200-Mile Challenge
HISTORY
- in 1994, I successfully embarked on a solo, one-day double century (200 mile)
bike ride from Hudson to Marietta Ohio. I finished in a Captain D's parking lot
in downtown Marietta, in the dark at 9:30 PM - riding the last half mile in
circles. In 05', after a lot of coaxing and "smack" throwing, I
let Jarred Derieux talk me into a second attempt, which we successfully
completed. In 06' myself and Pete Baughman successfully completed the third
ascent with five other riders helping to support - taking great pulls at the
front of the paceline for segments of 1-30 miles each. This past season eight
riders completed the full 200 miles, with another 4 riders attaining PR's for
one days riding. In the 08' attempt 5 riders completed the challenge and in 09'
three riders were successful
WHEN
- September 24, 2011. There will be a rain date one week later if needed. Please
join us for the 6th 200-Mile Challenge.
FITNESS
LEVEL - for the 200-mile “challenge”, you need to have a very solid base of
riding in your legs from the 07' season, including several 100-mile + rides to
your credit that you have done in under 6 hours.
FULLY
SUPPORTED – chase vehicles, unlimited liquid refills, food stops, chase vehicle
will carry each riders special needs bag.
TIME
- the 200-mile ride will start promptly at 5:30 am, and continue until 7:30 pm.
No riders will be permitted to ride past the 7:00 pm cut-off time.
THE
ROUTE - will take riders from Stow, into Ravenna, and then south to Dover-New
Philadelphia. From the Dover-New Philly area, we will continue south along
scenic Rt. 800 and into Ohio’s “Little Switzerland”. Here you’ll be riding over
some of the largest, and most stately hill climbs in the state, and be treated
to some spectacular scenery as you cycle across ridge tops, and down into
valleys and hollows. After descending down to the town of Fly, on the Ohio
River, you will continue southwest along the Ohio River on Rt. 2 to Marietta.
was scoured into the landscape
by the flow of Pine Creek over the past 350 million years. Now surrounded by
nearly a million acres of Pennsylvania state forest and parkland, the Pine
Creek Gorge plummets 427 meters from the rim to its deepest point, exposing
rock from the Paleozoic. The sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and shale that form
the valley can be seen along its many mountain bike trails to the bottom of the
gorge, alternating in gently inclined layers of gray, red, brown and green.
Unlike Arizona’s Grand Canyon, however, the Pine Creek Gorge is quite wet, with
waterfalls cascading down the sheer faces of bedrock into small pools and then
into the flowing river below. Along the canyon walls, hard sandstone supports
precipitous cliffs that reach out over the gorge and invite the adventurous to
an exciting view. Two state park overlooks at the north end of the gorge also
provide some great vistas. Other sights to see include dramatic rock outcrops,
waterfalls, and wildlife like eagles, osprey, coyote, deer, wild turkeys,
herons, hawks, and even river otters! The forest, called the "Black
Forest" by early settlers, towers above the canyon and holds an abundance
of mountain biking trails which offer expansive vistas of the canyon and
surrounding region. This is truly a mountain biker's paradise - the most
extensive remote and scenic system of jeep track and fire trails in
Pennsylvania. Come enjoy this most beautiful and scenic tour of the canyon with
us. Our off-road mountain biking tour takes you into the backcountry via state
fire and logging roads crossing many streams along the way. You will see
pristine vistas, creeks, gorgeous mountain views & possibly get a glimpse
of a bear, deer, coyote or bald eagle, just to name a few. The opportunities
for sightseeing are plentiful, so bring your camera! Many of our guests enjoy
our custom/private mountain bike expedition. This opportunity to spend quality
time with friends and fellow mountain bike enthusiasts are all great reasons to
take our private expedition. Once we get the expedition group together (maximum
12 people), Excel Adventure will take care of the rest from start to finish.
From mild to wild we will provide you with a custom mountain bike tour of your
dreams.
WHEN - October 6-9, 2011. Please join us for our second annual Black Forest Mountain Bike
Adventure. You can also do portions of the trip by riding in our support
vehicle through some of the tougher sections of the mountain tracks. We will
carpool out of the Akron area at 3:00-4:00 PM (or drive your own vehicle at an
ETD of your own convenience) to arrive in Waterville, Pennsylvania in 4 hrs on
Friday evening October 16th. We will leave on Sunday October 18th in late
morning or mid afternoon based on weather and the group's interest in staying a
bit longer.
GROUP SIZE -
limited to 8 riders.
FITNESS LEVEL -
You will need a good to moderate base of cycling in by trip date, having been
able to ride for stretches of 2-4 hrs on your mountain bike up and down hills
and/or mountains.
DISTANCE - The
Black Forest Mountain Bike Adventure will consist of 1-2 rides per day on
Saturday and Sunday. Distances will vary and are up to the riders as to how far
and long they would like to ride on each segment.
ROUTE - Will
take riders up and over the mountains of Pennsylvania's world famous Black
Forest region. Several climbs are easily 1 hr in length, while some of the
other climbs are gentle rollers or steeply pitched power climbs that entail out
of the saddle climbing. There are also many long, lazy flats that wind through
the densely forested mountain tops and along streams and runs. Many of these
fire and logging roads wind along and around the Pine Creek drainage - The
Little Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. .
ROUTE MAP – We
will be on Routes outlined in Pete’s Book “BlackForest Mountain Biking” which
you can purchase on this site
COST -
$200.00/rider. You will have support vehicles; dinners on Friday and Saturday
evenings; Saturday and Sunday breakfasts; food, beverages and carbo supplements
during the ride; tent (tents available for rent) camping in a mountain top
campground with full shower and restroom facilities available for your
convience.
New River Climb/Hike
The
New River Gorge of West Virginia is among the most spectacular river canyons
and popular vacation destinations in the Eastern U.S. Largely protected by the
U.S. National Park Service as the New River National River, the New River Gorge
is among the newest units of the National Park System and is a primary
destination for hiking, paddling, and climbing worldwide. The New River and its
forested, sandstone-capped canyons is traced by hundreds of miles of
deep-forest trails. West Virginia's New River Gorge region has also become one
of the most popular rock climbing and rappelling destinations in the eastern
U.S., and rock climbers can choose from thousands of climbs along the rim of
the New River Gorge. If you’re a novice, try our weekend introductory climbing/hiking
trip. Our trip gets you right out onto the rock! We will make
sure you’re safe and your equipment and ropes are properly rigged, and then the
exhilaration of rock climbing begins! The New River Gorge contains over 1,600
climbing routes, and the cliffs at the Gorge are made up a a very hard
sandstone, and range from 30 to 120 feet in height. The rock is very featured,
and an abundance of crack and face routes are available. More and more people
are escaping the pressures of urban life with active weekend activities like
rock climbing. Youths gravitate towards rock climbing as an alternative to
traditional team sports. Still others pursue rock climbing as a full-time
passion, building their lives around the sport. Our weekend rock
climbing/hiking trip is designed to meet the needs of an ever expanding
community of people who want to experience a wide assortment of activities and
objectives.
WHEN - Leave Friday October 21, 2011 at 3 PM for 4.5-hour trip to New River Gorge. Spend Saturday the 21st, and half of Sunday the 22nd at the Gorge. We'll leave for Akron sometime between 3 PM and 5 PM on Sunday.
COST - $165.00/person. This includes all the necessary climbing gear, a breakfast at the famous Cathedral Cafe, a dinner at another of the "New's" popular eateries: Pies & Pints. Also included is transportation, camping fees, snacks, lunches, and beer and wine in the evening.
Trip Itinerary - We will be tent camping, and have a group campsite at a campground with full shower and restroom facilities available for your convience. Friday eve enjoy a backwoods campfire, complete with a campfire cooked dinner and refreshments. Saturday morning you will start the day with a trip to the Cathedral Cafe for its famous breakfast offerings. Saturday late morning and early afternoon you'll spend the day climbing at the awe-inspiring Endless Wall, a 10 mile long sandstone escarpment at the top of the gorge. Saturday eve we're off to Pies & Pints - a delicious gourmet pizza and microbrew establishment. Then it's back to the campground for a late evening campfire. Sunday we'll either do a long half day hike, or climb at another of the New's famous climbing venues. We'll leave for Akron in early to late Sunday afternoon based on everyone's preference.
Group Size - limited to 8 participants.