Local cyclists enjoy a traditional endurance event called a century ride, a 100-mile journey designed to test riders’ mettle while providing stunning panoramic views of the Happy Valley scenery along the way.
Of course, riding a century also provides a great reason to consume enormous amounts of food and drink. Especially as you grind up challenging hills with names like Rattlesnake Pike and Pine Grove Mountain, or glide along the rolling meadows of route 192, which links Oak Hall to Centre Hall to Penns Cave and beyond.
Because a century ride entails at least six hours of pedaling, cyclists are bound to get hungry along the way. HappyValley.com is delighted to offer a few pointers to help riders find their ideal feeding and refueling station.
Happy Valley has many possible centuryloops, but today we are only going to review two, so we will need to choose carefully. Let's check in with our friends at the area's hottest new eatery, the Happy Valley Brewing Company, to gather ideas. It just so happens the Davies family, Josh and Melissa, are avid cyclists. Melissa rides on the roads, while Josh prefers taking a mountain bike up the switchbacks of Rothrock State Forest.
HVBP offers a sinful appetizer of short-rib nachos smothered in local cheeses and a generous heaping of banana peppers, which pairs well with an assortment of hand-crafted beer like Phyrst Phamily Irish Stout, Nitwit Belgian White, Tailgater Pale Ale and Stratus Loftbier.
Obviously, nachos plus beer makes for better nap planning than road cycling, so choose the order of your events carefully or select from HVBC’s lighter fare, such as the tangy Johnny Appleseed salad or The Mason Jar, a selection of house-pickled seasonal vegetable served with Gemelli crackers.
Happy Valley’s Hottest Century Loops
Loop One: Go West, Young Legs
The Western loop from State College offers a lot of challenging climbs up through coniferous forest roads. The 106-mile loop takes riders up Pine Grove Mountain and southwest before circling north through Lake Raystown in Huntingdon County and back home along Redstone Ridge. The ride entails 7,555 feet of climbing. Be sure to bring along some cash for a stop at the Edgewater Inn & Riverside Grill or Memories Sports Bar and Grill, or my favorite, Boxer’s Cafe, in downtown Huntingdon. Nothing like a turkey Reuben sandwich to refuel!
Loop Two: A Journey for the Eastern Oriented
For cyclists who want to follow the daily path of the sun, start at the Boalsburg Military Museum, head north through Houserville and then up and along Rock Road, where you may encounter fly fishermen wading in the gently gurgling waters of Spring Creek in search of trout and you are likely to see white tail deer frolicking in the woods. Once you reach route 550 past University Park Airport, grind your way up Fillmore Road, which becomes Perdue Mountain Road, a challenging category-three climb that turns east and offers a gently rolling terrain for a few miles with beautiful vistas of the Central Pennsylvania Tussey Ridge. Perdue Mountain Road then provides a winding, high-speed descent into Bellefonte.
In Bellefonte, recharge your batteries with some carb and caffeine loading at Cool Beans Café on Allegheny Street. So good it ought to be illegal, it’s located just a short walk from the historic Centre County Courthouse. If you like iced coffee, you’ll love the Cool Beans’ coffee iced cubes. Brilliant!
From Bellefonte, we continue our journey east to Mill Hall before heading south to the warmer climes (and climbs) of Aaronsburg and Millheim where cyclists can interact with Amish families clopping along the roads and working on their farms. The Amish folks move slowly in their horse-drawn buggies, but they are always quick with a wave and a smile.
By the time you reach Millheim, your journey has exceeded the 80-mile mark, so you will need more fuel. May we recommend the Elk Creek Café? Famous for its organically-sourced food, handcrafted beers, and live music, the cafe is a true Happy Valley gem.
To finish our eastern loop, head back home through Centre Hall, home of the Grange Fair, and return safely to Boalsburg, having traveled just over 100 miles and climbed 6,600 feet. Time for a nap on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum, then we might just glide over to Kelly’s for another snack.
Gear Up for a Long Ride
And now, if I can turn your attention from your taste buds back to the road, it’s important to remember a long bike ride always goes more smoothly when your equipment is tuned up. For this job, I turn to the Bicycle Shop in State College. Trends come and go in State College, but the Bicycle Shop has been selling and servicing bikes since 1946. Their dedicated staff is here to serve you in a friendly and professional manner.
With over 500 bikes in stock, the shop has the largest inventory in the region. Their staff specializes in most aspects of cycling: mountain biking, road cycling, BMX, triathlon and Cyclocross, and they service all makes and models of bicycles, usually within 24 hours.
Join State College Cycling or the Nittany Mountain Bike Association and connect with neighbors experienced at pedaling their way to the tastiest spots for food and drink, or log onto Mapmyride and discover or create your own routes. It’s a new century for exploration.
Marty Bradley lives in State College and is much better at eating than cycling.
On the Cycling Scene
You never know who you may bump into when you’re on your bike in Happy Valley. Just one of the local cycling enthusiasts includes…
Joe Lundberg, AccuWeather meteorologist, is co-founder of the State College Cycling Club. At the young age of 52, Joe finished his first full-length triathlon in 2014. Joe is a proud supporter of breast cancer awareness and is probably most famous for organizing the annual Fry Ride, in which cyclists roll west from State College and descend upon beautiful Spruce Creek to gorge themselves on delicious food produced by the Spruce Creek Tavern and Spruce Creek Bakery. For reasons that should be obvious, the Spruce Creek Tavern is renowned for its trays of fries. The Spruce Creek Bakery is cozy and sweet and provides those carbs your legs need to keep churning.
Learn more about the State College Cycling Club at groups.yahoo.com/group/statecollegecycling.
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