Here's a reminder that our annual vintage ride is Saturday, July 10, 2010. Bring your vintage, classic, keeper of the flame and/or BOBish bikes for a beautiful ride and garden party in celebration of Summer, biking and getting together with friends old and new. Start time will be around 10:00 am. Come early to talk bikes and unload. Feel free to bring one, or as many bikes as you wish to show off, we all like to see those cool classics. You'll have plenty of admirers.
It's the same route as last year, a bit longer than previous years topping out at 33 miles, but I've taken us off a bit of a busy stretch for a spectacular downhill to show you a bit more of our beautiful riding country. I would recomend your rider to have brakes you trust, and fixed only for the truly heroic. We'll still have the rollicking fast few miles along a ridge capped with a great two mile descent to the finish. Those new to our ride will find out that we live in a fairly hilly, but beautiful area for riding, very low traffic and lots of farm land. A 42 x 24 racing low will have you spending some time out of the saddle. For those too used to the flatlands or looking for an easier ride, we live along the Little Falls of the Gunpowder river and the 40 mile long North Central Rail Trail. The stone dust trail crosses the path of our road route in New Freedom, PA, the first town north on the trail about 8 miles away with railroad grades of no more than 2-3%, a great place to work out that classic cross bike or fixed gear. That crossing is about 18 miles into the road ride, a rest stop featuring a nice local bike shop and Bonkies home made ice cream & snowballs to energize you for the last 12 miles. Then a cookout at ride's end for all.
We'll have hot dogs and brats on the grill, vegetarian dishes plus all the usual sides and refreshments. Feel free to add to the menu if you wish. There's plenty of space to show your bikes, you might wish to bring stands too. The Tour will be at stage 7: Tournus to Station des Rousses - 165.5 km, the 'medium' mountains, for those interested.
We'll try to make the trip worth your travel and plan to make a day of it, no need to rush off. Please e-mail us to let us know if you're coming and we can provide directions. Almost all mapping programs screw the route up close by when coming from the south.
Happy trails,
Dan and Barb Artley in Parkton, Maryland