unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley

Easy on the Eyes. Hard on the Legs.

unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley, a premier raw road adventure through the forests & farms of Central Pennsylvania, returns on Sunday, October 13th, 2019.

The inaugural event was a tremendous success, with 600 riders falling in love with the route (some loved the climbing, even more loved all the descending), and the town of Lewisburg. This year’s event will have entries for up to 800 riders on the 3 unPAved courses, each of which showcases some of the best gravel riding Pennsylvania has to offer. All routes leave from the Miller Center for Recreation & Fitness and head west from Lewisburg on the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail and into the Bald Eagle State Forest, which is filled with long climbs, lovely descents, mostly-smooth-but-sometimes-chunky gravel & dirt roads, aid stations, pretty trees, running streams, tunnels, and hardly a bar of cell-service.

While the Plenty and Proper courses are big rides, the Full 120-mile unPAved is a rugged challenge of stamina and skills. “The Difference” section packs four mountain passes, one gnarly downhill trail, and three seemingly endless descents into a 30-mile loop from the GU Energy Labs Oasis and back again.

About the Weekend

October 12-14 is an official National Holiday, and unPAved is going to take full advantage of it.

Friday: “Get un(G)ravelled” Downtown Pub Crawl, with stops in a number of the pubs & fun college bars in Lewisburg.
Saturday: Gather round at the Lewisburg Fall Festival which offers beer, food vendors, music, a bike rodeo, the “Wooly Worm Winter Prognostication,” and fun family activities at the Lewisburg Children’s Museum. Plus, there will be plenty of bike vendors and social rides starting & finishing at Hufnagle Park. That night, riders will walk the red carpet to the rider meeting in the historic Campus Theatre.
Sunday: unPAved, with the Full route starting right at dawn (roughly 7am) and the other fields riding off on the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail at 8, 9, and 10am. While riders are on course, the Miller Center and Children’s Museum offers “Play Care” for children. As riders finish, they will hop off their bikes and hop into the DONEpaved Party at the finish line, with beers from Rusty Rail Brewing, food & whoopie pies from the Cornerstone Cafe, and podium awards and plenty of sponsor prizes for all the riders.

Excitement Abounds

Alison Tetrick (Specialized) is already thinking about defending her Whoopie Pie championship. “The beauty of gravel riding is that you can explore roads that you didn’t know existed, see views that you can’t forget, and meet a community that is just like you. unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley introduced me to a beautiful part of the country that is seared in my mind. I had a blast riding my bike through the forest and found such satisfaction in not only the scenery, but also in my accomplishment to challenge myself on a course that offered so much option and beauty. And heck, it’s a great party at the end!”

2018 Men’s Champ Matt Curbeau (Velocio Northeast) is planning on bringing the whole family in 2019. “With an event like this that is so family friendly I have a good chance at convincing my wife that a 54-mile off-road gravel ride would be an awesome way for her to break into the bike racing/gravel riding scene. At the end of the day we both get to race our bikes, our child is loved by family all day and we do it all in the awesome community of like minded cyclists.”