Fixing the Commonwealth: Conquering PA on Track Bikes

After last weekend's Crush the Commonwealth (CtC), Noah and Greg prepared ride reports to catalogue the mountainous highs and tumbling lows they endured during their monumental achievement - the first ever brakeless fixed gear completions of the event. The emotions were visceral in their complementary narratives, which they agreed to share on The Trellis. To make things more digestible for the casual reader, we've chosen passages from across the ride's progression to catch a glimpse inside each rider's mind (mile counts and times in the headers are approximate and used for artistic effect - any error is the editor's alone).

I hope you'll take the time to dive into unabridged ride reports embedded at the bottom of this page. Comments on The Trellis stories are now live too - so be sure to sign in by subscribing and give some Kudos to Noah, Greg, and Carver.

Noah - mile 0

Every year on the last Friday in April, dozens of cyclists ride almost the entire width of Pennsylvania, either from Philly to Pittsburgh on even-numbered years, or vice versa on odd-numbered years. Some consider the ride - known as “Crush the Commonwealth” - a race with no registration, support, or prizes, just bragging rights. Others consider it a personal challenge. No matter how you look at it, it’s not an easy ride. 383 miles, with over 15,000 feet of elevation gain across multiple mountain ranges and river valleys, makes for a long, arduous journey.

I was introduced to randonneuring in Fall of 2023 when I started working at Bicycle Therapy. My coworker David and some of his friends attempted CTC in 2024, but had to abandon after one of their crew had a bad crash that required an ambulance ride to the ER in Chambersburg. They talked about giving it another go next year, and this is where an inkling of my ambition for the ride began. Around the same time, I heard about how this guy Greg Lang had been doing 600k brevets on a brakeless fixed gear. Needless to say, I was inspired by his feats of madness. I ended up meeting and becoming friends with Greg, and eventually our plan for Crush the Commonwealth came together at the start of 2025. Then a few weeks later, I was telling Carver about our plans over dinner, and I saw his eyes light up. April 25th, the day of CTC, was his birthday. He was in. Our team rose to three riders, all on brakeless fixed gears.

Greg - mile 0

I knew that I wanted to accomplish CtC since I had heard about it.  I knew some people who had finished, and they were strong, intimidating cyclists.  I wondered if I could do it too?  But either way, I did not have anyone to do it with me.  I also didn't know anyone who would or could ride it fixed gear.  Additionally, I was not confident that I was able to do it at all.  I needed to build up to it.  The idea lingered in the back of my mind.  I thought about it every year since 2020 and was not able to make myself commit. 

Five years later and after two successful Super Randonneur achievements, I knew I was ready.

A few months passed, and I was on the Damp Roads Port Royal Hill Climb on New Years Day of 2025. I was chatting with Noah about upcoming rides outside of RUSA and PA Randonneurs and one of us brought up CtC. I am not sure when Noah decided to commit but when he did, we had three in the crew. There was no question in my mind that Noah could handle it, and I was extremely hyped that someone else would be riding fixed gear with me. Like, beyond hyped about that.

Noah - mile 1 - 5:00am Friday

The ride started off with little fanfare, no introduction or words about safety, just a call out of, “It’s 5am, time to roll!” and we were off. We rolled out of Pittsburgh at a brisk pace, and once we were on the GAP trail we were really moving. The nerves were palpable, there was no talking except for calling out turns and obstacles in the darkness. I was second wheel and the man in front of me dropped back to ask, “how fast do you want, 22 or 23mph? I don’t want to blow you up”. I said that speed sounded reasonable, and he kept pulling.

Greg - mile 22 - 6:08am Friday

Eventually, we came around a bend to a spot where there was a lot of gravel. The lead guy slipped out and went down hard. Suddenly, I see Noah directly in front of me hit the guy, do a full flip over his bars and his bike went flying. I yelled, “What the fuck!” and barely avoided going down myself. Immediately after, I found myself talking with someone and shared that I knew that was going to happen and how upset I was. If Noah had not been able to continue I might have started a fight. However, Noah dusted himself off, shook off the fall and seemed okay.

Noah - mile 22 - 6:10am Friday

There was no blood on me but I could tell fairly quickly that my right hand was hurt, as well as my left hip. I decided to keep moving and see how it developed, as the next 80 miles would just be flat gravel trail that I could relax on. As the sun rose, my hand started to feel worse. I didn’t have full range of motion in my wrist and would get shooting pains if I tried to extend it too far. I was worried because riding fixed requires a bit more dexterity as you need to have a good grip on the bars to climb and descend safely, and if I got a shooting pain while descending a steep mountain, there was a chance I could lose control and crash.

Greg - mile 151 - 4:47pm Friday

We entered the mountains, which consisted of one slow climb after another, further ruining my legs and morale. There were some good points but much of it was just grueling for me. I was already feeling like I was going to unravel and fall apart. The leg cramps that started on the gravel continued despite my hydration efforts.

Many times I had crazy fun time-trialing at 40kpm in a mantis position ripping down Lincoln Highway. I mean, come on, how much more fun can you have? I fuckin’ loved it!

Noah - mile 188 - 7:34pm Friday

As night fell, Greg was starting to crack. He ended up having to walk up a few hills and let out a slew of screaming expletives as the frustration overcame him. At the top of that climb, he expressed his state to Carver and I, and we just tried to reassure him that we were all in this together.

Greg - mile 191 - 7:49pm Friday

The climbs each became more relentless. One after another I was breaking apart. I could not find my form. My body told me to give up. I screamed and screamed some more. Then I screamed some more. Then I walked. I climbed some more. I walked again. I climbed some more. I wanted to give up again and again. When I finally caught back up with Noah and Carver I said, “I am done. I am seriously thinking of abandoning.” That was the first time I have ever thought that during a ride in my life. I was devastated. I felt incredible shame. But Noah and Carver reassured me that we would make it, they were with me and convinced me to keep going.

Noah - mile 207 - 9:25pm Friday

There were dozens of little frogs hopping across the wet road, and only the occasional car that would pass by. The air smelled like fresh rain in the forest, and when we stopped for Greg to fix his light, everything was silent.

Going up and down rolling hills on a highway in the pouring rain was so incredibly miserable that it almost became fun for me. I started laughing uncontrollably as I could hardly see anything because so much water was getting in my eyes.

We made it to Chambersburg around 11PM and I ordered us a ridiculous amount of Taco Bell to the motel. We were absolutely crushed, and it was hard to fathom that we still had 160 miles left to ride tomorrow.

Greg - mile 225 - 11:05pm Friday

But eventually, with a will and a way we made it to the Sleep Inn. I told the person at the desk that they might truly be saving our lives and thanked them for the late arrival. I walked into the room and turned the heater to 80 degrees and stood there wondering if I was still alive.

We continued and made it to York. I couldn’t believe we were still riding. Then we made it in Lancaster where Carver’s friend left us a gift pack. The roads felt better. The climbs felt better. The long flat sections felt better. I felt better. I was finding my form that I had lost the day before after hours upon hours in the saddle. My face was finding ways to smile.

Noah - mile 308 - 3:39pm Saturday

Leaving Lancaster, a guy on an e-bike rode recklessly in front of me, dropped his drink, and slammed his brakes on, almost causing me to crash into him. I had just enough time to avoid him though, and it only got my spirits down for a second. We rolled through the Amish countryside and passed many horse and buggy riders. Thankfully the road had dried up at this point, so there was no farm runoff water spraying into the face of whoever was second and third wheel.

We climbed over the last few rolling hills, and then had a long descent into the French Creek valley. The feeling I had on this descent was indescribable, I felt on top of the world. It really hit me that I had just ridden the width of Pennsylvania. I was tearing up and smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. This was one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever felt on a bicycle, maybe even in all my life.

Greg - mile 390

This course is beyond hard. Many people are transformed by this experience. That was one of my results. The day after we finished I felt like I had emerged from a cave, my thighs were incredibly sore, my toenails were bloody, and I had a chapped face to recover from. I was also mentally cooked in a good way. I think this was akin to an ascetic kind of thing where you emerge from a cave in a transformed state, changed, forever. I almost thought that if I looked in the mirror I would suddenly see a long beard as if I been off on a distant walk for months. Time and space seemed to change my perspective into a new state and almost into a different dimension of existence for the period we were riding. I was liminal, I was not here, nor there, I was not traveling, I was exercising, experiencing, navigating, focusing and doing my best to continue having fun. I am in my arena until I get to the other side, to the end, to the fulfillment of my experience.

Noah's full ride report

Greg's full ride report

Follow the riders on Instagram and Strava:
Noah @indegoat + Strava
Greg @_greg.lang_ + Strava
Carver @saver_childt_ + Strava