GFNY Pittsburgh-Monroeville will challenge you and take your breath away. The race starts and finishes at CCAC Boyce Campus in Monroeville, just 15 minutes east of Pittsburgh. The course travels through scenic Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties and offers a recreational 45-mile medium distance and a competitive 62-mile long distance. The distances may feel short, but tacking the rolling hills will make your legs feel the burn. The course will take you past vast rolling countryside, including farms, ranches, orchards, forests and more.

The pre-race expo, group rides, the race start and finish and the post-race festival will all take place CCAC Boyce Campus in Eastern Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 

The race starts with a short descent, take note of it because that will be your climb to the finish line. The course will take you right into the first of seven climbs on the course. The climbs are 0.8 miles - 1.5 miles in length and 200-300ft of climbing each, making for a rolling course that will push you but also give you short breaks on the descents. Expect to be changing your gears often and stay attentive because this course will not give you many chances for coasting or a rhythm.

 

The first ten miles will take you through rolling hills of Allegheny County and into Westmoreland County. The hills lead to a beautiful descent towards a bridge over the Beaver Run Reservoir. This may be one of the most scenic spots on the whole course, we’ll make sure to take your picture! From the center of the bridge, you’ll start the longest climb of the day, 1.5-miles long with 350ft of climbing, maximum incline of 10%, to the highest point of the course, the Cima Coppi of GFNY Pittsburgh-Monroeville. 

 

From there, you had back the same way you raced out, which means the descents now turn into climbs - and the climbs into sweet descends. Medium distance riders will ride back all the way to where they started while Long distance riders turn around at Sardis Road to head back out again towards and across Beaver Run Reservoir.

 

Once you arrive back to the finish festivities, enjoy a post-race meal with friends, photos, music and the awards ceremony.