I can vouch for their resale value. I bought one for long distance riding and touring and it didn't agree with my backside profile at all. I was able to recoup the money in the classified forum on this site within a day of posting it.

I this weekend I rode a loop inspired by the route proposed by jhl99 here: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/routes/usa-wv-a-mountain-loop/

Photo dump from trip posted here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskfYRSpd

I scaled to route down to 250 miles.

Day 1 started at Bickler Knob parking area near Elkins WV
Went south via West Fork Trail from Glady to Durbin
Left Durbin on Backmountain Road taking forest roads to Snowshoe Resort
Descended to town of Cass stopping overnight at Camping area on Greenbrier Trail

Day 2, rode north up through Green Bank but could not connect to Route 250
After the failed connection, I proceeded north over Spruce Knob descending Huckleberry Trail
Overnighted at Allegheny Mountain trailhead

Day 3 Rode through Seneca Rocks and through Dolly Sods, Cannan Valley and Davis
Took Blackriver Canyon Trail to complete route at Bickler Knob

Thanks to Jhl99 for providing excellent route beta.

Its an excellent route with plenty of services along the way and lots of secluded rail trail, forest road and dirt double track.
I can't wait to get back down and ride the southern part of the route and do further exploration of areas along the route.

I'm happy to provide additional beta and info to anyone interested in the route.

I'm planning a family summer vacation and exploring the idea of including some cycling in the mix.

We're going to spend a few days in the Black Hills and I was kicking around a day on the George S. Mickelson Trail.

Black Hills Highline offers family rentals. I'm thinking get dropped off 20-30 miles from the shop and ride back. Does anyone have a recommendation for the better direction to go or a favorite section of trail or trailhead to start at. Perhaps an entirely different part of the trail to ride.

Any insight from this group would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

I know people will groan when they see this post but its not too early to be thinking about next years adventures, especially considering how fast these events fill once they open in September.

I looking for anyone who has been on both courses (either in the event or not) and could offer some description of the major differences if any. Both are on multiuse trails. Both seem like they are similar to rail-trail.

All opinions valued. Thanks in advance.

How do you like the terrapin? It looks tempting, but right now I have a viscacha.

I window shopped a lot before pulling the trigger on the terrapin. I liked the idea of being about to pull the stuffsack/drybag completely off the bike. I like stuff sacks as multi purpose items and I usually use my clothes bag as a pillow (if its dry). I also liked the idea of being able to take all my gear into a shelter without have to unload it all from a pack like the visacha or pika.

So far my opinion is the terrapin is an excellent product. I'm totally loving it.

The part you cut is Fisherman's Path. When you cross the bridge to the officially closed tunnel (you can still access it, but for the event it is "closed") there is a cabin to your left. Behind that cabin is Fisherman's Path. It's the gnarliest most god awful trail of the whole race, I can ride it when I'm not 95 miles into the W101, but it's definitely HAB for me during the race.

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. I don't recall seeing a sign for the trail and I certainly wasn't looking for it. I've read about Fishermans Path on some ride reports. About how long is the trail? It looks like it connects to rail-trail.

Another course question: near the top of Stilhouse Road, the trail crosses a creek and the bridge is out. I crossed the stream to the right of the bridge. I assume this is what the course does on race day.

Kewl write up. SS is a sickness that is hard to quit.

I can totally see the addiction. I don't own a geared mountain bike so I don't know any better but I am loving the SS. With a top pedaling speed of about 11mph, its hard to ride fast enough to miss any scenery  

The confusion at Poe Paddy.... is the tunnel closed or open?  The tunnel by the bridge over Penn's Creek was closed a while back because of debris falling from the ceiling.

The tunnel was closed. The 2014 course map from the website did not appear to direct through the tunnel. http://www.mtntouring.com/mountain/maps/wilderness-101/W101_2013_course_final.pdf

Based on this map the tunnel is out http://www.mtntouring.com/mountain/maps/wilderness-101/W101_course_2013_poe-paddy_alt.pdf But I couldn't find a trail that crossed the river.

Earlier versions of the map did appear to use the tunnel. The map appeared to direct to the river and then cross or run parallel to the river. Not exactly sure what to do so I backtracked to Poe Paddy SP and took the jeep road past the latrines that led to Penns View. Probably cut a few flat miles off the course but I made up for it later with misdirection's and bonus miles due to navigation errors.

Just got back from a recon ride on the Wilderness 101 route in Central Pa.

Picture Dump: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74146447@N05/sets/72157644161847914/

Bike: Gravity G29 SS 33-22
Front Sausage Pack: REI SubKilo 20deg bag, hammock -  3lbs total
Relevate Designs Terrapin Holster with REI stuff sack: tarp, rain gear, long pants, fleece jacket, balaclava, skull cap, sleeping socks - 4.5lbs total
REI Flash 22 Pack: Camelback bladder, Therarest CCF pad, Snowpeak stove and generic mug, PT EOS headlamp, hygiene kit-4lbs base + consumables

12lbs base weight
2lbs food + 70oz water

Short Recap:

Started the route from the Bald Eagle trail head north of the Boy Scout camp on Sand Mountain Road. Got to the trailhead around 7pm on Thursday. Rode about 10 miles to Poe Paddy SP and made camp around 9:30pm. Navigation in the dark was too difficult. Got on the trail around 7am. Rode to the tunnel but had trouble finding the route to Coburn from Poe Paddy so I took the forest road up to Penns View and crossed over the ridge picking up the course just outside Coburn. Navigating the western half of the loop was pretty easy. Found a beautiful spring on Detweiler Run trail.

Rothrock SF near Longberger had some reroutes which had me studying the map. Overall the forest roads and trails are well marked. Even with no course knowledge I didn't have too difficult a time navigating. Rode through Alan Seeger NA and made a big mistake not filling up on water at the creek crossing. Ran out of water in that section and didn't find more till Coopers Run. After eating dinner and regrouping, I rode onto Beautiful Trail as the sun was starting to set. Decided that I would not ride down No Name Trail on a loaded bike and took an alternate route to Mt Pleasant at around 9pm. Made the long climb (HAB) up Stillhouse Hollow in the dark and coasted into the trailhead parking at around 11pm. 90 miles total for day two.

Overall great trip. First outing on a single speed and longest ride with this bike. Riding a SS is a blast and this trip on a SS was great. The bike itself performed flawlessly. For a $350 machine, I'm amazed at how well it performs. I took it easy on the downhills but it wan't on account of the bike but the extra weight that threw my center of gravity off some. 22t rear was the right call. Had to walk a few of the tough sections but overall was plenty of gear inches.

Thanks for the help. I just got home from the ride. Had no problem finding water along the course at springs and creeks (treated of course). I didn't need to make any detours off course. The SPs on the course had fountains but they weren't turned on yet. No biggie though.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks a ton. These look great. I appreciate your insight.

I'm taking purification tablets for treating found water. Can anyone comment on the availability of water not requiring treatment (wells or treated sources) along the course?

I'm planning a two day ride of the Wilderness 101 route near State College PA. I'd like to park my car where the course crosses route 322. Parking near the center of the loop gives a bail out option if time constrains require an exodus. I'd like to ride the loop in the counter-clockwise direction, the same as the race.

Can anyone advise on a trailhead parking area on or near Crowfield Road near Penn Spring Reservoir?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I agree that camping is sparse. There are some public camping options on the GAP on the western side of Ohiopyle: Dravo cemetery, roundbottom, Connellsville shelters are all free and on the trail.
I did a stealth camp and got a 6 hour nap west of Ohiopyle within the state park without an issue. It was the middle of the night on a weekday.
I agree, if I had the time, I'd love to do a winter ride on the route.

I won't get back out there until November but I will see if I can drive to PGH and ride back - hopefully before they close the tunnel.

I took the train from PGH to DC and road home. $60 one-way including $10 for the bike. Bike box is free if they have any left by other riders (they said they usually do) otherwise the box is another $15. Still cheaper than driving one way and riding back. I highly recommend it.

A couple recently broke/set the record for the Pittsburgh to DC direction. Just under 24 hours. http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/09/06/pittsburgh-to-dc-on-a-bicycle-built-for-two/

I did the route from DC to Pittsburgh in just under 48 hours a couple of weeks ago. Was not a hard or taxing effort in the least. Just had to stay in the saddle and out of the towns! http://talesofthetrailturkey.blogspot.com/2013/10/c-trail-to-gap-trail-bike-ride.html Of course the C&O was dry and I can imagine its a whole lot tougher and slower in wet conditions.

1. REI Sub-Kilo for cold weather. With the right clothing, I've taken it to its rated limit of 20 degrees...in quilt mode (fully open)...in a hammock. $160
2. MYOG 2.5 Apex quilt with 1.1 sil shell and liner. 15 oz. $30 for materials. Taken it down into the low 40s

Have a 16oz down quilt on my MYOG winter agenda. Should fit the gap between my Sub-Kilo and my summer quilt.

OP: What's not satisfactory with your Lafuma?

Full trip report posted here:

http://talesofthetrailturkey.blogspot.com/2013/10/c-trail-to-gap-trail-bike-ride.html

Thanks. 5 days seems to be "normal" and there were lots of folks that I talked to on that itinerary. Nice balance of miles and down time.
I can imagine the summer can be buggy. I was covered in gnats that were swarming beside the bogs (old canals) on the C&O.
The foliage was just starting to turn and the maples were brilliant yellow.

Had an adventure on the C&O/GAP this past week. Took the train from Pittsburgh to Washington on Wednesday. After a late start due to the train being a few hours late to DC, got off heading north around 5pm.

Closures due to the government shutdown didn't effect getting on the trail, though there were rumors of folks being forced off the trail near G-town. Lots of trail users out practicing some civil disobedience. The NPS did remove all of the handles from the pumps along the C&O and put steel strapping around the porta-johns.

Trail was dry and in good condition. Got some nice night riding in and got to Killiansburg Cave camping area to snag some sleep. Got breakfast in Williamsport and lunch in Hancock. Saw lots of like-minded folks out there taking advantage of some fine leaf-peeping conditions.

After 1st dinner in Cumberland, I hit the 20 mile uphill ride to the Eastern Continental Divide. 2nd dinner was in Meyersville which fueled some night riding to Ohiopyle State park for a nap. Finished up the ride to Pittsburgh finishing in a few ticks under 47 hours.

This was my first bike-packing trip. Total distance of 340 miles. Very surprised on how well my rear end held up.

I used DIY packs, which held up really well. I've uploaded pictures herehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/74146447@N05/sets/72157636213785816/

Locals at the bike shop in Hanock said I need to come back in April: the C&O really shines when its wet out ...