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A Ride Across Pennsylvania
Plus, Duzer rides the Natchez Trace, NH backtracks their bike registration bill, and Stats for the Nerds
Sam Westby
February 07, 2026
Welcome to the Bike Bulletin. It’s like a mountain descent for your inbox. We’ll bring you the joy of riding while you ride on the wheels of your desk chair.
This newsletter is about a love for two-wheeled transit. From riding around town to riding across the country, the more time you spend on a bike, the better. You can look forward to a new edition every week.
Here’s what we have today.
🌍 RIDE: Crush the Commonwealth
🎥 WATCH: Duzer Rides the Natchez Trace Parkway
📰 NEWS: New funding and new trails
Written by Sam Westby, @samcwestby
ROUTE ON MY RADAR
Crush the Commonwealth
On April 24th, 2026, a small crew (30ish) will unofficially race across Pennsylvania from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. It’s about 380 miles (611 kilometers) with 16000 feet (4900 meters) of elevation gain.
It’s a niche event with finish times ranging from 27 hours to 90 hours. It happens every year starting at 5am on the last Friday in April.
No registration. No entry fee. No prizes. No support.
I’ll sadly be out of town (Italy!!), but I wanted to share this event for anyone crazy enough to participate.
Official website: https://crushthecommonwealth.com/
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Ryan Van Duzer Rides the Natchez Trace
The GOAT of bike travel YouTube, Ryan Van Duzer, put out a video about riding the Natchez Trace Parkway in the Southern U.S.
444 miles (715 kilometers) from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS
No commercial trucks. The speed limit is typically 50 mph
Bicycle-only, primitive campgrounds along the parkway every 30-60 miles
Water is also available at more campgrounds
It sounds like a blast for a chill bike tour.
Watch on YouTube
New Hampshire backtracks on $50 bicycle registration bill
Coming off of New Jersey’s abysmal e-bike, last week, a New Hampshire State congressman, Rep. Thomas Walsh of Hooksett, proposed a $50 per year registration fee for anyone riding a bike. His intention was for cyclists to pay their fair share in a way that’s similar to how OHRVs and snowmobiles pay for trail access.
After massive online outrage this week, Walsh backtracked on his proposal, saying, “it was only a draft”.
It’s a great example of how contacting your representatives matters.
Source: bicycleretailer.com
Irvine, California, passes strong e-bike regulations
Their city council voted 6-1 to adopt the following regulations:
You cannot modify your e-bike to go faster
Setting a 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit for bikes and e-bikes on trails
Setting a 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limit for bikes and e-bikes on sidewalks
Parents who let their children violate a rule can be cited
These all seem reasonable! Source: irvinecommunitynewsandviews.org
Quick Hits
Green. West Hollywood, California, has been slowly painting all of its bike lanes green since April. (Streetsblog)
$3.4 million. The new funding for a BMX-style bike track in Pearsall Park in San Antonio, Texas. (sanantonioreport.org)
$25 million. The cost of the Wishbone pedestrian and cyclist bridge in East Austin, Texas. It opens today! (KVUE)
10,000’s. The number of cyclists who rode in memory of Alex Pretti last week, despite below-freezing temperatures across much of the U.S. (9news.com)
Medina County. This county in Ohio just began a design phase for a trail to connect its 3 cities, Brunswick, Medina, and Wadsworth. Ohio already has an excellent trail network across the state, so it’s great to see them keeping the momentum. (cleveland.com)
Illinois. This state teased new e-bike regulations last week that may add age limits or speed limits. I agree that pre-teens shouldn’t be cruising at 30 mph down public streets, but we’ll see if the legislators take the bill too far. (WTTW)
New Haven. This CT city is breaking ground on a trail from downtown to its new multisport complex. This is a great move for the thousands of kids and adults who will travel to the complex. (WANE)
A Note From Sam
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