Quebec Run

Yesterday I went with Adam and his friend Dave on a trip to Quebec Run Wild Area for some mountain biking. Quebec Run is about 1.5 hours away in Forbes State Forest near the West Virginny border (dahn err 'round Uniontahn n'at). We were driving down I-79 near Waynesburg when all of a sudden Adam's car started to sputter and choke and run out of gas. We were cresting a hill, so we were lucky that we made it over the hill and were able to coast on the shoulder for about 3 or 4 miles down the other side. We got within a quarter mile of an exit ramp before coming to a stop due to a hill. There was a bridge between us and the ramp, and there was no shoulder on the bridge, so we were forced to get out and find another way to the gas station. Luckily we had our bikes so Dave and Adam rode to the gas station, bought a 2-gallon jug for $12, filled it up, and soon enough we were on our way.

We filled the tank up the rest of the way and stopped at Sheetz for some pre-ride food. The $1.99 6" turkey sub is a fine deal, and I finished it off with a bag of yummy honey BBQ chips and a new drink I found: Canada Dry sparkling green tea ginger ale. It boasts 500mg of antioxidants, but also has 60g of sugar. Even though my dentist would cringe, I figured it was worth a shot just this once. It wasn't really that good though, and I think the Canada Dry ginger ale Halls cough drops I had in Utah were a much better Canada Dry spin off.

The riding was spectacular - some of the best (if not the best) in the state of PA. There was a good mix of fast and flowy rolling bench cut, short steep climbs, long adrenaline-filled descents, and tricky rock gardens. It is a very remote but beautiful area, and would be great for backpacking with its many creekside campsites. The trail was kind of wet due to the scattered thunderstorms, but we stayed fairly dry except for getting muddy. The ride we did was a 13-mile loop and probably took us about 3.5 hours (lots of stopping). Due to the gas adventure, that didn't put us on the road until 7:30pm, a bit later than we expected. We stopped at a place Dave knew of in New Stanton called Toad's Logger House. When he first told us the name, Adam and I both thought "Lager" house, but they still had plenty of Yuengling Lager on tap. It was an interesting place, definitely typical of a backwoods bar you'd find in western PA, but the food was good. I got a "Toad burger", with cheese and a nice crispy sourdough bun.

We made it back around 10 or 11 I think, and we were all too tired and sore to do much of anything else. Another epic adventure had ended, but I can't wait for our trip to Asheville, NC next weekend...