How's the riding (road) in PA?

[bumknees]

I'll be moving to the Philly suburbs (Montgomery county, PA) soon and was wondering what the riding is like out there. Are there any good routes on par with, for example, the NYC to Bear Mountain (via 9W) ride that many of the northern NJ/NYC members here are familiar with? Thanks!

[peanutgallery]

Lots of lane and a half farm roads. East and west will run up and down the valley and north/south will find you a climb or 2. Little bit more traffic than my area as there are more folks on the road. Main roads won't have a lot of shoulder typically

Mtb and gravel, there's a ton available

[OtayBW]

Stay away from southcentral PA unless you want to gravel grind your life away on paved roads...

[Matt-H]

Where in Montgomery County? No experience around the Main Line at all and although I'm not familiar with the Collegeville/Harleysville area, I've heard plenty of great roads to be ridden.

Using Perkiomenville and the Green Lane Reservoir as an Upper Montgomery County reference point, west into Berks County to Reading and North to Hawk Mtn and beyond, there are countless farm roads that include flats, rollers, steep punchy climbs and a couple of sustained (for around here) climbs. Lots of rides that leave from the T-town Velo cover this area. Lehigh Wheelmen has cue sheets available, but it appears you must now be a member to access them. I've ridden here a lot- beautiful. Weekends can get a bit busy with traffic, tho.

[IMG]image by mattsthreesons, on Flickr[/IMG]

East of Perkiomenville into Northern Bucks County to the Delaware River (my primary riding area), endless routes on gorgeous roads. Lots of climbing and fast descents. 100 feet/ mile is the norm here.

I really enjoy the road riding here.

[bumknees]

Thanks for the suggestions thus far. We'll likely be near Blue Bell, Ambler, North Wales, or Lansdale (or anywhere in between).

[Ray]

Those are pretty crowded areas, so I wouldn't expect the best riding right from home. But you won't have to drive too far north and/or west to get to some really sublime riding. I live in Chester County (adjacent to the SW from Montgomery County) and I've done the century ride out of Philly several times that runs through big portions of western Montgomery and northern Chester Counties and it's beautiful. Most of the northwestern part of the Montgomery County is still full of little farm lanes and winding country roads with not much traffic at all. It's a great place to ride...

-Ray

[572cv]

The guys who live there will have the best sense of things, but going down from VT to visit my brother, I can do some short loops from his house that are not bad. Here are some roads I remember for that purpose. And as a caveat, I try to ride when the traffic is somewhat at an ebb.
-Sheaff Lane
- Morris Road ( but it gets lots of traffic at times)
- Lafayette Ave/Joshua Road
- Militia Hill Road (same area)
- Stenton Ave is not bad either. Heading into the city, you can take it to West Wissahickon to Fairmount Park and do Forbidden Drive, if you have at least fat tires (Forbidden Drive is along the Wissahickon and is not paved. Goes all the way to the Schuylkill. You have to do that from time to time).
- Stenton heading north to Narcissus/Lewis Lane,or to Blue Bell/Penllyn Pike is fine.
-Penllyn Pike to Springhouse, back through Ambler, I've done.
-School Road/Plymouth Road out to Gwynedd Valley is ok too. Lots of Welsh names in the area , huh!

I've never been able to take advantage of the riding further out, just the kind of thing where I can sneak an hour or two in here and there while on a trip. I find my really bright NiteRider flashy taillight is a comfort, though. When the traffic is lower, its a pretty area to ride.

[blantonator]

My family lives in West Chester and there is great riding west and south. Better than anything we have within riding distance here in NoVA

[ripvanrando]

I used to live off the Main Line and currently do a good amount of riding in Bucks. The good riding starts just north of your intended area. Here are two clubs that will have good cycling routes in your area or not too far to the north.

http://www.suburbancyclists.org/

https://www.cbbikeclub.org/

[AJosiahK]

I lived down there for a good 10+ years after undergrad. Both living out on the mainline and commuting from w phila out.

Commuting via bike out that way wasn't fun or safe. a lot of mainline drivers sucked in my experience. However, once your away from that tis quality. The Phila area and suburbs are pretty great for riding, just like any other suburban and metropolitan areas, they have places to avoid.

I did more trail riding, belmont plateau, wissahickon etc and wasnt as into road riding as I am now.

Lots of good suggestions above

[Formulasaab]

It's really good, actually. I ride from northern Delaware up into Pennsylvania. The roads on the northern end of my rides will be some of the same ones you might find yourself on. It's "horse country" there, so beautiful, varied, and with light traffic.

Some pics from a recent ride:











See you out there!


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[Vinci]

I've done some riding a little East of Montgomery County near Elverson. There is a LOT of beautiful quiet roads out there. A lot of Amish communities, from what I can tell, and lots of horses/buggies on the road. I really enjoyed riding out there and will be doing it again here in a few weeks.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by bumknees

Thanks for the suggestions thus far. We'll likely be near Blue Bell, Ambler, North Wales, or Lansdale (or anywhere in between).

Did they really change the name to Blue BELL?
Folks used to love saying that to get from Lancaster to Paradise a good route was through Intercourse but a wrong turn and you might end up in Blue BALL. I'm not making this up.

[Formulasaab]

No. They haven't changed it. Thankfully.


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[PaMtbRider]

The further west from Philly you get, the better the riding. South central Pa has some of the best riding in the country. We are blessed with an extensive road network. The roads aren't always in the best condition, but the lack of traffic makes up for it. We have great diversity in our terrain, only lacking in long, sustained, mountain climbs.