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Welcome to Quench'd, a weekly story series for cyclists and adventurers. We hope these stories make you smile, learn something new, and show you a new perspective. To see past Quench'd stories, head to our library here.

Cynthia Carson is an Ultra Endurance Cyclist who started road racing in College but has found her love of off-road riding.

She began her journey into Ultra Cycling with a first place at Rockstar Gravel 250 followed by fourth place at Unbound XL.

Today, her story chronicles her adventures in the Pennsylvanian Endless Mountains and it embraces something we value deeply at Bivo: connection with community, embracing adventure, and finding joy along the trail. Give her video of the adventure a watch, it's at the bottom of this story!

There is something special about carrying all your belongings on a trip via your bicycle. From your Bivo water bottles, pajamas, and toothbrush. It’s all on you to get from point A to Z. It takes planning your gear and the route before you can even start at A. You’ve got to decide where you’ll stop to sleep, where you’ll find snacks and water, and what tasty diner you’ll stop at or takeout you’ll grab. 

There is freedom in bikepacking. If you’re following a route, it gives you structure. But remember, you don’t always have to stick to the plan! I love to race but having the freedom to stay an extra night, or explore a town gets me excited. Catch the sunrise or sleep till 9am and have the buffet breakfast.

With all the planning complete, I set off on a bikepacking adventure through Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains to find that freedom. I was joined by my partner Steven, and David, who helped design the route. We rode the 430 mile ‘Endless Mountains Gravel Route’ across the region with a plan to stop at a number of different cafes, diners, museums, farms, and breakfast joints.

The route starts in Towanda, Pennsylvania. It’s a small town on the Sesquehannah river that’s between two and a half and three and a half hours from New York City, Philadelphia, and Rochester, NY. There are two route options, we did the 430 mile loop but there is also a 250 mile distance. 

We were treated to some incredible views in Worlds End State Park. While at arguably the best view in the park, we spoke with a Park Ranger who told us that after substantial clearing from the local sawmill businesses, the Civilian Conservation Corps helped plant the second growth of trees in the area and many of the park facilities. After our chat we rode through the Loystock State Forest area with amazing climbs and beautiful mossy tree lined descents. The route took us past some beautiful flowing streams where we could resupply our Bivo bottles with mountain fresh water. The rain was coming down in the Forest, but the moods were high!

We stopped for a night in Dushore, home of the only stoplight in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. Dinner was served at the West Side deli where we got our first taste of the Outhouse race painted toilet seats. There’s a yearly competition for the best painted toilet seats and to purchase the winning seat will cost you a big dump of cash! The second round of painted toilet seats were found across the street at the Jolly Trolley. This was by far my favorite stop, filled with all sorts of local goodies such as big foot poop candy and Jolly Trolley paraphernalia! I even got a hoodie sweatshirt to remember the Jolly Trolley, my new alias.

Our trip brought us past two farms and a winery. Each with their own flair. Our first stop at Greener Pastures Farm brought us through a tour of the different crops they grow in the green house, the chickens and their hen house where I sourced some eggs for breakfast, and the animals they care for to show at the local livestock fair. I thought our animal tour was over but the second farm brought us even more! At Brownhill farm, I got to feed a baby highland cow with a big bottle. It was a dream come true for this animal lover. There were all kinds of other furry friends from baby goats to pigs. The animal tour continued at the Grovedale winery where we had some puppy love and a tour of the farm before the skies opened up on us.

Don’t worry, with all the animals, we still had plenty of human interactions throughout the ride! One of our overnight stops was in Canton where we were joined for breakfast at the local diner the Chatterbox. It was more like we crashed the party, but they happily obliged! Our breakfast crew, aptly named the Canton Cycling Club, hopped on a portion of our ride that morning. The skies continued to drizzle, but we were lucky enough to have great conversation and tree coverage towering over us as we climbed up more endless mountains from Canton.

The trip continued to bring us moments that we loved and had to keep as memories. The ride had its fair share of stopping to experience the local businesses, community folks, and tasty food! But that’s the joy in bikepacking, you can take time to enjoy the simple things in life with no timeline aside from when you’ll eat or sleep next!

We scooted back into Towanda to finish the route and an amazing trip! The freedom we felt for six glorious days is something I often yearn for in the doldrums of daily life. I’m already planning my next bikepacking trip!

Come join us for the grand depart of the Endless Mountains Gravel Route on September 20th in Towanda. If you can’t make it to the race but you still want to give the route a go you can find it here on RidewithGPS. If you’re headed out for your first bikepacking trip, here is a basic packing list to get you started with your gear!