Saturday August starting at Point State Park Fountain. Ride with self support at Sheetz in Lower Burrell and Murrysville, as well buying your own lunch in Saltburg, perhaps at the Point Street Tavern.  You should be prepared to navigate on your own.   This is a self-paced and self-directed ride.

Our route is similar to past years:
– Starting at the fountain at Point State Park.
– Riding “clockwise” like last year.
– Route is 95 miles. We leave out the Tredway Trail – and the descent to it and the climb back from it.. To get to 100 miles, ride to and from the start/end at Point/State Park.
– We are starting at 7:30 AM.

Note that as a trail project the Rough Diamond is ASPIRATIONAL.  Meaning there are missing bits, and at times you need to climb steep long hills and ride busy highways.   If you read the news, you know over the coming years the Rough Diamond will get better.  Still, for most of us, this is the only time of the year that we ride along the Kiskiminetas River.

A gravel bike is appropriate for this route, but I’ve ridden it many times on my road bike with 28mm wide tires.  Some of the trails along the Kiski are not rails-to-trails, meaning they are not graded.  Or rather, there are a couple of gravelly pitches over 15%.  On a road bike I usually walk them.  On a gravel bike, I sometimes walk them.

Pro tip – Be sure to follow the correct trail leaving Saltsburg!

President Jim is not riding this year.  Dave Lusher, founder of the Rough Diamond Century, will be meeting riders at the start, answering any questions, and sending riders on their way.

Route is here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36896373 You need to have your own navigation for the route.