The Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022 capped off a great weekend of riding in the PA Grand Canyon area (a/k/a Pine Creek Gorge)! JB kicked the early-September weekend off by riding the Lyman Run 25 Gravel Route near Galeton, Potter County, PA. Afterwards, he made the 30-minute or so drive towards Wellsboro, stayed the night on the east rim of the canyon, and hit up the Laurel Classic on Saturday morning. You couldn’t ask for a better weekend of riding! Read on to hear about everything post-Lyman Run.
Camping on the PA Grand Canyon – Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022 Eve
From Lyman Run State Park, JB headed east on Route 6 to camp for the night at Leonard Harrison State Park campground, which is southwest of Wellsboro. The Route 6 corridor is loaded with history, shops, restaurants, and more. Check out the PA Route 6 Alliance, Visit Potter-Tioga, or the PA Wilds for a few tourism resources. If you aren’t the camping type or can’t decide on a local food stop along Route 6, continue to the beautiful town of Wellsboro. It has several nice options. It is teaming with history and that traditional small-town charm, but has all the modern amenities. Cell service is super sparse along this corridor of Route 6. Wellsboro is also nice option to get some coverage.
JB chose to camp on the east rim of the canyon as he knew he’d be cutting it close on daylight and wanted a reserved spot within walking distance of the observation points atop the canyon (a few of his pics are above). Other camping options include staying on the west rim of the canyon at Colton Point State Park or at the Asaph campground on Asaph Road. The latter is very close to the start of the Laurel Classic. JB opted to stay at Leonard Harrison as Colton Point and Asaph are first come, first serve and he wasn’t familiar with the area. There are other private and/or local campgrounds as well if you prefer that route. You can find them via the tourism resources linked above.
Pre-Race
JB beat the sunrise with the hopes of traveling over to Colton Point to catch an early morning glimpse off of the west rim. Unfortunately, the early morning fog had yet to dissipate from the gorge. As a result, he pivoted and made his way to the nearby Darling Run access area to the Pine Creek Rail Trail to get some maps and such of the area.
By chance, a running race (Pine Creek Challenge) was taking place, which shares the same weekend as the Laurel Classic MTB Challenge each year. In addition to getting a trove of resources from the information center at Darling Run, he spoke with a local about the running race and endurance events and clubs in the area. While not knowing or hearing much about the area prior to the trip, it is clear that the Wellsboro and upper gorge areas are loaded with clubs, events, and endurance athletes. Definitely a ton to explore!
As an aside, two gravel events to check out in the area include the Mammoth Endurance Gravel taking place in May and Crooked-Cross with its first annual taking place in September 2023. If running is your thing, in addition to the Pine Creek Challenge mentioned above, check out the Green Monster Trail Challenge that takes place on the Green Monster Loop. The loop includes many of the trails seen on the Laurel Classic. If solo gravel cycling or bikepacking is your thing, the Trillium section or Section 4 of Bikepacking.com’s Eastern Divide Trail traverses a few of the same roads as the Laurel Classic. But I digress. . . .
Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022 – The Race
Registration and HQ
After his chat at the rail trail, JB made the short drive to the start of the Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022, which takes place in Tioga State Forest near Asaph, PA. 2022 marked the 28th edition of the Challenge, which has gone down every year since 1994 (2020 COVID year excluded). It was beyond obvious that this lean and dedicated crew was a well oiled machine and put everything into showing off their local trails to racers. Volunteers were chatting with new and old friends and happily answering any questions in anticipation of the race start. Oswald Cycle Works was on hand to help out with any last minute repairs.
Race Format
The Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022 is a two-loop format with each loop consisting of 10.5ish miles. Beginners launched first onto the short course, which was the second loop for the Sport and Expert categories. The latter categories tackled the first loop before embarking on the second loop short course. Experts went out five minutes before Sports. The course and timing format was perfect at minimizing racer overlap. Each category could “enjoy” their race with limited interference.
The Course
The Challenge takes place on classic East Coast, hand built singletrack connected by forest service and gravel roads. Rocks (although minimal compared to the rest of “Rocksylvania”), roots, and lush green – sounds like MTB heaven, right? The trails are maintained by volunteers in consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. My understanding is that the volunteer efforts are largely shared by the Tyoga Running Club and Twisted Spokes Bicycle Club. What a job they do – these trails are fantastic!
Straight Run to Plantation Trail
The race started on the gravel of Straight Run Road out in front of the former U.S. Geological Survey Northern Appalachian Research Lab. The first 1.3 miles or so is largely flat to rolling before hitting the nearly three mile climb on Straight Run. There are a few steep pitches, but the remainder is a slow and steady burn to Plantation Trail. Plantation is a really fun trail that follows the ridge, trends down, and takes riders through lush PA laurels, ferns, and greenery. It is an absolutely stunning piece of singletrack!
Plantation to Deer Trail
At about mile 6, the course merges from Plantation to Stinger Bypass, which is a twisting .7 mile descent to Spoor Hollow Road. From there, the course climbs for about a mile to Stone Road Trail and continues the gradual climb. Stone Road Trail turns into a descent for about a mile. Stone Road Trail is a mellow doubletrack. At about mile 9, the course makes a right onto Deer Trail. Hold on and get ready to rip it. Much of Deer Trail is steep with rocky and loose terrain, which is why you won’t find a picture. Sorry – staying upright was the priority!
Left Straight Run Trail
At mile 10.4 the course crosses a portion of Straight Run climbed earlier and onto Left Straight Run Trail. This is the start of the second loop. Left Straight Run continues the descent for about another .5 mile while meandering in, out, and on the edge of the creek. Prepare to get a bit wet here!
At about mile 11, Left Straight Run starts to climb. This section is twisty and has some rocks and roots to navigate. A bit technical, but nothing crazy. At mile 12ish, the trail breaks away from the water and forest cover, but continues upward. This section is fairly smooth and straight. It traverses through beautiful meadows for about another mile.
Sand Road to Log Slide Trail
At mile 13.2, Left Straight Run terminates on Sand Road (and the location of the race aid station, Jimmy, Elvis, and friends). After a nice water handoff at the aid station, racers continue across Sand Road and onto Log Slide Trail. Similar to Plantation Trail, Log Slide meanders the ridgetop on beautiful, lush East Coast singletrack for at least a mile.
Quarry Trail, Hessel Gessel Road, and Scotch Pine Hollow Trail
After navigating a few forest openings and some more singletrack on Quarry Trail, the course crosses Sand Road onto Hessel Gessel Road at mile 16ish. Hessel Gessel is rolling and feeds riders around a forest gate and then onto Scotch Pine Hollow Trail at mile 16.7. Scotch Pine is another nice 1.5 mile piece of singletrack.
Darling Road Trail to Finish
At about mile 18, the course takes a left onto the final two miles of singletrack of the Darling Road Trail. Darling Road Trail starts flat for about .4 of a mile and then turns into a screamer of a descent through a lush and mature canopy of trees. The trail has rocks and roots. Although not too gnarly, the speed made them a bit more precarious to negotiate (apologies, no pics of Darling Run – GoPro froze).
On race day, to add some drama, the smell of skunk was apparent at the start of Darling Run. By mid-descent, it was apparent why. A skunk that had an encounter with a porcupine was dazed and confused and staggering up the trail. Luckily, JB had time to dismount, run up the incline on the right side of the trail, around Mr. Skunk, and back onto the trail. It would have stunk to get sprayed! Pun intended!
At the base of the descent, the course spits riders back onto Straight Run with about a mile sprint to the finish line at USGS!
Awards and Post-Race
All participants received a nice race t-shirt. Pizza and refreshments were also provided free of charge. Cash, a cool magnetic/lanyard race themed bottle opener, and a cycling-related item of choice donated by sponsors were awarded to class winners. Age group winners received a bottle opener and item. Very generous and appreciated!
Course Map
Conclusion
The Laurel Classic MTB Challenge – 2022 experience was second to no other grassroots event! We would certainly recommend the event moving forward. Unfortunately, 2022 was the last running of the event short of some new blood carrying the torch. What a run – congrats on 28 years! Follow the Laurel Classic MTB Challenge’s Facebook page for any possible future developments. If you are out that way, check out the course on your own.
The Hub will soon publish an article with a 30ish mile gravel route from Colton Point that JB rode prior to the 2022 Iron Cross XIX gravel race. You could pair that route or the previously mentioned Lyman Run 25 Gravel Route and make it a nice two-day riding weekend near the PA Grand Canyon.
We hope that you get a chance to ride the Laurel Classic route or enjoy parts of it on your own. If you liked the race report, please share it with your friends and family and on social media. Also, make sure you keep up-to-date on all The Hub’s content by following us on social media (links on the top and bottom of this page), and by entering your info into the Newsletter signup (to the right and bottom).