CRBC's Local Rides Page

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Local Rides

General Comments
Scheduled Local Rides
Maps of Local Rides

General Comments

If you like to ride a bicycle, Centre County is an outstanding place to live and/or visit. Whether it's rolling backcountry roads, steep mountain climbs, technical single-track, or in-town bicycle paths that you seek, the greater State College area delivers. The links below will take you to detailed maps, descriptions, and cue sheets for a wide variety of favorite local road rides. These maps were developed with the generous support of the Centre County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

While the information contained in these pages should ensure a successful ride, some prior familiarity with the Centre County area roads and trails will definitely help. You may wish to pick up the excellent Purple Lizard maps. An excellent and free map of the area can also be obtained from the Centre County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Finally, if you are lucky, you might be able to scare up a copy of Bike Rides From Beaver Stadium or Mountain Bike Madness in Central Pennsylvania, two excellent (but currently out of print) books by Scott Adams (no, not the Dilbert Guy).

A few words of wisdom about road riding in the Centre County area:

While most of the roads in the area are well paved, some lack an adequate shoulder. Please exercise caution on these stretches!
Be advised that some of the stretches in the rides described herein are signed at 45 or even 55 mph and that automobile traffic often travels faster than the posted speed limit. In the ride maps, particularly tricky sections have been marked. Note, however, that your tolerance, or lack thereof, of traffic may differ from the author's.
This is rural Pennsylvania. You will run into the occasional and most likely unleashed dog which will invariably give pursuit. Generally, a stern (and loud!) 'NO' or 'STOP' will do the trick. If not, a squirt of water between the eyes (the dog's, not yours) is an excellent plan B. Those of you with poor aim and requiring a plan C should work on your sprinting.
Many of the rides described below take you far, far away from civilization. Mechanical trouble at the apogee of your ride would be a serious drag. Please consider carrying, at the bare minimum, a patch kit, tire lever, spare tube, and pump. You may also wish to carry an adjustable wrench, a few allen keys, and a chain tool. While on the topic of what to carry, be sure to carry adequate water and food. Food stops have been noted on the maps and in the cue sheets, but an extra banana or bagel never hurt anyone.
Note that State College has a short, but very definite 'rush hour' in the evening. Roads that see, on average, light traffic may be heavily used from 4-6pm. These include, but are not limited to, Whitehall Road, Fox Hollow Road, etc.
Wave and say hello to the folks that you pass in the countryside. They are the ones who drive (and therefore pass cyclists) on the backroads. A little courtesy will hopefully be returned in kind.

Scheduled Local Rides

There are a multitude of fairly regular rides in the area that you can take advantage of. Note that that meeting times, days of the week, and paces are subject to change! Ask around to get more reliable information:

******From Mt. Nittany Wheelworks******
Monday * The return of our beginner’s mountain bike ride. For the fourth year, we will lead a casual mountain bike ride from the shop at 5:30pm . Meet prepared to ride, helmet required. Ride length will be about an hour and a half.
* Paul Rito leads the easy road ride. 5:30pm from the shop.
Wednesday * Strap on the rocket pack and head out to the corner of Whitehall and Nixon for this year’s installment of the speed ride. 5:30 the horses leave the starting gates for a leisurely stroll around Centre and Blair County . Leisurely if you can handle 27mph average.
* Nittany Mountain Bike Association meets at the Forestry parking lot on Bear Meadows road at 6pm . The pace is friendly, but the trails can be punishing. Come prepared.
Thursday * Women’s mountain bike ride. Mountain bike rides without the y chromosome. Leaving the shop at 5pm (we think). Call to confirm if you are interested. * Paul’s 14 weeks to a century. Ever thought you would like to ride 100 miles but didn’t want to jump of the deep end? Then come join Paul Rito for this introduction to road riding and gradual build up to a century. Road bikes and the right attitude are required. Ride leaves at 5:30pm from Wheelworks as well.
Saturday * The Saturday road ride. Meets at Wheelworks at 9am . If the weather is nice and the group is large enough, there will be 2 distinct rides. Paul will also be leading the century prep ride. Route and length is debated over coffee prior to departure.
******From The Bicycle Shop******
Group Mountain Rides Meet at the forestry lot (1/4 mile past Tussey Mountain Ski Area, on the right). Join The Bicycle Shop in our Mountain Bike group ride. This ride is designed for intermediate to expert level enthusiasts and will include very technical terrain. This is not a speed ride, but it will require the rider to be familiar with mountain riding Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. starting April 4. Call the shop at 238-9422 if you need to car-pool to Tussey.
Early riser road rides: Road rides leave the shop at 7:30 a.m. Sundays. These are generally at an easy pace.
These are ten-mile, indvidual road time trials organized by the Central Penn Racingclub. Time trials are held the last Thursday of each month at the corner of Tadpole and Whitehall Roads west of State College.
******From RBR******
Recumbent bike rally May 19-21. Mondays

Maps of Local Rides

Note that all rides begin from the parking lot of the Centre County Visitor's Center, located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Park Avenue and Porter Road in State College.