Dan Turner (Bike Works, Newtown) and Brian Boger (Bike Works, Doylestown) had the opportunity to visit our friend Evan Gross, who contributes to making Central Pennsylvania an emerging adventure destination. We first met Evan as the director of bicycle festivals like the Dirt Rag Dirt Fest mountain bike festivals and the Bicycle Times Adventure Fest. We may have accidentally crashed his infamous Frozen Fat Fat-Tire mountain bike antics one time before realizing we were hopelessly outgunned as flat-landers. Today, Evan and a crew of twenty employees are churning out quality bicycle and climbing bag products in a solar-powered workshop on reclaimed strip mining property at Nittany Mountain Works and their sibling company, Organic Climbing (Philipsburg, PA). 

Once a thriving industrial town, Philipsburg fell on hard times with the outsourcing of its factories and coal mines. With twenty local employees, Nittany Mountain Works and Organic Climbing are contributing to the resurgence of this proud community. Some of the employees and equipment in the facility were sourced from a long-standing but now defunct suit factory. Most of the materials they use for their products are locally sourced. The artists even have workspaces with amazing views of the Alleghenies, including endless amounts of state game lands and forests. Hikers and bikers share massive amounts of trails with the ATV community. Need bicycle bags for your Commonwealth mountain bike or gravel bike adventures? Come see their offerings at Bike Works Newtown! 

We had an ulterior reason for our visit. Evan had the misfortune to be representing Nittany Mountain Works at the 2025 Philly Bike Expo earlier this month, and his booth was situated a little too close to our presentation on our custom-built Lenape Pennyfarthings. We were so happy to personally deliver his new 56" Pennyfarthing and get close to another innovative Pennsylvania business serving the adventure sports community. See you at the National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race in Frederick, MD, Evan!