Pennsylvania Magazine

Few roads seem to generate the amount of  “buz” around the motorcycle riding enthusiast community in Pennsylvania as PA 125.   If you spend some time at the MotorcycleRoads.US site and the MotorcycleRoads.COM site – you will notice that this road seems to produce more enthusiastic comments and ‘chatter’ than any other road in Pa.  Due to the challenging nature of the road – it’s not at all unusual for motorcycles (particularly Sportbikes) to outnumber cars on this road.  While this road does not compare to the gold standard of ultimate motorcycle roads – Deals Gap – it’s about as close as you are going to get in Pa.  On occasion – you will see groups of sports-car enthusiasts use this road to  test the performance capabilities of their rigs.  As is often the case with roads like this – PA 125 has claimed more than its fair share of riders and drivers – so be careful and stay well within your limits on this one.

Directions:

 I throw-in a bonus road ‘Gold Mine Road’ that fits right-in with the peg-scraping action of PA 125.  The entrance to Gold Mine Road is off PA443.  Take Gold Mine road for 7 miles up to PA 325.  Turn right on PA 325 and go a 1.5 miles to US209.  Turn right on US209 and go 4.8 miles to Main Street (at light) and turn left.  Go 1.7 miles to the stop sign and go straight – this is where you pick-up Pa 125.  Stay on Pa 125 for 15 miles to Shamokin.  Rinse and repeat ! Its around 32 (hard) miles.

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This route is all about the road itself – there are no attractions or especially noteworthy places to stop along the way – just challenging roads.  The combination of Gold Mine road and PA 125 is very much like a roller-coaster ride, with a series of very steep climbs and descents with sharp corners at the top and the bottom, with a few rolling hills and gentle corners mixed-in for good measure.

One of MANY ’15 MPH’ corners – usually found at the top or bottom of a steep climb:

A typical steep descent:

What qualifies as a wide-open ‘sweeper’ on PA 125:

Another one !

Big uphill again:

Another tight turn at the bottom – your brakes, your motor and your tires get a work-out here:

Another wide-open ‘sweeper’ or two:

Some rolling hills thrown-in for good measure (so your brakes & tires can cool-off):

Up and down we go:

Ahead is the next mountain to climb:

The workout continues:

Yet another steep climb:

Ahh….which way is that -  exactly ?

I think you get the point – this is an awesome road with a well deserved reputation as a challenging ride.  If there is a MORE challenging stretch of road in PA than the 32 mile combination of Gold Mine + PA 125 I don’t know what it is? Let me know what you think !

Enjoy !

<xx><

Brad

Pa Motorcycle Tours

PS – the result of attacking PA125 (and some other roads noted on this blog) at a ‘sporting pace’ !

Tags: brad morgan, motorcycle roads, pa 125, pennsylvania motorcycle roads, pennsylvania motorcycle tours