make this simple:

We race from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia following the same route(Allegheny Passage, Route S, Schuylkill River Trail).

No outside support.

That's about it. No outside support means no support vehicles, no hitch hiking, no drop bags. Bring what you need or buy it along the way. The only acceptable detour is the Breezewood tunnels.

Any questions- randoneepa@gmail.com

Edit/addendum:

Carol brought up a good point in the comments. This post was not meant to scare off people who want to ride the route. If you don't plan to compete the rules need not apply. But if you plan to race, the above still applies.

questions?

randoneepa@gmail.com

May 18th

2007-03-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

May 18th seems to make the most sense to me, as I would like to be in Pittsburgh for bike-fest.

All in favor?

Also, Point State Park(last years finish) is closed for the summer. The Mt. Washington overlook seems like a great starting point to me.

Neutral Roll to Mckeesport gets my vote and many others, so it shall be.

As of today March 31 this is what I see:

Start
May 18th Friday
5:00 am
Mount Washington Overlook (I'll post map later for out-of-towners)
Neutral roll to Mckeesport.

Finish
Liberty Bell, although Max recommended the Art Museum as easier to find

After Party?

Anyone have any ideas?

Dates

2007-02-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I am thinking that the dates can move back a bit.

Lets push it to the weekend of the 18th, that is a Friday. Start at 5am and go from pittsburgh to philly.

We are also thinking about doing it during bike fest. That would be a bit later in the season, warmer weather. The dates for that are still undertermined. We will keep you updated.

Carol

2007

2007-01-26T23:40:00.000-08:00

I am feeling that the weekend of May 4th would be a good time to do this years event. Does anyone have a opinion on this. And is there anyone looking to do this event again? I would like to do west to east.

Lets talk.

Carol

400 Miles Later...

2006-05-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Race was a success. More riders than expected at the start in Philly (10 or so...), and apparently some confusion as to what exactly this "race" entailed.

I'm sure everyone has their own personal story to tell—big rig bullying, late night riding, pizza from the dumpster, 12% grade downhill fixed riding, a detour to the C&O Canal—but those aren't my stories to tell. My story is one of pain management and conflict resolution. And some really great people coming together to experience a new and exciting challenge.

I encourage everyone who participated to post their experiences here...

And for the record concerning the confusion over the route, I'll direct everyone to this blog post where the allegedly confused rider posted a response to the "rules."

But hey, we all had a great time. We all pushed our limits, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the Iron City in the aluminum bottle at the post-race souiree. And in my mind, anyone who rode their bike and pushed their own personal limits achieved exactly what this race intended to accomplish.

Let's get the planning started for next year.

The Final Stretch

2006-04-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

One last thing we've been trying to figure out is the final stretch, from the end of the Youghiogheny River Trail (YRT) at Dead Man's Hollow near Boston/McKeesport, PA to Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh.

Reference the trail maps available at:
http://atatrail.org/maps/map1.cfm
http://atatrail.org/maps/map2.cfm

You'll see how the rail trail system turns to dotted marks, which means that the trail is not complete. I spent yesterday searching for a way around the busy highways of 148 and 837, but quickly found that reroute would involve hills and confusion and will not be worth the tradeoff of dealing with a little bit of traffic on these busy roads.

I advise going to AAA and getting a Pittsburgh city map. Print out the above maps, and highlight the route on your AAA map, knowing that you will need to deal with some congestion when you get into the city.

From McKeesport, follow 148N. Once you near the big blue bridge, follow the signs for Duquesne and 837. The on-ramp and the bridge itself has a small shoulder, but there's also a sidewalk on the opposite side of the bridge.

Once over the bridge, the road has construction cones closing off one lane. As of April 22, I was able to ride in the construction lane with zero traffic. Keep following 837 past Kennywood Theme Park, past the Waterworks Mall at Homestead.

Just after the Glenwood Bridge, the Rail Trail will appear again on your right. Hop the barrier, cross the railroad tracks, and ride the rail trail in to the new office developments in Pittsburgh's South Side. Take the Hot Metal Bridge across the Monongahela River, turn left, and take an immediate right, wrapping under, around and up to the Eliza Furnace Trail.

From there, follow whatever city streets you choose into Point State Park.

Sound good? Post with questions, and I'll try to clarify...

Tunnel Ride

2006-04-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

I called up Penn DOT and got the low down on the tunnels.

On your Route S map, look at p. 15 at the little town of Hiram.
Where the route turns right, we will instead take a left on to an old pump station road.

This road is an old asphalt road and has not been maintained. Take this road about 100 yards, and you'll magically be on the old turnpike at the old Cove (or was it Cole?) Valley exit. Take this for 8.5 miles, watching the road carefully for any asphalt bubbles or potholes. This will take you all the way back to US Rte. 30.

the first tunnel is 1.3 miles long.
the second tunnel is .7 miles long.

We all must be very careful here. The adviser called the tunnel's condition ROUGH!

-Michael

6 Days Folks....

2006-04-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've got way too much to do. Michael and I are nailing down last minute direstions for the trail out of McKeesport and the abandoned section of turnpike, I'm hoping the abrasions on my palms heal partially by Friday, and my packing and shopping lists are getting finalized.

I still need to pick up a few things; new chain and cassette, gloves, cheap sleeping pad, compass, buncha food. I also need to borrow a trunk bag from a co-worker whom never works the same shift as me.

I checked the long term weather for race day(s); highs in the 60's lows in the 40's, partly sunny. I probably just damned us to rain all three days.

My bike is in need of some love right now, I'm sure I'll end up staying up late Wed. night tuning up the poor old heap. I'll probably strip it mostly down to the bare frame, check the BB, pull the der. pulleys and regrease, check the grease in both hubs, check rim strips, lube cables, replace the rear pads, locktite the rack mounting bolts, and check the chainring bolts. I should get on this list soon rather than later.

I need to finalize the T-shirt logo and get to the screening studio. I hope 10 t-shirtrs are enough,but I'm guessing 5 will cover the field just fine.

Hope all is going well for you folks. Stay safe out there.

Eric

Rider Down

2006-04-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I have some bad news regarding the insitgator of this race. Carol will most likely not be racing. I'd rather not go into details on a public website, so anyone who knows her personally should know that she's okay and is slated for a full recovery after a nasty off-road crash.

I plan on continuing the ride, and it sounds like the three other people who've posted here are still in. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to talk with Carol much about the race. Everyone, please keep her in your thoughts.

Two Weeks

2006-04-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, 2 weeks to go. I'm still working on my packing list and regreting my lack of training mileage. Looks like I'll be depending on a good base from year round commuting and good endurance genetics.

I've rethought my packing list, going without panniers and bringing less gear. I also pulled a forgotten mid-size Topeak backpack from my stash of bags. I'm much happier with this bag than the Camelbak Hawg I was planning to use. When packed really full the Camelbak takes on a very round profile and never feels very secure to me. The Topeak covers a bit more of my back, but it sits much closer to me when full and has more pockets, including 2 I can reach while riding.

I still plan on camping and have procured an ultralight down sleeping bag and a bivy sack. In anything but a downpour I should be fine wioth these 2 items. If the weather looks bad I may bring a tent or just a small tarp.

How are your preperations going?

What do YOU expect?

2006-04-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

So I don't know if I'm the only one, but this is my first multi-day continuous road ride. Sure, I've done a few centuries and a few multi-day mountain bike rides based at one camp, but never have I ridden til I fell over, then gotten back up to do it again, and again.

I'm interested in hearing from everyone what they expect going in to this? Here are some baiting questions to get your mind brewing...

Do you have a mileage strategy? An eating strategy?
What do you think YOUR difficulties will be?
What are you going to do to pass the time-- listen to music, write mental poetry, hassle fellow riders?
Pedaling--are you a masher or a spinner, and how will this help or hurt you?
Most of all, what are you most looking forward to?

Either post here yourself, or comment in the comment box. Be sure to leave your name!
I'm super excited everyone! Can't wait til the launch date!

-michael

Places to Stay

2006-03-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

So by my estimates, the first night should happen somewhere between YORK and CHAMBERSBURG.

I used Google Earth to find the following places to stay, as I'm planning on sleeping in a hotel rather than on the side of the road. The exercise was great in realizing the PA Route S map's lack of detail. However, I spoke with Dave Bachman, Pennsylvania DOT's Bike/Ped Program guy, and he told me that the route is marked along the way.

The route uses 12" x 36" green signs, that includes cardinal direction and route designation. There are three at every intersection. One before, one at, and one final confirmation sign.

The guy suggested a DeLorme's Atlas if I wanted higher detail.
I also asked him approximate milage, and he said probably 350-375 miles. We can all ride around the city for 50 extra miles when we get home if we want to round it out to 400...

MOTEL INFORMATION

PAGE 23
Flamingo Motel
(717) 755-3901
3600 E Market St
York, PA 17402

Smith's Motel $50 for 2, $65 for 3.
(717) 792-1310
4335 W Market St
York, PA 17404

PAGE 20
@ BIGLERVILLE, take 34S 1.5 mi.; .5 mi. before Goldenville Rd.
Blue Sky Storage $50 for 2, $60 for 3.
2585 Biglerville Rd, Gettysburg, PA
0.1 mi N - (717) 677-7736

PAGE 19
Rite Spot Motel $90 (ouch!)
(717) 352-2144
5651 Lincoln Way E
Fayetteville, PA 17222

PAGE 18
Travel Room, $55
(717) 264-4187
565 Lincoln Way E
Chambersburg, PA 17201

PAGE 16
Burnt Cabins Hotel, $ call back
(717) 987-3442
Burnt Cabins, PA 17215

PAGE 14
Breezewood
Clusterfuck--MANY HOTELS

2006-03-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

I just sent an email update. If you didn't get it, and you want it, contact us.

Email Contact

2006-02-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

Please, if you plan on showing up at the race, drop a line to:

randoneepa@gmail.com.

We would love to have a somewhat accurate count of participants, as we will have some t-shirts, and other goodies.

The list of riders is growing.................

e

Bike and Tire options, trail conditions

2006-02-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

I've got a few bikes to choose from.

First the ghetto tourer. Built from a cast off hybrid, it is very comfortable and handles surprisingly well. It needs a new fork and chain, but otherwise is ready to roll.

The cyclocross bike would work, but it is fixed and over geared for a trip like this. Both things can be remedied, but I'm not sure if I'm brave/stupid/in shape/ enough to attempt this race fixed. I could always make some swaps with wheels gears etc with the touring bike, but why bother. I'll just ride the tourer if I want gears.

I could also ride the mountain bike, but it is also without gears, and has the rack/disc brake mounting nightmares to overcome.

I'm leaning hard in the direction of the touring bike, but if I can dial in my position on the cross bike and get the gearing squared away, I may think more about riding fixed, or at least single speed.

Tires

I am pretty settled on the 32mm Paselas I have on the touring bike. Wide enough for soft trail conditions and a loaded bike, not so wide that I'm going to feel too sluggish on the long climbs and the road. These tires will fit all three bikes.

I talked to a guy who took a pretty crazy trip in January down the Allegheny Passage to the C and O canal trail. He had to abandon the trip in Maryland after he was caught in a blizzard, but his experience on the PA trail was of interest to me. He ran into some serious mud, and spent a bit of time pushing his bike.

I've been told the trail will be resurfaced in the spring, but I wonder if this will be before or after our travels?

e

Liberty Bell to Route S

2006-02-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

I now have a copy of this map:

http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/map/map.html

Looks like there is an easy route out of downtown Philly. The bike trail beside the Schuylkill River should take us into VAlly Forge and then on tho Route S.

New email address for contact info

2006-02-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

randoneepa@gmail.com

New email address for communiqués.

There is a thread on mtbr's endurance forum about this race with excatly zero replies. Maybe it's time for an update.

e

Our predecesor

2006-02-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Here's some more linkage. There's a cool touring site called "crazyguyonabike" and I found this online journal of someone riding Bicycle Route S. Not as many miles as we plan to log, but it's good to see some pictures regardless.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/page/?o=aw&page_id=26066&v=30

-HoosierDaddy

Linkage

2006-02-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Penn Dot Bicycle Route S

http://www.bikepa.com/routes/

http://www.pahighways.com/other/bicyclepa.html

All maps for Route S as one big download

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/echeeve1/BikeRides/PABikeRouteS.pdf

Info on the route S to Pittsburgh

http://www.atatrail.org/

We are still working on the route from Philly to Route S. Anyone out there who can help? I would not mind if it was some mild off-road terrain.

Necessaties

2006-02-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

What to bring on the journey?

I just started to think about this. Time will help to develop a finalized list. This is the approach I am planning on taking.

I am going to use a rack. Front or rear I am not sure as of yet. I am going to put them on the bike in the beginning of april and get used the ride. As far as what I am going to be carrying on the rack,the less stuff the better.

1. Clothing:
a. cycling shorts-2-3 pairs
b. rain gear
c. warm sleeping clothes
d. winterizing material
e. socks, socks,socks
f. a couple wool jersey should suffice for tops.

2. food
a. power bars and energy drink mix
b. pb and j's
c. snacky foods.

Enough food to get me to the next town that has a store.

3. Water. Crucial part of this. I might where a camelback, or at least have a bladder mounted somehow on the bike.

4. a thermas for coffee and hot things, it has potential of being freezing, prepare for that.

5. Sleeping:

a. there are two options as far as I am concerned. 1. carry a tent and sleeping bag and all the necessaties to camp along the way. 2. Sleep in a hotel.

I personally think that sleeping in a hotel is going to be the most appealing option. My reasoning for this is that we may be riding in the rain the entire trip. Once by body tempeture goes down I have a hard time getting it back up. Hot showers usually do the trick. Also there would be all the sleeping equipment needed already in the room for me and I didn't have to carry it on my bike the whole time.
If other people would like to throw in on the hotel that would be the best plan. It would be cheap and comfortable. Just a thought.

The next step is deciding where the first stop should be. Each person has their own approach but I am going to try to ride 200 miles the first day. I have not figured where this will put me but that is on my list of things to do.

I am now going to make a logo and try to get us some sponsorship. Tallk to you soon.

Carol

Crushing the Commonwealth

2006-02-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Things are still being hashed out here, not all of us in Stillers' land are thinking Super Bowl.

Crushing the Commonwealth or,
this is a long ride for someone with nothing to think about.

Last weekend in April, Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.

Route follows PA Bicycle Route S with connectors to Philly and Pgh.

Registration? Still pending

Entry Fee-something you would want after finishing the ride

Start-Liberty Bell

End-Point State Park

Distance-probably over 350 miles still working on that

Questions-post here

Warning!!!!!

This is an unsupported event. You get lost, get tired, break your bike, YOU need to get yourself home. No sag wagon, no aid stations, no drop bags. Think alley cat, now think much much bigger.

More as we settle on things.

T-shirts and spoke cards for all finishers, maybe some home brew if I get the time to fire a batch up.

As of now we have no super enduro folks who may attempt this ride in one long push. All folks interested so far plan on sleeping out at least one night, so this may be a bit more of a friendly contest than a full on hammer fest for the super fit.