Rides We Like: These Pennsylvania Roads
(2021) Bucks County roads are unique in many different ways. They can be winding roads with many offshoots. There are countless Stop Except Right Turn signs. Some are still gravel. Some, according to PennDOT, are successfully paved, though it’s not a debate many of the roads are in bad shape. A recent ride reinforced how unique it is to live in Bucks County and be a road cyclist. All it took was a question.
After taking turns to remain on the same road, I was about to turn onto Old Easton Road (not Easton Road which is a few yards from where I was) when a pickup truck stopped in the middle of the intersection, though the driver did not have a stop sign. I was about to continue on my way but the driver leaned out the window and politely asked, “Excuse me sir? Where is Geigel Hill Road?” Remarkably the driver was ten feet from his desired turn when I showed him where he wanted to go. He pointed out, “But the sign says Creamery Road.” Welcome to Bucks County I thought. I told him on this side of Old Easton Road is Creamery Road; on the other side was Geigel Hill Road, and once he got to the bottom of the hill, he would have to take a right to remain on the road. (Never mind the fact Bucks County has about 100 Creamery Roads.) He thanked me and drove off to find, I hope, whatever it was he was looking for.
The next day I took Geigel Hill Road to remind myself how many times one must turn to remain on the road. Having scrolled through Strava rides out west where cyclists complete routes in right angles, Bucks County is a whole bunch of experiences on one road. As stated, I got to the bottom of the hill and turned right to remain on Geigel Hill Road. The road makes a couple ninety-degree turns but remains the same name. “I’ve got the hang of this now,” you might think, but there are roads that change names mid-turn. It is a mystery where the name boundary is. And if you’re up for a bigger challenge, Geigel Hill Road has a brief parallel road of the same name that does not intersect with the main route. This is next level map skills.
The return trip included Headquarters Road, another thoroughfare with turns that have roads continuing straight, where a visitor may think the road continues. Hollow Horn Road was accessed which also had its unique layout but not as confusing. I wondered if the polite man in the pickup truck ever found his stop on Geigel Hill Road, but I didn’t rule out he could have gotten frustrated and turned around. In an attempt to get a photograph of the sign he couldn’t see, I realized there was no sign to point out that Geigel Hill Road and Creamery are two separate routes. Not only do the names change, but Bucks County won’t label them sometimes.
As I rode away from the quick exchange I thought how helpful it always is to ask a cyclist for directions. Furthermore, asking a cyclist in Bucks County for directions can be as helpful as possible when road signs aren’t present and the name has changed. One road that bisects Geigel Hill Road is Tettemer Road, a gravel experience with a bit of hills for good measure. At one point it was considered to go down but was dismissed on the uncertainty of where it would lead. This was dismissed just as quickly. Bucks County cyclists easily figure out where they are. I wish I could find all the reasons why Bucks County has so many exceptions to roads and road names, but that’s too much to entertain.
What makes riding in Bucks County is the unique arrangement of our roads. One minute it’s a paved winding path and the next it’s a gravel experience with a spring to fill water bottles. If given the choice to ride in straight lines with ninety-degree turns out west or be inundated with Bucks County road information, I might be inclined to stick around these parts. Then again, do eastern riders finally relax out west?
