I broke a spoke bicycling on the Pine Creek Rail Trail — and there was no cellphone service

I was riding a beast of a bike — one billed as hardy enough to handle Alaska’s unpaved terrain.

Suddenly I heard a pop.

One of the 32 spokes on my rear wheel had snapped.

How did that happen? On that bicycle?? And why in the middle of nowhere?

Four of us were on our second day of cycling the 62-mile Pine Creek Rail Trail from our midpoint base at Pettecote Junction Campground in Cedar Run. This is “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania” territory, and we were right around where the gorge is at its deepest, about 1,450 feet.

Needless to say, there is no cellphone service. No way to call for help. Our group had split up; two had cycled ahead to find a restroom. (This trail has lots of them — very impressive). The nearest sign of civilization — a “general store” — is perhaps 3 miles away. Another general store is around 10 miles in the other direction, and our campground is another 5 mile after that. And I’ve been around people with a broken spoke. After no more than 10 miles, the wheel is so out of true that the bike is unrideable.

The emergency repair kit we carried while biking in Europe? Not in the pannier.

What to do?

I’m thinking I need to start walking back. Maybe the wheel will hold out better than if I ride? But only after the others know what has happened. No cellphone service, remember?

I sent my riding partner ahead to find the other two, who as it turns out were wondering where we are and were about to come looking for us. I started walking.

Fortunately this trail is so popular that even on a weekday, it doesn’t take long for someone to come by. “Do you have duct tape? I have a broken spoke and need to tape it to another one,” I asked.

I struck out twice before I meet Joe and Bruce, who regularly bike the trail between Jersey Shore and Cammal. They didn’t have duct tape, but they did have a zip tie. They quickly attach the busted spoke to an unbroken one and clip the zip tie. You can barely see it:

Bruce also tells me that of course I can bike with a broken spoke; he must have gone 80 miles once before he realized he had broken one, he said. I’m not convinced, but I am ready to bike toward my friends and then head back to camp.

Joe just asks if I’d seen the pregnant rattlesnake near two large rocks somewhere behind me. She got pregnant last August and will give birth this September, he says. In those 13 months, she won’t eat. That last bit stuns me.

He also pointed out where they’ve seen a bear at other times, including once with three cubs all feasting on someone’s corn pile. Look up the gorge for a white fuel tank near a house, then scan the area, he says. Thankfully there’s nothing there this time.

We parted ways after my trio appears. They head toward Jersey Shore. We decide we’re riding back to the campsite as a group, looking for those rocks and the pregnant snake.

We never saw her.

More about the Pine Creek adventure

Day 1 was to Wellsboro and back — somewhere between 66 and 70 miles in total. It was a gentle 2% grade heading north; trains thankfully don’t do steep. Still, you definitely noticed that you were going downhill going the other way.

This northern section is at least as isolated as the southern half: no cellphone service much of the way and this time no general stores. As we left Wellsboro on the way back, I spotted this sign:

Wellsboro is a town of only about 3,400 people, but it’s also the county seat. So you’ll find restaurants, a supermarket and other services. Even an old movie theater that’s still open! Keep going on Main Street and you’ll see some lovely older homes.

It was just after July 4th and the nation’s 250th, so Main Street was lined with flags. I liked the memorials, especially the message on the Civil War one. It brought back memories of my D-Day bike ride just 6 weeks earlier. They died, it says, so “that the nation might live.”

We sat outside for lunch and were surprised by the number of trucks rumbling by. This is the fracking industry at work.

A historical side note: Before the Pine Creek Rail Trail, before the railroad, this was the Pine Creek Path, known to Native Americans. With the railroad (built at least in part by Italian immigrants) came the loggers, the coal miners and pollution; by 1910, the forests were essentially gone and streams were filthy. In the 1930s, things began to turn around, land was preserved and the Civilian Conservation Corps planted trees. The final train rolled through on Oct. 7, 1988, and the transformation to the rail trail began.

The trail recently was extended to the edge of Wellsboro, rather than ending a few miles away. You’ll find a visitors center and large parking lot. No overnight parking allowed, officially. But if you go inside and fill out a form, they’ll let you. They just want to know whose car it is and that it’s all legit.

The trail surface is crushed stone. Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources does a fantastic job maintaining the trail; trees had fallen in a storm a few days earlier, but nothing was blocked when we rolled through.

If you’ve got the energy to hike while biking, hike up the Turkey Path (and back down) in the heart of the “Grand Canyon”. You’ll see the sign and stairs going up. We opted to hike to the top of the canyon at Gillespie Point using a trail near Blackwell on a non-bike day, just before driving home. Fantastic view, but it’s pretty much straight up, barely anything flat. We left our makeshift hiking poles for the next people.

What else might you see? On our way to Wellsboro, we were flagged downn by other trail users who had spotted a bald eagle. That’s as good a photo as I could get. We also saw a kestrel in flight.

Where did we stay?

You can find a hotel, B&Bs and homes to rent along the trail, even state forest campsites with minimal amenities for $10 ($15 for us out-of-staters). We opted for Pettecote Junction Campground because it’s midway along the trail. It has tent spots, RV hookups, glamping, cabins ….

Our choice? A pair of pods called The Outpost. One has the sink, mini fridge and microwave plus a queen-sized bed; the other has two single beds and a queen bed. Real mattresses, just bring your own linens. Both have electricity and air conditioning. No private bathrooms.

Camping in comfort, I’d say.

What else did it offer? Skies dark enough to star-gaze at night, and Wifi powerful enough that we had no problem streaming the men’s World Cup soccer match. (The one that sent them home. It was bad.)

Whether you stay here or not, stop at the Cedar Run general store for ice cream. Two generous scoops felt like a pint’s worth. (Sorry, no photo. Too hungry.) Just a warning: hours are limited.

More images from the trip

What is this? Who uses it to cross the river?

And what was this?

One of several hunting lodges that we biked past:

A pair of Civil War graves:

And the rest of the cemetery:

Someone in our group can never resist a fruit stand. That was one juicy canteloupe.

Pine Creek is surprisingly wide. But it’s shallow, even after heavy rain that turned the water the color of weak chocolate milk, so I guess that’s why it’s a creek and not a river.

The riverbed is rocky so bring water sandals or similar if you have them. It’s definitely worth wading in!