Day 2: I find my route parallels a marked "Erie to Pittsburgh" trail

September 16, 2023

The hotel actually had a decent spread for breakfast (and ironically, this was the most expensive hotel of the trip). I grabbed some coffee, ham, eggs, and a bit of bread to round-out my nutritional needs for the day. After that, I ventured out into the cool Dunkirk morning, and made my way through the town, riding under the very active train line that cuts the town in two.

The City of Dunkirk reminded me where I was with their banner as I passed under the rail line.

For the next 11 miles I climbed inland from the lake towards my first trail of the day. The route I planned linked together indicated trails (those green sold/dashed lines in Google Maps cycling layer), this first one being the Chautauqua Trail. This was unimproved for the first few miles, then vacillated between unimproved and hard-packed dirt/crushed limestone.

I catch my projected self riding on someone's lawn in the early morning hours.

While the trail is not as smooth-rolling as other trails, it was something new to explore and gave a sense on where trails start and then end up. I believe the enthusiasts who came together to form the Erie to Pittsburgh trail system (linked non-contiguous trails) was only formed in 2015. More people raising awareness on this trail and riding it, posting experiences on journals and YouTube will only get more people to that area to ride it.

Confirming yesterday's "Festival of Grapes" is a big deal in this area, I passed by many vineyards.

Around 23 miles I found myself riding into the village of Mayville, which borders the very top NW corner of Chautauqua Lake. While the trail only borders the lake for a scant mile or so, it's a great view and gets me out of the woods and into other scenery. On this September Saturday morning, there were a few people about working on boats, or preparing to go out fishing, but the most activity was at the tail end of this park, where Pickle-ballers were making a ton of "thwack-thwack-thwack" racket as they played.

Chautauqua Lake on a Saturday morning in fall. Very peaceful part of the day's journey.

After departing the lake and Mayville, my route took me along a bit of a pathway, and then onto quiet country roads. If there was any worry about dogs, today would have been the day. It was going to be rural, not on heavily-traveled cycling roads, and my suspicion would be dogs would be left untethered. While the more vocal and threatening canines were on leads, there were some who just stood at their porches, barking a warning but not interested in chasing me or doing anything further than making me jump in the saddle and send shivers down my arms.

Much of the view from Mayville to Clymer.

46 miles in, a little before 1:00pm, I arrived at the Netter's General Store. I regret not getting video or pictures from inside. This was a true general store in every sense - food, clothing, tools, an entire wing devoted to boots, uneven (and creaky) floors, deli counter to cut meats, ice cream. It was old-school to be sure. I grabbed a pre-made sandwich and some takeaway food for dinner and ate basically on the street. There was a rusted-out pickup truck which pulled up next to my spot, idling for a few minutes as its driver went inside, and pumping gasoline fumes into the seating area as I consumed my sandwich.

There was no "please wait for a hostess to seat you" sign here.

8 miles after lunch, I'm rolling through Corry PA. 54 miles into the day and about 2000 feet climbed so far, so not really inclined to stop anywhere. I purchased my dinner food at the general store, so I was good to go to the campsite.

Corry PA. One of dozens of towns that are the center of commerce "downtown" for the outlying agricultural settlements.

I roll into Spartanburg PA, a hamlet really, with a hardware store, Family Dollar, and a bar. A quick stop into the dollar store confirms they don't sell Clif Bars. It's a little early to make my way to the campsite, so I hang out at the town park for an hour at a picnic table and gazebo. I watch a man carry a 12-pack of Bud Light to the adjacent Pavillon and crack open the first of presumably many. Another gentleman speeds by on the trail riding a throttle-powered eBike, I would guess at roughly +20mph, with a 12-pack of some unremarkable beer under his left arm. A family starts their afternoon walk from the parking area, past where I'm sitting, setting off north along the rail trail pushing a stroller. Life goes quietly by.

Around 4:30 I make my way to the spot I selected for my stealth/wild/unimproved campsite on the side of the North Branch Trail. It looks wooded and secluded enough from the trail that unless someone is specifically looking for it, they wouldn't see it. Once I duck into the woods, I'm about 50' off the trail; I search for signs of weekend partying - empties, wrappers, attempts to make campfires - and find nothing. So this looks as good a spot as any. I set up camp, climb in, and have "dinner". A few riders on the trail pass by, but by 5:30 there is no more trail traffic, and I lay in the tent passing time until sunset comes at which point I fall asleep listening to the stream, owls, and an unidentified chatter which I believe is a pair of squirrels.

Call it stealth, call it wild, call it unimproved camping; I call it the perfect free spot to camp this evening.

I had to lay low at one point recording video as trail riders rolled by.

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Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 119 miles (192 km)

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