Down in Ohio, Swag Like Ohio

My biggest inspiration for this bike blog has always been Eric Zheng’s cycling blog, a ride report blog by a recent CMU graduate showcasing dozens of interesting rides, particularly in the Pittsburgh area. A lot of my rides have been inspired by rides I first saw on his blog, but the one that always stood out to me was the Three-State Century- a 100 mile ride to West Virginia and Ohio.

Despite its proximity to Pennsylvania’s western border, I never think of Pittsburgh as close to Ohio. Maybe it’s the fact I grew up one town over from a state border myself, but I always think of West Virginia (let alone Ohio, a state I had never even stepped foot in) as firmly outside Pittsburgh’s neighborhood. The idea, therefore, of biking 100 miles to neighboring states and back in a single day seemed incredibly cool. I had done one century before, but something about crossing two state borders made this feel more impressive to my brain.

There was also a practical¹ reason to check this route out in particular. A majority of the ride follows the Panhandle Trail, a 29 mile rail trail stretching from the Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, PA to across the West Virginian border that I had wanted to explore for a while.² So, with the excess of free time I was afforded as a college student on summer break, I set out for my own Tri-State Century.

Pennsylvania → West Virginia

I spent the first 15 miles of my trip getting to the Panhandle Trail. From CMU, I got onto the South Side Trail and after a brief section of highway found myself climbing Greentree Road around 450 feet to leave the valley Pittsburgh creates. The climb was definitely tough but it was early enough in the ride that I felt fine (and I don’t believe there’s an easy route to the trail that avoids climbs, anyways). After the climb and a subsequent downhill I bombed down at 35 miles per hour, I rode through lovely downtown Carnegie to get to the trailhead.

It feels weird seeing plaid in places other than CMU, though I guess it makes sense here

The trail itself starts off quite similar to the other rail trails in the Pittsburgh area: a wide gravel track surrounded by greenery and the occasional road over or under the trail. Once I crossed into Washington County, though, the trail became paved which made riding a lot quicker, which was nice. There was even one beautiful section where the trail meandered through an open field instead of a tree-lined tunnel, which was honestly one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen on a bike. The day I decided to ride also happened to be sunny and slightly cooler than usual, which added to the experience even further.

The open field. If there's a heaven, I hope it looks like this

Overall, my ride through the Panhandle Trail was fairly uneventful as I passed by various trail towns in the furthest extremities of Western Pennsylvania on what ended up being a suprisingly flat ride given the hills around the trail. After about twenty miles on the trail, I reached a little marker signifying where the trail crosses the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border. I made sure to play John Denver’s timeless classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in my earphones as crossed into my second state.

The Pennsylvania-West Virginia Border

West Virginia → Ohio

From the West Virginia border, I continued down the Panhandle Trail another four miles to its western terminus in Weirton, West Virginia. The sliver of West Virginia separating the end of the Panhandle Trail and Ohio is only a few miles across, but in those few miles sat a 400 foot hill before a similar drop to the Ohio River. My biking app believes the incline I climbed immediately after leaving the trail reached a 15% gradient at its steepest, which if true would make this the steepest climb I’ve ever done.

After the incline lay a few miles on a semi-plateau in the Panhandle, with a couple farms on some rolling hills. While I unfortunately didn’t get any great pictures of it, I got to see some farm animals on the few ranch-like estates that could fit in the space on top of the hill. My personal favorite was a herd of cows laying in the shade, away from a sun that had considerably warmed up since I had started off (if I didn’t still have so far to go I may have joined them!)

From there, I was able to descend towards the Ohio River, and after a tiny stretch of highway I crossed over into the third state of my trip: Ohio!³ I unfortunately don’t know of any truly great songs about Ohio; I had to settle for Lil B’s “Swag Like Ohio” as I made my way across.

Various Ohio-related things I found to commemorate my visit

Specifically, I ended up in Steubenville, a small city on the west bank of the Ohio river. While there, I had planned to eat a bagel sandwich I thought I had packed for myself for lunch, but it turned out I had forgotten it at home! I ended up finding a nearby gas station to get gatorade and various snacks at, which helped tie me over for the rest of the ride along with energy bars I did remember. The lady working at the gas station was also nice enough to let me use my phone charger there, which was convinient since my ride tracking app had guzzled my phone’s battery faster than usual.

Ohio → Pennsylvania

As cool as it was to bike to Ohio, the one unfortunate thing about this route is that you have to climb over the hills of the West Virginian Panhandle twice in a 15 mile span, once for each direction. I had decided to take a slightly more direct route back that would hopefully have a slightly gentler incline, and while the way up from Ohio was easier I hadn’t taken into account my steep downhill was on thick gravel! Rather than being able to speed down the hill as I had the way in, I ended up having to squeeze my breaks for dear life so my back tire wouldn’t slide out from under me. Needless to say, my route back through West Virginia was less than ideal.

I should've known I was in for a tough climb through the Panhandle going through a place named "Highland Hills"

After what should have been 15 minutes but ended up closer to 45 due to said gravel, I reconnected with the Panhandle Trail for my return voyage. The biggest downside about out-and-back rides is that you’ve seen pretty much everything by the time you’re halfway in; I was only 60 miles into my century ride, and was hurting considerably more than when I started on the Panhandle Trail on the way out.

I sped through the trail on the way back, trying to take as few stops as I could so I could get home quicker. The way back on the trail itself was pretty uneventful, though noticably slower due to my tired legs and a slight lack of food.

Once off the trail, I took the same 15 mile route home that I took to get to the trail in the first place through downtown Carnegie. The climb back to the Pittsburgh area is objectively easier than on the way out, though my fatigue by this point made it feel just as difficult. Once I reached the familiar Three Rivers once more, I spent a few miles along the South Side Trail before making my way back up to CMU.

Some closing thoughts: I had hyped this trip in my mind for some time, and I’m really happy it lived up to my expectations. I’m glad to have another century under my belt (which, by sheer coincidence, happened to be the same length as my first century to the mile!), and in riding it I got to cross another Pittsburgh trail off of my bucket list!⁴