RENFREW — Turner Johnson began bicycling in the neighborhood with his father and some family friends years ago "because it looked like fun."

Now the 23-year-old Renfrew resident is preparing to bicycle with the best in the world from one end of Pennsylvania to the other.

The six-day, 450-mile Tour of Pennsylvania, a stage race similar to the Tour de France for riders 25 and under, takes place June 24 to 29.

Johnson rides for the Penn State Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale team, one of only 20 teams from around the globe participating in this inaugural event.

Teams are eligible for the race by invitation only.

"It's going to be exciting,"Johnson said. "It's hard to stay calm even thinking about it. We're going to be biking against people we've never seen before — the best in the world."

Johnson has competed in numerous bicycle races with his team before. Team director Denny Dansak said his squad does 68 races a year. Its season runs from March through the end of September.

"Turner's been with us for about six years,"Dansak said. "He's one of our better riders and an even better person."

The team's coach is Colin Sandberg. Johnson has a personal coach as well in Gordon Paulson of Madison, Wis.

The Cannondale team has competed in all types of bicycle races, including road races, criteriums, circuit, time trials and stage races.

The Tour of Pa., like the Tour de France, features all of those styles. Criteriums involve 1.2-mile curved courses, time trials are races against the clock and circuit races involve a number of laps.

"We're one of the elite teams on the east coast,"Dansak said. "We've won our share of big events."

Among those is the Pennsylvania BAR(best all-around rider) competition, a 38-race circuit through the state, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Cycling Association.

Cannondale won the BARin 2006 and is among the top two teams in that circuit's points race.

Johnson went from riding bikes with his father to taking part in group rides to training to race.

He competed in the local circuit at an oval track in Pittsburgh. He began racing in the novice division, the level he was at when he joined Dansak's unit.

"I work part time in a family business,"Johnson said. "Besides that, I'm competing or I'm training to compete. We're putting some long miles in getting ready for this race.

"We'll burn 6,000 calories a day during this race."

The first stage of the Tour of Pa. begins in Philadelphia with a 2.2-mile time trial, followed by a criterium and 20 laps consisting of 25 to 30 miles.

Day 2 is in the Carlisle area and involves nearly 90 miles of riding. Days 3 and 4 involve lengthy rides through the mountains. The longest stage is 104 miles, from Camp Hill to Bedford.

Day 5 is an 80-mile ride into Pittsburgh. Day 6 involves a 40-mile ride in downtown Pittsburgh. Each team consists of six riders.

"You ride together, you use drafting to help each other, make the wind work for you. Working as a team is critical,"Dansak said.

Each team brings along mechanics to work on the bikes during rest periods and massage therapists to work on the cyclists.

The Tour of Pa. is offering $150,000 in prize money.

Elite teams from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and Germany are joining teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, New England and Pennsylvania in comprising the race field.

Johnson's bicycling career won't peak with this race, regardless of the result.

"Cyclists don't hit their peak until the ages of 28 to 30,"he said. "A lot of them stay competitive into their mid-40s and some people in their 60s still race.

"This sport's not taxing on your body. You're not getting the wear and tear from your feet hitting the pavement."

The Cannondale team has done races in Philadelphia, Vermont, New Hampshire and Illinois, to name a few states, and will compete at nationals Aug. 7 in Orange County, Calif.

"But this race will be my highlight so far, no doubt,"Johnson said.