kenmcchord

Just signed up yesterday and I'm heading up to ride the 92 mile route. The Lehigh valley has great cycling and this should be a lot of fun (if the rain doesn't spoil it). Anyone else planning to attend?

EDIT: www.bicycling.com/fallclassic

Dural

Trexlertown Velodrome big fall cycling flea market is being held the day before, on Oct 6th. Velo buys are likely to keep me busy tinkering on Sunday.

Some nice Oley Valley roads in that 90 mile ride, including a covered bridge, on Covered Bridge road. Nearby town of Oley is a National Register type of place, with cool old houses. The bike route passes very close (a few hundred feet) to another covered bridge, on Spangsville road, where it crosses the Manatawny creek. Might be worth a small detour.

Southern end of the ride also passes close to the Daniel Boone homestead (and park). Opportunity to have a picture taken at the corner of Daniel Boone & Daniel Boone roads, with your bike leaning on the street sign.

The Reading Pagoda, great view, but you may feel the eyes of the locals upon you, if you ride a bike there in full spandex kit. Been told it is a local same-sex pickup spot.

Northern section along Crystal Cave - Saucony Creek roads is quiet and scenic. Snowdrift road might be a dirt road IIRC. Some pavement is a bit "alligatored" in the shady creekside places, but it looks like they skipped that part. Another small detour, stay on Saucony to Kutz, and Kutz Mill road, would put you over another old covered bridge.

Hope you get some great cycling weather. Forecasting cooler than midweek temps (60's instead of 70's). I like the route, other than short sections on Rt 12 and Rt 73 (should be fine on a Sunday).

kenmcchord

Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to keep my eyes open. And thanks for the Reading tip, I will be in lycra (chicks wear spandex, men wear lycra...a dumb joke I've been saying for years whenever I get hammer for the bike outfits). Wish I could make the flea market but I am working 7-3 on saturday then driving right up after work from the Philly airport. That also means I have to get up extra early to get my ride package Sunday morning; if you make the velodrome flea market on Saturday there is a ride package p/u...bummer, damn you work

Again thanks for the info!

NOS88

Wish I were. You are right about great riding in that area. It's where most of my wife's family lived, and I've put on many a mile there.

revchuck 

Wish I could. Went to college in the area for three years at Kutztown State ('69-'72). I wasn't cycling then, would love to visit the area with my bike.

oilman_15106

I would reserve Bicycling Mag. for lining the bird cage.

kenmcchord

Great ride there yesterday, and a brutal course. Over 6800' of climbing (so says my Strava data) over 91 miles. Personally I didn't ride the best, seems I went a bit too hard on Friday's training ride and killed my legs for yesterday, but all in all it was a great ride. The Lehigh valley is some beautiful riding, and the hills were epic! I will definitely do this again.

Was talking with the editor of Bicycling mag at one of the rest stops, and I mentioned that it seems some like to line their bird cage with his mag. He suggested newspaper.

Whiteknight

I live in Reading below the Pagoda. When I saw the long course included a run up the back of Mt. Penn and then out across Skyline Drive I wondered how that would go. The last time I was up on Skyline Drive the road surface was falling apart.
The remarks about the parking areas along Skyline Drive being used for same sex pick ups is no big deal. We see the same thing in the Betzwood parking areas in Valley Forge Park on the SRT. Bikers dressed in "kit" are no big deal in Reading. Saw two fly down this street last week. Going back a few years. Reading was for two years part of the Triple Crown series. But UGI is digging up almost every city street for gas main work. Cycling in the city now can be a bit tough.

Whiteknight

When I saw the course around Reading, up over Mt. Penn it brought back memories from the 1950s. During the Depression the Works Projects Administration built the stone walls that border the roads on Mt. Penn. They also built a number of fire lanes on the back side of the mountain using cobble stones. Now mostly overgrown with brush. As a kid we used to do the cobbles on our bikes. The one down the back side from the fire tower would fit right into a Belgian one day classic race.

capejohn

I just saw this yesterday while reading the magazine. I was disappointed there was too little time left to make arrangements on my end. I would have loved to drive to PA to do this ride.

Terex

Was at Trexlertown on Saturday with a buddy. We had a great ride on Friday in NJ and PA before the weather changed. I bought a couple of caps and a fancy base layer garment at the sale. We stopped by the registration booth for the Fondo on our way out. Lehigh Valley is not an area where I'd be interested in riding.

kenmcchord

Not sure why you wouldn't want to ride Lehigh. I thought it was beautiful riding, and very challenging as well. I ride in south jersey and I can't find a decent hill to ride. I have come to love riding hills, I guess that's because it's different than just rolling along flats. Either way I had a ball and I'm going to head back out that way for some training rides sometime soon.

lennyparis

Anyone doing this for 2013?

guybierhaus

Too much $ for me. And if it goes thru Oley again I'd be paying to ride roads I ride every day for free, since I live in Oley. Had thought about it earlier in the year, but I have something else on the schedule for that week end.