Bicycling – Page 2 – Bicycling the beauty around us

Pine Creek Rail Trail: Darling Run to Tiadaghon

On Saturday, September 5th, Bob and I went for a bicycle ride on the Pine Creek Rail Trail.

We began our ride around 11:40 am at Darling Run and rode 7.5 miles to Tiadaghon. We arrived at Tiadaghon approximately 1 1/2 hours later. We began our ride back to Darling Run around 1:45 pm. It took almost 3 hours for us to make the return trip. Why so long? I will explain at the end of this post.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

Parking lot at Darling Run; my bicycle in the foreground.

Pine Creek. Note the two trails. The raised, stone upper trail is for bicycles and hikers. The lower dirt trail is for horse-drawn wagons.

This is one of a few camps that sit alongside Pine Creek.

I am facing in the direction that we had ridden. The Turkey Path trail, which can be hiked up to Leonard Harrison State Park, is located to the right of this bridge.

A highlight of the Turkey Path trail is a waterfall. Very little water was falling the day we visited.

We must bicycle back to this location, when it is more likely that a noticeable amount of water will be falling here!

We ate a picnic lunch at Tiadaghton.

The Tiadaghton campground and picnic area is located in a very pretty place!

The lower dirt pathway, by the way, extends from Darling Run to Tiadaghton.

Hooray! We saw two horse-drawn wagons on the trail!

I will now explain what happened on our way back to Darling Run from Tiadaghton.

The first couple miles back were without incident. During the last 5-6 miles, I made frequent stops. Bob says that some of my stops were as frequent as 1/10th of a mile. My legs hurt and were shaky. My arms were shaky too. My shoulder blades ached. A couple of my stops were made because I felt dazed and dizzy. I stopped and lied down on the grass two or three times. The first time this happened two women stopped to ask if I was OK. One woman gave me a few gummy bears (quick sugar). I don’t know what happened to me. Low sugar? Needed more water? Out of shape? The last is something I can attest to. I really am out of shape.

I am happy that I completed this segment of the Pine Creek Rail Trail. I wish I had been in better shape, though, to make the trip. An unexpected bonus from taking so long to make the return trip was the opportunity to see the horse-drawn wagons! I actually felt well enough to enjoy seeing the wagons too.

The Pine Creek Rail Trail is 62 miles in length, from Butler Road just south of Lower Marsh Creek Road (Wellsboro Junction) and Seminary St. between McClintock Alley and Fountain St. (Jersey Shore). We plan to ride the entire trail, in segments. This plan will most likely take a few years to complete!

Allegheny River Valley Trail (Allegany/Olean NY)

This past Saturday, August 8th, Bob and I went for a bicycle ride on the Allegheny River Valley Trail. We began our ride near the tennis courts at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany NY. Taking the trail to the left, we reached the Allegheny River in about 0.25 mile.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

Trailhead at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY

There are many opportunities along the trail to sit on a bench and enjoy the views of the Allegheny River.

This is one of several bridges that we crossed, while on the trail.

I noticed a big chair sitting alongside the river on the opposite side.

The trail along the river is well shaded. The rest of the trail … not so much.

The trail turns away from the river at 3 miles and heads north.

The trail crosses over Washington Street.

This memorial bench and flower garden is located at a curve on trail.

After about a mile, we came to a fork in the trail. We made a right turn at the fork.

The trail runs alongside Constitution Avenue for a short while.

Country Fair is located at the intersection of Buffalo, Wayne and 12th Streets.

I took this picture inside a pavilion, where we made a rest stop. We also took advantage of the restroom inside Country Fair.

From Country Fair the trail continues on the sidewalk alongside Wayne Street and turns right alongside a railroad track (opposite Olean Intermediate Middle School). We turned around shortly after reaching the trail along the railroad track.

We returned to the fork in the trail and turned right to continue on the main loop trail. After crossing Constitution Avenue we stopped at Twist and Shake.

We stopped for ice cream at Twist and Shake.

We were on the local “Ride for Roswell” trail, but we didn’t participate in the ride.

St. Bonaventure University. Approaching the end of our bicycle ride.

Total miles ridden: 8.84 miles.

Knox-Kane Rail Trail: Mt. Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park

This past Saturday, June 13th, Bob and I went for a bicycle ride on the Knox-Kane Rail Trail. We began our ride in Mount Jewett, at the Center Street trailhead, and bicycled the 3.8 miles to Kinzua Bridge State Park.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

The crushed-stone trail runs through a largely forested corridor.

There are two covered pavilions with a picnic table along the trail.

The Knox-Kane Rail Trail ends at Kinzua Bridge State Park.

Bathroom facilities, a food truck and picnic tables were available at Kinzua Bridge State Park.

Shortly before we left the park to begin our ride back to Mt. Jewett, we watched an airplane fly around and over the Kinzua Bridge.

See the airplane! How cool it was to see the airplane fly over the bridge!

We ate a light lunch at the first pavilion we came to on our way back to the Mt. Jewett trailhead.

We spotted this tree house on our way back to Mt. Jewett. We didn’t see the tree house on our way to Kinzua Bridge State Park.

This map was located at the Kinzua Bridge State Park trailhead.

The Knox-Kane Rail Trail, when completed, will stretch 73.8 miles between Kinzua Bridge State Park and Clarion. There are additional completed sections of the trail that we hope to ride one day.

Allegheny River Trail: Foxburg to Parker

On Monday, May 25th, we went for a bicycle ride on a portion of the Allegheny River Trail.

The Allegheny River Trail is 30 miles in length. The trail runs on asphalt between Franklin and Emlenton for 27.5 miles and on an isolated section between Foxburg and Parker for 2.5 miles. It meets the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in Franklin, crosses beneath the Sandy Creek Trail in East Sandy, and passes through two old railroad tunnels.

We completed the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in August 2018.

We have yet to ride the Sandy Creek Trail.

As for the Allegheny River Trail, we are riding that trail in segments. In early May 2019, we completed our first segment — Emlenton to Rockland (6 miles). In mid-August 2019 we completed our second segment — Franklin to Belmar (5.1 miles). In September 2019 we completed our third segment — Rockland to Kennerdell (6 miles). We completed our fourth segment — Belmar to Kennerdell (10.4 miles) in October 2019. We completed our fifth segment — Foxburg to Parker — on Monday’s ride (2.5 miles).

We parked at Foxburg and rode south to Parker. We turned around at Parker and rode north, back to the parking lot in Foxburg.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail. All pictures are from the ride back to Foxburg from Parker.

There are a few benches located along the trail.

According to a sign, the overlook is dedicated in honor of Fred McIlhattan for a lifetime of public service and his support of this trail.

The view at the Allegheny River Overlook

We planned to stop at the picnic table here to eat lunch. The picnic table, though, was not in great shape. Also, the location lacked shade.

We crossed over what used to be a train bridge. The Clarion River flows into the Allegheny River under this bridge.

We saw several padlocks on the chain fence, as we crossed the railroad bridge.

We saw several kayaks on the Clarion River.

Looking back at the railroad bridge; Allegheny River on the right.

We saw a small waterfall, along the trail, as we neared Foxburg. Click here for a short video of the waterfall.

Ride Statistics:

• Bicycle Miles Ridden – 5.5 miles

• Total Moving Time – 1 hour 4 minutes

• Maximum Speed – 8.5 MPH

• Average Speed – 5.1 MPH

We can now add Allegheny River Trail to our list of bicycle trails completed.

North Warren-Warren Bike Trail

Bob and I went for a bicycle ride yesterday on the Warren-North Warren Bike Trail.

This informational sign is at the south end of the trail (Warren).

A second sign is located at the south end of the trail as well.

From the second sign I cropped this information regarding the Warren-North Warren Bike Trail.

This is what the trail looks like at the south end.

Approaching the north end of the trail (North Warren)

The bike trail ends here. There are plans to extend the Warren-North Warren Bike Trail an additional 8 miles from this point.

This trail is in my hometown, only a short distance from our house. I have written posts about rides on this trail a few times in this blog. The Warren-North Warren Bike Trail was our first “official” trail ride this year.

Allegheny River Trail: Belmar to Kennerdell

On Sunday, October 20th, we went for a bicycle ride on a portion of the Allegheny River Trail.

We completed the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in August 2018.

We have yet to ride the Sandy Creek Trail.

As for the Allegheny River Trail, we are riding that trail in segments. In early May of this year, we completed our first segment — Emlenton to Rockland (6 miles). In mid-August of this year we completed our second segment — Franklin to Belmar (5.1 miles). In September this year we completed our third segment — Rockland to Kennerdell (6 miles). We completed our fourth segment — Belmar to Kennerdell — on Sunday’s ride (10.4 miles).

We parked at Brandon and rode north to Belmar. We turned around at Belmar and drove south, past where we parked, to Kennerdell and back to the parking lot.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

Allegheny River Trail parking lot at Brandon.
We were the first car there, making our arrival around 10:00 am. We are parked in front of the trail. We began our ride by traveling north (past the white car).

I believe Sandy Creek is entering the Allegheny River here, with the Sandy Creek Trail crossing over the bridge.

I captured a short video clip of a boat going underneath the Belmar Bridge.

These stairs lead up to the Belmar Bridge. Bob is checking out the “bike path” alongside the stairs. We didn’t climb up to the bridge. The bridge crossing will be another day.

We are now riding south, making our way to Kennerdell. The Sandy Creek Trail crosses over the Belmar Bridge.

We saw birdhouses frequently along the trail. The birdhouses are the result of Nathaniel Sedlacek’s 2012 Eagle Scout Project, according to signs posted on the birdhouses.

The stairs lead down to a deck with table and chairs. The stairs continue down to the river’s edge. There are no houses anywhere near this structure. There wasn’t a sign indicating that this structure is private. I wonder if it is there for the enjoyment of anyone using the trail.

I LOVE how this picture of the trail turned out!

Neither Bob nor I rode through the tunnel on this ride. Bob rode through this tunnel, as well as the Rockland Tunnel, in September. I rode through the Rockland Tunnel in September, not the Kennerdell Tunnel. I had no desire to ride through Kennerdell Tunnel during this ride.

We turned around at Kennerdell Tunnel and made our way back to the Brandon parking lot.

Allegheny River Trail is paved from Franklin to Emlenton, except for 3/4 of mile. The unpaved portion of the trail is gravel. I hated it! The trail detours here.

We look for eagles, whenever we are on our bicycle rides. We haven’t been fortunate yet to see an eagle, leastwise not a living, breathing eagle.

I captured a short video of the geese, in addition to the still image.

What a beautiful day it was for a bicycle ride on the Allegheny River Trail!

It was an enjoyable ride along the river.

Ride Statistics:

• Bicycle Miles Ridden – 18.32 miles

• Total Moving Time – 2 hours 33 minutes 41 seconds

• Maximum Speed – 11.1 MPH

• Average Speed – 7.1 MPH

27.5 miles down and 2.5 miles to go on the Allegheny River Trail!

Moraine State Park Bike Trail

This past Sunday, October 13th, we rode the Moraine State Park Bike Trail along the northern shore of Lake Arthur.

Moraine State Park is a Pennsylvania state park. It is located near the crossroads of I-79 and I-80 in Butler County. The park’s main feature is its man-made lake, Lake Arthur.

Our origin point for our bicycle ride was off North Shore Drive, at the bike rental place. Our end point was at the Moraine Outdoor Center.

Moraine State Park Bike Trail is asphalt paved in very good condition. It is an in and out, not loop, trail. The trail passes picnic areas, several parking lots, and restrooms. There are a few hill climbs. For the most part, though, the trail consists of gently rolling hills and several bends (some tight). We rode through both tree shaded and open sections and enjoyed the lake views along the way.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

We began our bicycle ride at the bike shop off North Shore Drive. Note that Bob is putting on gloves. It was a chilly start to our ride!!

The trail goes through tree shaded sections that showed off some of its autumn color.

From the Moraine Outdoor Center we could see the Davis Hollow Marina.

Moraine Outdoor Center Observation Platform provides an excellent view of Lake Arthur.

At the Moraine Outdoor Center we enjoyed a light snack, while taking in the beautiful surroundings.

It appears that the Outdoor Center itself offered food and beverages at one time. We met a woman on the grounds, who said that the building has been closed for some time.