Pennsylvania Ride - Canada Day overnight trip | GTAMotorcycle.com

Pennsylvania Ride - Canada Day overnight trip

shanekingsley

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
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If anyone wants to come, I'm heading to PA for a 2 day ride leaving from (Mississauga) around 5:30am on Canada Day and coming back Wednesday night. I hope to cross the border by 7am, so there's lots of time to explore. I've only passed through the area on previous trips to Deals Gap, but would like to start riding the area more often.

Note: this is not a ride for new riders or riders who need to take a break every hour. I ride a V-Strom 650 with a 400km tank range.

Pace will be funfun in the corners, responsible in the straights and respectful in small towns. I like to ride sunrise til dinner, to make the most out of the trip and ride as many twisty roads as I can fit in! I don't get too many days off in the summer! I'm guessing 800-1000km/day with a nice scenic stop for lunch somewhere each day - something like Hyner Park on Day 1 and Kinzua Dam on Day 2.

Not sure where I'm staying yet, but thinking about Super 8 in Willamsport, which I can use as a destination.

Route: The roads I'm planning on riding are the 44/144, 872, 666, 949, 120, the eastern side of the 414, Wycoff Run, Kettle Creek Rd, Hyner View Rd and more... I'm also open to doing twisty gravel roads if anyone else is willing. The routes below include all the roads I wanted to hit up, but can be changed depending on how the days go.

Day 1:http://goo.gl/maps/W900m
Day 2:http://goo.gl/maps/5MbPK

Any suggestions on great twisty roads are also welcome - paved or gravel.
 
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I would have been all over this if not for prior commitments! PA is a blast and I had been looking forward to joining you on a non-camping trip/ride.

Enjoy your ride and I hope you get some good weather for it.
 
7up said:
I would have been all over this if not for prior commitments! PA is a blast and I had been looking forward to joining you on a non-camping trip/ride.

Enjoy your ride and I hope you get some good weather for it.
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Thanks a lot - there will be many other rides! I recently moved to Mississauga, so I'm now 30 minutes closer to the border - just makes it more appealing to start heading south than north. And usually I do the camping thing, but for an overnight trip, the allure of not having to bring all that extra gear is too enticing. I'm going to try and do a weekend trip within the next few months to WV.
Splash said:
looking at your day 2, you have a few u-turns... is that intentional?
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Thanks for noticing and one of them is intentional, because it's a stop at the Kinzua Dam for lunch. The other u-turn wasn't intentional, because Google shows that I cant take the 666 continuously through Allegheny Park - it stops right at Kingsley Road - my namesake...http://goo.gl/maps/zSvpT
I fixed my route a bit to not force me up towards Warren like it did previously. I'm assuming the the 666 goes right through the park uninterrupted because it shows that way in Garmin's Basecamp but not in Google for some reason..
 
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vrus said:
Hi Shane, keep me updated for that WV trip!
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Will do - I think I have a free weekend at the end of August, so I'd like to make it happen.

I'm also thinking about another 7-day trip down to Deals Gap in mid-late October for another fall colours twisty roads trip.
 
shanekingsley said:
Thanks for noticing and one of them is intentional, because it's a stop at the Kinzua Dam for lunch. The other u-turn wasn't intentional, because Google shows that I cant take the 666 continuously through Allegheny Park - it stops right at Kingsley Road - my namesake...http://goo.gl/maps/zSvpT
I fixed my route a bit to not force me up towards Warren like it did previously. I'm assuming the the 666 goes right through the park uninterrupted because it shows that way in Garmin's Basecamp but not in Google for some reason..
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It's weird because if you look at Street View, there's nothing wrong with that bridge.
 
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I rode 666 through the Allegheny Forest last Saturday. About ten miles in, when entering from the west, the road is closed, local traffic only. I chose to ignore the signs. Indeed, there is a section which had been washed away by heavy rain the week prior. Piles of gravel have been placed on either side of the damaged area to discourage traffic. Shouldn't be a problem for most bikes, though. A couple of local folks checked it out with me, then a dude in an old 4x4 Blazer came through from the opposite direction. He told us there is a similar break in the road about another mile on. I had no trouble getting through, but two couples on big Harleys chose to turn back.

shanekingsley said:
I'm assuming the the 666 goes right through the park uninterrupted because it shows that way in Garmin's Basecamp...
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Correct, provided you can deal with these obstacles.

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Jayell said:
Sorry Mr. Splash, not sure where it is, specifically. Ten miles in, from the west, is the best I can tell you.
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Mr.? lol

thanks
 
The 2nd washed out section 666 was closed when I got there. There were crews working on it so that portion of it was impassable. If they weren't there I would have been able to pass - so maybe on the weekends it would still be good. The detour was a gravel and dirt forest road called Marbury rd or something, which I couldn't find on Google Maps. It travels north about 9km to Hearts Content Rd and then to get back to the 666, the road to take is called Ministry Road which is paved. If it was totally dry out, I would say that the forest road is fine, but due to the dense shade cover in the forest and recent rains, the dirt was really soft and slippery. My back tire is almost done, so it had zero grip in the mud- I had to travel the 9km in 1st gear pretty much the whole way and most of the time at less than 20km/hr. Otherwise the 666 is pretty nice road - maybe a bit bumpy and hilly for some, but still nice.
One of the broken sections along #666:
IMG_2617-L.jpg


I ended up doing Wycoff Run Road about 8 times over the 2 days. Heading south, about 1/3 of the way in, there is a right turn that hugs the rock wall. There was a good amount of rocks and gravel in that curve - one of the rocks was easily bigger than my foot and lots of them were fist sized. I removed them all and the next day when I was on it, there were rocks that had fallen. I would recommend that you do a slower scouting run first before going all out. Still a nice road -short but sweet.

Also, if you like forest roads, there was a really nice dirt and gravel road called Jerry's Run Road which intersects Wycoff Run Road at the north end. It was a really fun road and made for a good loop with Wycoff. The whole loop takes 30 about minutes, which adds a lot to Wycoff which takes less than 10. The forest road gets pretty bumpy at times, because there are rocks embedded in the dirt. Definitely not for sportbikes, but great for upright bikes.

I also did the Hyner View Road a bunch of times, going up and down. There is a great lookout at the top. On my 2nd day there, I was on the road around 6am, hoping to see some wildlife out on the road. While going up Hyner at around 7am I saw bears and deer. I was hoping to see elk, but didn't, even though there is a big feeding patch at the south end of Wycoff.
Hyner View State Park:
IMG_2596-L.jpg



A few other good roads - the 414, just west of Canton. It's rolling farm country, so during the week there were a bunch of slow moving logging and farm trucks, but I would think it should be good fun if you are there on a weekend. Watch out for a few blind corners that pop up after you crest different twisty hills.

I also liked the 321/280 combo, which is north of Allegheny - a nice route home instead of the 219. The 321 is a desolate road that has huge sweepers with decent pavement. The 280 reminded me of some sections of the TransCanada along Lake Superior - really nice views of the water and very quiet.
A view along the #280:
IMG_2644-L.jpg


I also stopped in at Kinzua Bridge - go check it out if you have the time. It's right off the 219 and a good scenic place to take a rest.
Kinzua:
IMG_2631-L.jpg


All in all, it was about 1900km over the 2 days, even with only doing 800km the first day, because I stopped at 4pm from heavy thunderstorms. The roads were nice, nothing amazing, but still better than Ontario. Next time down there, it would be good to scout out a bunch of roads that aren't the popular ones for bikes. I want to know the secret roads of the local riders - roads like Hyner View or Wycoff - but more technical or longer and remote and secret...
 
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shanekingsley said:
If anyone wants to come, I'm heading to PA for a 2 day ride leaving from (Mississauga) around 5:30am on Canada Day and coming back Wednesday night. I hope to cross the border by 7am, so there's lots of time to explore. I've only passed through the area on previous trips to Deals Gap, but would like to start riding the area more often.

Note: this is not a ride for new riders or riders who need to take a break every hour. I ride a V-Strom 650 with a 400km tank range.

Pace will be funfun in the corners, responsible in the straights and respectful in small towns. I like to ride sunrise til dinner, to make the most out of the trip and ride as many twisty roads as I can fit in! I don't get too many days off in the summer! I'm guessing 800-1000km/day with a nice scenic stop for lunch somewhere each day - something like Hyner Park on Day 1 and Kinzua Dam on Day 2.

Not sure where I'm staying yet, but thinking about Super 8 in Willamsport, which I can use as a destination.

Route: The roads I'm planning on riding are the 44/144, 872, 666, 949, 120, the eastern side of the 414, Wycoff Run, Kettle Creek Rd, Hyner View Rd and more... I'm also open to doing twisty gravel roads if anyone else is willing. The routes below include all the roads I wanted to hit up, but can be changed depending on how the days go.

Day 1:http://goo.gl/maps/W900m
Day 2:http://goo.gl/maps/5MbPK

Any suggestions on great twisty roads are also welcome - paved or gravel.
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Hello. Came to this forum today to do a little research for my three-day adventure into Ontario this coming weekend and came across this post. I'm very familiar with a good chunk of this ride, so I thought I'd create an account and just offer up some tips/notes:

1. On your way out (day 1), if you're crossing the boarder at 7:00AM you'll be at my favorite spot for breakfast in all of Western New York by 7:45AM. Zider Zee right on rt. 16 in Holland. Worth stopping even for just a slice of pie and a cup of coffee. If you'd like to limit the amount of highway riding, I'd suggest getting off of the 400 on Maple Road in East Aurora. Head south on Maple Road until you hit 20A. Make a right on 20A and a quick left onto Center Street. Head south on Center for a good 15 minutes and make a left on Holland-Glenwood Road. This will take you right into Holland at rt. 16 about 30 seconds north of Zider Zee. Some nice rolling hills to start the morning. Keeps you off the slab.

2. 44 from Coudersport to Jersey Shore is simply incredible. You'll smile the entire way.

3. Black Forest Inn on rt. 44 in Lock Haven, PA is an excellent spot for lunch or dinner. Great outdoor bar/restaurant in the woods.

4. Nice place to stay in Williamsport is the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott on Maynard Street. There's a nice outdoor bar within walking distance over the bridge should you want to partake in an evening of good food and drink.

5. On your way back (day 2), when you get to Ellicottville, stay to the right and take 242 East to 240 North. 240 is a much more enjoyable ride than 219.

Have fun and keep the rubber side down. Buffalo to Williamsport is one of my favorite rides. I do it on a Ninja 650. I'd actually consider joining if I didnt have my own trip planned this weekend heading north!
 
Aaaaaaaaand I just realized that this post is three years old :lmao:
 
shanekingsley said:
Nice - that was a fun trip! Now I'll have to go back. Maybe in a week or two and take a few days off work for it. Who's up for it?
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I'm out riding around the southern half of Western New York every nice weekend day :eek:ccasion5:
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