Sat. July 25: Dirt Road Rally – A BikeFest Fundraiser

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Ride will happen Rain or Shine

In an effort to help us raise some money for BikeFest, a local cyclist is organizing a ride on Saturday, 25 July, exploring some of the dirt roads north of the city, something in the spirit of the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2), a classic, hard event run each summer in Massachusetts.

Below is the description.

Sketch of the 30 mile route is here

…and the 50 mile route

There are three dirt sectors:

  1. Campbell’s Run Road: Roughly one mile of good dirt and gravel through the woods, with a short, steep climb in the middle with lots of loose gravel. This one is closed to traffic.
  2. Old Mill Road: Gentle downhill rollercoaster. Good, albeit loose, surface (it’s quite easy to find yourself going 28 mph into a corner, realizing your bike isn’t heeding your suggestion to turn). Very low traffic.
  3. McClelland Road: Much like Campbell’s Run, but in better condition. Very, very low traffic. And, there’s one ghost road: Dellenbaugh.

I’ve ridden all three gravel sectors on 25mm road tires. Lower gearing and/or wider tires could be useful on Campbell’s Run. Several spare tubes are recommended. Campbell’s Run also requires a brief portage around a gate at the end of the gravel sector. There’s also some fine climbing to be had on course, with Mill Dam Road and Sun Mine Road.

There are no checkpoints, no time cut-offs–just think of it as a nice ride on some new roads.

$5 donation goes directly to Bike Pittsburgh. I’ll have cue sheets the day of the ride. I’m also considering mapping a shorter (30-ish) mile ride, should you not want to take on the full 50 miles. Start and finish with be at Morning Glory Coffee House in Morningside (1806 Chislett Street). Registration (such that it is) will start at 9:00 AM, with a mass start at 9:30 AM. Bring along a few extra dollars to sample MoGlo’s fine provisions. Hope to see some of you there.

Check out the thread on the Bike Pittsburgh Messageboard about the ride

Not a member of Bike Pittsburgh? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership

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