Author Topic: PA Route G  (Read 9816 times)

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Offline paddleboy17

PA Route G
« on: July 12, 2010, 12:13:32 pm »
I am in the planning stages of a tour along PA Route G, probably in Tioga and Lycoming counties.  Has anyone ridden this?  I am trying to get a feel for road traffic and good places to camp.
Danno

indyfabz

  • Guest
Re: PA Route G
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2010, 09:36:06 am »
Hven't ridden any of it so I won't opine on road conditions, but I am somewhat familiar with the area around Wellsboro and Ansonia.  The latter area is home to the "Pennsylvania Grand Canyon."  (A real stretch, IMO.)  There are state parks on either side of the canyon.  The larger one is Leonard Harrison State Park and the other is Colton Point.  Both are shown on the Route G map.  I spent a night at the former back in 2003 or so.  Decent place with an observation deck that offers views of the canyon.  You can also make the steep trek down to the base of the canyon, which was carved by Pine Creek.  if you find yourself needing inside accomodations, the Colton Point motel on U.S. 6 just west of the center of Ansonia is a friendly, relatively inexpensive place.  In that area, U.S. 6 has a good shoulder and usually not much traffic.

Now...While the offical route follows roads, there is an alternative.  There is a rail-trail called the Pine Creek Trail that starts in the Ansonia area and runs along the Pine Creek for over 57 miles to Jersey Shore, PA:

http://www.visittiogapa.com/railtrail.html

The map shows camping areas along the trail.

Another source for commecial campgrounds is:

http://pacamping.com/

There is an interactive map that allows you to view places by area.

Offline cdavey

Re: PA Route G
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2010, 02:29:24 pm »
I rode Route G end to end in 2007 as part of a trip through MD, PA and NY. Tell me specifically what you want to know and I'll be happy to see what info I can provide you with. Route G is well thought out and you won't be disappointed with it. It was the highlight of my trip.

Offline paddleboy17

Re: PA Route G
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2010, 01:19:36 pm »
Here is my current route. 
  • day 1 - Jersey Shore to Cedar Run via the rail trail
  • day 2 - Cedar Run to Hills Creek State Park via the rail trail, Route G, and then surface streets from Route G to the Park
  • day 3 - Hills Creek State Park to Lawrenceville (and back to Hill Creek State Park) via surface streets to Route G, and then Route G
  • day 4 - Hills Creek State Park to Cedar Run via surface streets from the Park to Route G, and then the rail trail
  • day 5 - Cedar Run to Jersey Shore via the rail trail

My general recollections of Pennsylvania road riding is that the shoulders are narrow or nonexistent, the lanes are narrow, and the natives drive 20 MPH over the posted limit.  So I am nervous about cars on the road segments.

Any thoughts on what I can expect for traffic and driver courtesy during the road segments? 
Danno

Offline cdavey

Re: PA Route G
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2010, 10:56:30 am »
Good to hear back from you.

Well, this is PA, not exactly the land of progressive planning. PennDOT has changed their construction standards in the last 10-15 years to include emergency pull off lanes on state roads that will double as bike lanes, gradually re-constructing existing roads to those standards, but they have a long way to go. As to speedy drivers, well yes. After a while we all figure out that the suggested speed limits for curves are 10 mph slower than what you can actually take them at, so why would we drive any differently on the straightaways? :-)

You're off Route G more than I expected, so I don't have first hand knowledge of those parts. However, I did check PennDOT's traffic volume maps to get some feel for those parts of the route. That said, I think you probably don't need to be too concerned. If you want to check those maps yourself, here's the link.

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/infoBPRTrafficInfoTrafficVolumeMap

I can't comment on the road out from Jersey Shore to Route 44 as I came up the other way from Lock Haven. However, the traffic maps suggest this is going to be basic small city urban riding out to Route 44.

Once you turn right onto Route 44, as I recall the road is fairly wide, there isn't much shoulder, but the traffic is modest and the sight clearances are fine since the Pine Creek valley has widened out here. You're only on the road  2-3 miles before you come to the rail trail.

Once you come off the trail onto Route 6, the traffic is again modest, but you have a 3-4 foot shoulder to ride on. I turned off at the intersection with 287 and didn't have time to go into Wellsboro. The traffic maps suggest that this strech of 6 is somewhat busy, and I don't know what kind of shoulder you may have here.

I assume you will be going out Charlestown Road to get to the camp ground. The traffic maps indicate that these are local access roads with very light traffic -- a few hundred cars in each direction every day.

Route 287 into Tioga is wide and flat with modest traffic. I don't recall any shoulder, but the lane is so wide and the sight clearances are so good that you really don't need one.

When I rode it, 287 ended in Tioga and you took Route 15. That was a busy road. However, they were in the process of finishing a 4 lane version of  Route 15 that has since been completed. (Getting through the construction on a bicycle was lots of fun.) The old two lane version was renamed as an extension of 287. It appears now to be basically a main connector road between Tioga and Lawrenceville for local traffic with a couple thousand cars in each direction every day. As I recall it has shoulders, since the trucks could blow by me fast enough that I kept getting hit by their backdraft. That probably is no longer an issue with the new four lane.

PA law provides that bicycles shall keep to the right as far as is practicable. How far is practicable? You know the drill I'm sure -- use your common sense and judgment depending upon the situation, otherwise ride far enough to the inside of the lane to force them to pass you like a car, and take the lane when necessary. You'll be fine. Don't worry.

By the way, I didn't plan a trip this year. I'm envious.

P.S. Bring bug dope for the trail. It's fairly buggy.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2010, 12:19:40 am by cdavey »

indyfabz

  • Guest
Re: PA Route G
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2010, 09:35:46 am »
My general recollections of Pennsylvania road riding is that the shoulders are narrow or nonexistent, the lanes are narrow, and the natives drive 20 MPH over the posted limit.

You have a good memory.

You could hit moderate traffic going into Wellsboro depending on the time of day, but there is a good shoulder into town.  In case you don't know, some of the streets in Wellsboro are still lit with gas mantle lamps.  Interesting sight.

Offline paddleboy17

Re: PA Route G
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2010, 01:17:36 pm »
In 2007 I tried to lay out a route that traced the Pennsylvania canal.  I made an exploratory trip with a buddy to drive my proposed route.  There are very few canal fragments left between Pittsburgh and the Allegheny crest, and the roads were terrible for bicycling.  My original route went from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, but we gave up on driving it once we got to Gallitzan. It was obvious by then that riding my route was a good way to wind up dead.  We gave up on the canal route and committed to doing the Greater Allegheny Passage instead.

We did not actually ride the GAP until 2009, but that is a different story. 

I do find the Pennsylvania countryside to be gorgeous, but then I am from Michigan.  I might have a weakness for places with exposed bedrock.  My only complaint about my upcoming Route G trip is that we only have 5 days of riding.  The guy that I tour with misallocated his vacation days, and that is all he has for the trip.
Danno

Offline ColoradoKid

Re: PA Route G
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2010, 07:05:41 pm »
 Just back from that area. Route 6 and the railbed are great place to ride! The only problem is Route 6 (East) out of Wellsboro. Talk about hills and traffic!! Be careful riding around Wellsboro as it is now ground zero for oil and gas drilling crews. The wide shoulders do help but be careful.