I'm writing to you from the great state of Pennsylvania, which I find myself visiting very briefly this weekend to enjoy the company of family and friends, and most importantly, to celebrate my nephew's birthday! Such experiences require a road trip these days, but I wouldn't possibly let a day of driving inhibit me during 30 Days of Biking...
If you know me well, you know by now that I will almost always carry a bike in tow on a road trip just in case. Or to keep a challenge going. Whatever. I looked into a few ideas for where I could pause for a ride along the way, and ultimately I decided to revisit a place that I didn't get to fully enjoy 3.5 years ago: the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike (seen above).
I previously visited on a gray and rainy day back in September 2017. If you're not feeling inclined to read the links above, basically this is a 13-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed back in the 1960's due to the existence of several tunnels that contracted the highway to 2 lanes from its usual 4. This had been causing traffic congestion and other safety hazards before the bypass was constructed. Approximately 9 miles of the old stretch is still able to be accessed by non-motorized transportation (a.k.a. feet or bicycle, but I am sure there have been some rebellious folks on ATV's on occasion).
I parked in the same area I did last time, but I rode the hill up to the east instead of the west, because that was the side I didn't get to see last time. Other than length, there's really not much of a difference between the two tunnels. The first one I saw yesterday was formerly the Sideling Hill Tunnel:
I did go inside until I ran out of viable light. One thing you don't realize is just how dark it gets in the center of those tunnels, and even my relatively powerful bike light wasn't enough to illuminate the scene safely. I really thought it would. I guess next time I'll bring a spotlight, if there is a next time.
Anywho, as you can see, the tunnels are pretty structurally sound and in good shape other than the graffiti:
...and the derelict state of the control room:
Yeesh. I could spend a whole day picking up some of the litter around here. That's the sad part of visiting abandoned places like these. The history is so neat and it's a shame people will just leave trash every time they visit. Ignoring that, it's still a sight to see:
I turned around and headed back down and up the hills, eventually reaching the
Rays Hill Tunnel to the west:
With a selfie thrown in for good measure, because why not? As you can probably see, the weather was overall very pleasant. Certainly much better than the last time I was here. One thing I thought was pretty weird was the swirling wind patterns and the strong gusts that come through the tunnel. I never really thought about that being a thing, but it makes sense. Made for a little bit more of a workout than I was anticipating, but I didn't mind it as much being surrounded by the clean, mountain air.
As for the terrain, you can see what some of the former roadbed looks like in one of the pictures above. That's about typical for most of the area, but there are definitely some areas that are much more decayed. I think a mountain bike would have been a better choice of vehicle.
After visiting here twice, I've still only completed 2/3 of the complete Abandoned Turnpike. Guess I'll have to come back again some day. ;) If you are at all curious about history like this, I highly recommend reading some of the links I shared above. I think this is a pretty neat story and place to visit.
It's the final weekend of 30DoB, and I've got a couple different ideas planned to finish it off strong. I'm not planning to go to
Centralia, but that would be fitting after this, no? Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone.
30 Days of Biking 2021 Mileage Total:
231.7
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