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You can paddle a river.
You can pedal a river, too.
We did both on what one of our trio called Testosterone Weekend.
We loaded up the Honda Element with bikes, kayaks and bags of gear and headed east to the Allegheny National Forest Region in northwest Pennsylvania.
Saturday was the float day as we completed 19 miles on the nationally designated wild and scenic Clarion River. We finished at Hallton, one of the many ghost lumber towns in the area. One of the canoe liveries in Ridgway, (no “e”) picked us up. The two drivers — dread-locked and bandannaed “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” collected our stuff for the ride back for $20, which we thought was per person but it was the grand total for us. You’re not going to get a cab in Chicago at that price, or the roller coaster ride on a single lane through dense woods with a black bear dashing out in front of the van and a bald eagle perched riverside, Mega Rock, WMKX 105.5 FM, Brookville, blasted from the radio, no extra charge.
Sunday was the time to bike the Toby Creek Rails to Trails from Brockway to Ridgway and back. At the ghost lumber town of Blue Rock we crossed the swinging bridge, a real Indiana Jones rickety white knuckler. We ate lunch on the deck at the Lumberjack in Ridgway and then took a brief tour of the town. During the boom years of the late 1800s and early 1900s lumber barons built mansions on what was known as Millionaire’s Row. Many of these manor houses remain in pristine condition. All around the town are examples of chainsaw art. In January Ridgway hosts the Chain Saw Carvers Rendezvous, the largest event of its kind.
On our return trip to Brockway, between the path and the river, 10 feet up a tree we saw it. Sleeping like a house cat cradled in the crotch of an oak branch was a black bear. We snapped a few photos and rode on as the skies darkened. Between the storm clouds, the canopy of trees and wearing sunglasses to combat the trail dust, I didn’t think that it could ever be darker while cycling. The next day would prove me wrong.
Monday found us in the hamlet of Emlenton, on the banks of the Allegheny River. Our plan was to ride north and figure out a place to turn around to get back in time for work the next day. This Rails to Trails provided commanding vistas of the wide and meandering river.
It also provided two new cycling experiences for us, the Rockland and Kennerdell Tunnels, 2,868 feet and 3,350 feet respectively. I have been in my share of caves, but there was always some park ranger and plenty of light. Two LED headlamps provided feeble illumination even with reflectors marking the center and edges of the path. With the unseasonable 92 degrees heat and humidity colliding with the cool tunnel air, it was not only pitch black, it was a foggy pitch black, if there is such a meteorological condition. I know how Ichabod Crane felt riding his trusty steed Gunpowder. If there is a sequel for the “Ghost and Mister Chicken,” I’ll make the casting call.
The Allegheny River Trail terminates at Titusville, near the site of the first oil well drilled by Edwin Drake. We weren’t biking that far. We made our halfway point near Indian God Rock, a 22-foot sloping chunk of sandstone, once speckled with petroglyphs. It used for centuries by explorers like us, as a landmark.
We explored 97 miles of river, 19 floating and 78 spinning.
You can paddle a river.
You can pedal a river, too.
PAUL BECKWITH is an Angola Middle School teacher, a runner, a writer and an adventurer.
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