Erie to Pittsburgh Trail bikepacking/touring

[@darnellholmes7394]

Omg motivation just know your a real man I take my hat off to you I want to do this but I'm afraid because I'm black idk if it's dangerous but wow this is some of the most uplifting videos I seen in a long time your in grade A shape

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Thanks for the compliment! You CAN do this - starts with one pedal stroke and continues with a few more, and more, and more. While I chose a stealth/wild/unimproved campsite one night, you could choose hotels/motels/airbnb if you wanted. There's no one, correct way to tour - this was just my adventure and I'm glad you (virtually) joined me on the journey. I'm planning on documenting how to plan a tour so if that interests you, subscribe so you can see that aspect of tour planning. Cheers!

[@darnellholmes7394]

@@AdventuresWithPaul Thank you so much I'm from Pittsburgh appreciate the advice 🔥🔥🔥👑

[@jeffdziak6455]

My friend, go for it! Other cyclists will look out for you. I had the pleasure of meeting a young black gal on the C&O. Riding from state of Washington to Washington DC--- solo!,! You can do it.

[@notreallymyname]

I’m from the Emlenton, Oil City etc region, and I beg you to come do it. You will meet some very nice people. You will probably see bumper stickers that will make you want to barf, but you will also find kindness in the most unexpected places. I spend a lot of time in the Homewood Wilkinsburg areas of Pittsburgh. I remember ducking into a bar to watch some college football, and getting the feeling that I was the first white guy that ever did that. Because one of the ladies at the bar asked me, “why are you in here?” I told her I wanted a beer, and she replied that she’d be scared to death to go into a bar with only white people. I don’t want to live my life that way, and I’ve found that most people are exactly the same no matter what the color of their skin. Also, don’t support Emlenton businesses. They cheated in little league baseball back in the 80s, and not enough time has passed to forgive their dirty deeds.

[@jamesbenson5654]

Really enjoyed this, great video, excellent narrative. I want to ride some of these trails.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

You can do it! I stumbled into this network looking at google maps bicycle layer. I like trying to link bike trails together and make my own networked route. Just so happens many of these trails were already a network. Appreciate the complement on the video - I feel like I have all you along as I’m riding and gives me someone to talk with.

[@mbtravel7294]

Lake Erie looks so nice now, i remember back when i was kid it caught fire

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

I read somewhere about the Cuyahoga catching fire but didn't know lake Erie was on fire. And you're right - it does look quite nice today.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

That was on the river in Cleveland...

[@RideAlongAdventures]

Great video, Paul. Thanks for sharing this.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Thanks! This route was a nice 4-day add-on to my GAP/C&O trip. I got to see Lake Erie, first Oil Well, some really nice trails, and quiet roads. AND, I got to camp again :-)

[@Dano99118]

Excellent video, thanks!

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

You are most welcome - thanks for watching. I hope you're able to experience the same adventure someday. I'm thinking about returning in a year or two and combining this with the N. Inland trail so stay tuned :-)

[@toolscarriagesmodellbauand7246]

What a interesting video. Best wishes from germany

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Hello from the United States! Glad you found it enjoyable - I guess my desire to make a good video worked :-)

[@nickl.1930]

So much fun watching you along with the comments….especially about day 4 and the hills! What is the gearing you used to make those loooooonnnngggg climbs? 😃

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Ha! You caught me online mixing my recent video from Cincinatti to Washington DC (Look for part 1 in the next few days) that's why I'm responding so quickly. For gearing, I have a 30T chainring with an 11-42T cog in the rear. That gives me about a low of 19.8 gear inches. The only gear lower than that (and I MAY have used it at times :-D) is walking the bike up the hills.

[@nickl.1930]

@@AdventuresWithPaul Thx for the reply. My rule is that I have to walk….that means I’ve earned a beer or 2 at the end of the day. Will look forward to the next episode. I appreciate you sharing the experiences. 👍

[@TravelingThru222]

Nice work, looks like a great ride. I have to get out and do that sometime. Love the thumbnail.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

This was a good route to get from point A to point B and start the GAP again. I was able to explore some good bike paths and historic sites making my way south. re: the thumbnail, I was having a hard time juggling RWGPS and the iPhone camera so I used stills from the GoPro. I found I had more shots of me in front of the camera than behind it. So I went with it.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

If you get into the Atlanta area, look me up - I can provide several days of adventures

[@Mr.XJ.96]

Smiths Bodacious Sweet is Fantastic I can't wait till August. There's seven hills for sure I count them from center drive to 68.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

haha - when I passed the corn I thought "now there's a proper use of the word 'bodacious' but I hadn't seen the use of that adjective since the 80's." Fun stuff to see on any bike tour, but the really good stuff ends up in the video.

[@pppjourneyonabike5992]

Another excellent video. Not a lot of choices from Emlenton without climbing on roads. Had more trail but with interrupted parts below Emlenton with climbing then roads out of Kittanning with more climbing. Nice job. Knee injury knocked me riding that route from Pittsburgh to Buffalo. Lot of research. Looked at the ACA route too but that is all road still with climbing and longer route. Rode parts of it. Still look forward to piecing it all together but Buffalo to Kittanning (until trail is continous to Freeport) then to Pittsburgh. Looked at routes from Ford City but no safe route imo. I believe you took the better of the road routes to the Butler trail. The Erie to Pittsburgh coalition is making great strides piecing the trails together. Lot of work going on even now. Be easier and better once a few road connection climbs are eliminated. Look forward to when Ford City trail section is connected to Freeport. I also looked at bus transport from near Freeport to near Point State Park but not too flexible on times.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Thanks, Preston. It was a good ride, even if it did tucker me out when I arrived at the hotel at the end of the Emlenton->PIttsburgh day. Slept and recovered well because I was able to do 78 miles the next day on GAP trail Day 1. I'll post taht video sometime later this week. After that, a short Florida tour and then maybe a Wisconsin loop.

[@pppjourneyonabike5992]

​@@AdventuresWithPaulI'm still working thru this knee tear healing. Knocked my riding out pretty much for 2023. Trying to get a ride going for Fall. Good luck on next plans. :)

[@StephenDownes]

Good video. I'm looking at going the other way (Pittsburgh to Buffalo) next summer, so this was helpful. I think I'll avoid Seven Hills Road, though.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Good luck with the trip - let me know how it goes!

[@billysbikesbrews7183]

Thanks Paul 🌞.. Nice Informative Video. I was looking for a way to connect Buffalo to Pittsburgh.. I’ve done the GAP & C&O.. 🚴‍♂️😎🍁 I need to check out Billy’s in Oil City PA😁

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Yeah - connecting the southern end of the McClintock trail to the northern terminus of the Justus trail (right next to the Oil city Marina) brings you right past Billy's. Looks like a fun place to stop. Cheers!

[@thegreatexaggerator9077]

Quite the adventure on many different trails and roads and I enjoy your sense of humor! Have you hiked the AT?

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

HIked different sections of it. I think I'll do the Georgia section and maybe thru-hike the Benton MacKaye. I prefer riding but will probably get back into hiking more in retirement

[@thegreatexaggerator9077]

@@AdventuresWithPaul absolutely one of the best things I have ever done!

[@timothymologne6643]

Did you use a route guide to find the various bike trails and paths? Do you have a list of the trails that you followed? Thank you.

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

My primary tool to find bike paths is Google Map's bike layer. They show up in green and I look to see where they are, how far they run, and what the route may look like. I actually plan my route in RideWithGPS which I then download to my GPS head unit on the bike and then follow that. I think I'll create a video about how I plan because similar to you, people are interested in how I plan these things :-) Cheers!

[@Brackers64]

Just stumbled on your video Paul, nice coverage of your trip. Bob...

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Glad you dropped by! I originally intended it as an additional 3.5-days linking it to my return to the GAP/C&O but I stumbled across a network of trails called the Erie to Pittsburgh. The route I mapped followed bike paths stretching north from Pittsburgh and that pretty-much aligned with this route. So, cool to complete a good chunk of it. And I got to see the first producing oil well in the US, so I got that going for me :-)

[@Brackers64]

@@AdventuresWithPaul I'm in Ontario and would like to do the GAP/C&O. I was thinking of driving to Pittsburg but this gives me a much better option I think if I leave from Buffalo. Bob...

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

The Buffalo - Pittsburgh route I took was about 270 miles. I rented a car one-way and drove to the Buffalo airport, dropped off the rental, and then cycled out of the airport. The roads getting out of Buffalo were not bad at all, and cycling along the lake was nice. Only option for me second night out was the stealth camp off the side of the trail, but it worked for me :-). Let me know how the trip goes

[@Brackers64]

@@AdventuresWithPaul Thanks, I don't suppose you have the route file or if you recorded the trip on Strava or other? Cheers Bob...

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

You are in luck - here's the planned route, including campsites, lodging, points of interest, and some grocery stores along the route. ridewithgps.com/routes/43550149

[@timothymologne6643]

Did you take a train to get to Buffalo?

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

Rented car one way Atlanta to buffalo airport. Drove into the rental return, pulled the bike and gear out of the car, and rode out of the airport. Good times!

[@floofy931]

Hey Paul! Is there anyway for you to share this route with me?

[@AdventuresWithPaul]

With URLs, there's always a way to share :-). The official Erie-to-PIttsburgh trail resources are located at www.eriepittsburghtrail.org/. Like I stated in the video, I stumbled onto the route as I rode south from Dunkirk. The route I planned is at ridewithgps.com/routes/43550149. I detoured for day 4 since I wanted a shorted day, but still ended up with ~4000' of climbing. Enjoy!

[@floofy931]

@AdventuresWithPaul awesome, thanks Paul! I'm riding erie to pittsburgh this summer