| We're glad you're here! Scamp 'n' Rascal Cycling Adventures |
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Welcome to 2009
As I write this it’s October of ’08. This is our favorite time of year. This is when we get to
sit back and relish our memories of another friends and fun-filled touring season while
at the same time getting all wound up with excitement anticipating the new season
to come. We have the best life. It’s overflowing with new routes, new friends, new
places to explore, new challenges and excitement and tales to tell - all because
we're lucky enough to be able to spend our days on the back of a bike.
Welcome to Scamp ‘n’ Rascal Cycling Adventures. We’re glad you’re here. We
really enjoy scouting out the very best of what we love about Pennsylvania. We’ve
taken the most beautiful sights, the most intriguing curiosities, the most comfortable
places to stay and the most delicious meals and connected them all with the best
possible roads. Now we are looking forward to sharing it all with you.
Pennsylvania has more miles of paved roads than any other state in the union and
78,000 miles of them are silky smooth, infrequently used back roads that wander
through a huge variety of unbelievably beautiful terrain. Scads of professional cyclists
from around the world come here to train, telling us countless times what a treasure
we have here in Pennsylvania. To quote the director of developmental programs at
the Valley Preferred Cycling center (aka T-Town), a former Olympian and professional
cyclist “the riding in eastern Pennsylvania is about the best in the country”. We have
to agree. People who have never ridden here can’t imagine a place where the
roads are simply begging to be ridden. Whether you’re riding the rolling farm roads of
Amish country, where you see more buggies than cars, or the hidden byways of the
eastern hills that were once Indian footpaths, PA is a cyclist’s heaven. We have the
beauty of New England, the history of early America, much of the cultural curiosity of
Europe and roads unlike any place other than here… miles and miles of fantastic
rural roads with very little traffic.
A bit about our terrain
We often get phone calls from people asking what the terrain is like in Pennsylvania.
It’s really difficult to describe that in simple terms because our routes travel through so
many different geological regions. However, all of our routes have hills. There are hills
in the bucolic farmland of Amish country and there are hills along the rivers carving
through the Poconos. However, it may surprise you to learn that our Pocono tours are
not significantly more difficult than our Amish area tours. Whether you’re riding
through bucolic farmland on an Amish country tour or through the lush canopy of
the Poconos, the hills are about the same. Anything steep isn’t long, and anything
long isn’t steep.
We also have valleys. There are few things more fun than soaring down the backside
of a ridge and seeing the panorama of a huge valley spread out before you. Valleys
offer glorious gentle riding along meandering roads, criss-crossing equally
meandering streams. And yes, there are valleys in both Amish farmland, and the
Poconos.
What people are really asking when they inquire about the terrain is how difficulty a
tour is. Much of that depends on fitness and preparation. While our routes are
certainly hillier than, oh say, the eastern shore of Maryland, they are all well within
the ability of any fit cyclist. Our favorite proof of that is a middle aged couple who
came from New Orleans to ride one of our Pocono tours. They trained on levees and
overpasses, riding into the wind as much as they could. When they got here they
had no trouble on even the toughest climbs, and had a ball on the tour.
New for 2009
Every year we get loads of great ideas and suggestions. And every we try to
incorporate them into our calendar. This year we’ve done some interesting new
things. We’ve added new short and medium length tours, some of them perfect for
couples with riders of different abilities, even accommodating non-riding partners.
We’ve gotten out of the camping tour business. (Karen is particularly happy about
that one.)
Where possible, we’ve arranged the calendar so you can combine tours (on
completely different roads) for those of you who’ve asked us for tours longer than a
week.
We’ve added two tours that are less strenuous, for intermediate riders looking for
fewer hills or fewer miles.
And finally, we’re going out on a limb and hosting our first century, The Black Bear
Century which travels through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
right at the peak of Leaf Peeping season.
So come play with us. Whether you can ride for a day, a week or longer, whether
you prefer to explore the rolling hills of Amish country or count eagles while you ride
along the Delaware River, we know you'll have a great time. You’ll ride hard and rest
easy ‘cause that's what we love to do.
Please explore our site. We hope you'll decide to join us for a great cycling vacation.
As I write this it’s October of ’08. This is our favorite time of year. This is when we get to
sit back and relish our memories of another friends and fun-filled touring season while
at the same time getting all wound up with excitement anticipating the new season
to come. We have the best life. It’s overflowing with new routes, new friends, new
places to explore, new challenges and excitement and tales to tell - all because
we're lucky enough to be able to spend our days on the back of a bike.
Welcome to Scamp ‘n’ Rascal Cycling Adventures. We’re glad you’re here. We
really enjoy scouting out the very best of what we love about Pennsylvania. We’ve
taken the most beautiful sights, the most intriguing curiosities, the most comfortable
places to stay and the most delicious meals and connected them all with the best
possible roads. Now we are looking forward to sharing it all with you.
Pennsylvania has more miles of paved roads than any other state in the union and
78,000 miles of them are silky smooth, infrequently used back roads that wander
through a huge variety of unbelievably beautiful terrain. Scads of professional cyclists
from around the world come here to train, telling us countless times what a treasure
we have here in Pennsylvania. To quote the director of developmental programs at
the Valley Preferred Cycling center (aka T-Town), a former Olympian and professional
cyclist “the riding in eastern Pennsylvania is about the best in the country”. We have
to agree. People who have never ridden here can’t imagine a place where the
roads are simply begging to be ridden. Whether you’re riding the rolling farm roads of
Amish country, where you see more buggies than cars, or the hidden byways of the
eastern hills that were once Indian footpaths, PA is a cyclist’s heaven. We have the
beauty of New England, the history of early America, much of the cultural curiosity of
Europe and roads unlike any place other than here… miles and miles of fantastic
rural roads with very little traffic.
A bit about our terrain
We often get phone calls from people asking what the terrain is like in Pennsylvania.
It’s really difficult to describe that in simple terms because our routes travel through so
many different geological regions. However, all of our routes have hills. There are hills
in the bucolic farmland of Amish country and there are hills along the rivers carving
through the Poconos. However, it may surprise you to learn that our Pocono tours are
not significantly more difficult than our Amish area tours. Whether you’re riding
through bucolic farmland on an Amish country tour or through the lush canopy of
the Poconos, the hills are about the same. Anything steep isn’t long, and anything
long isn’t steep.
We also have valleys. There are few things more fun than soaring down the backside
of a ridge and seeing the panorama of a huge valley spread out before you. Valleys
offer glorious gentle riding along meandering roads, criss-crossing equally
meandering streams. And yes, there are valleys in both Amish farmland, and the
Poconos.
What people are really asking when they inquire about the terrain is how difficulty a
tour is. Much of that depends on fitness and preparation. While our routes are
certainly hillier than, oh say, the eastern shore of Maryland, they are all well within
the ability of any fit cyclist. Our favorite proof of that is a middle aged couple who
came from New Orleans to ride one of our Pocono tours. They trained on levees and
overpasses, riding into the wind as much as they could. When they got here they
had no trouble on even the toughest climbs, and had a ball on the tour.
New for 2009
Every year we get loads of great ideas and suggestions. And every we try to
incorporate them into our calendar. This year we’ve done some interesting new
things. We’ve added new short and medium length tours, some of them perfect for
couples with riders of different abilities, even accommodating non-riding partners.
We’ve gotten out of the camping tour business. (Karen is particularly happy about
that one.)
Where possible, we’ve arranged the calendar so you can combine tours (on
completely different roads) for those of you who’ve asked us for tours longer than a
week.
We’ve added two tours that are less strenuous, for intermediate riders looking for
fewer hills or fewer miles.
And finally, we’re going out on a limb and hosting our first century, The Black Bear
Century which travels through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
right at the peak of Leaf Peeping season.
So come play with us. Whether you can ride for a day, a week or longer, whether
you prefer to explore the rolling hills of Amish country or count eagles while you ride
along the Delaware River, we know you'll have a great time. You’ll ride hard and rest
easy ‘cause that's what we love to do.
Please explore our site. We hope you'll decide to join us for a great cycling vacation.
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| NEW FOR 2009 The Black Bear Century |