Lebanon Half-Century II

It was a beautiful day for riding yesterday, so I revisited last Sunday's horribly aborted mission and rode out to Lebanon and back. Compared with my previous 2 half-centuries, I could really feel an improvement in my fitness level. This trip was non-stop (minus a few traffic lights) and in the saddle for the entire 3-hour ride. Speaking of which, 3:06.00 was the exact trip time -- a full hour shorter than my previous two half-centuries.

The one aspect of riding which I absolutely have to improve is my average speed. Now granted, it was a windy day, but my average speed was 15.9 mph. That sucks. It sucks by at least 6-8 mph. I think with my time trial workouts on Thursdays, this will improve. Hopefully.

The Kutztown Half-Century

Saturday morning, I had a great ride to Kutztown and back by way of Leesport and Lake Ontelaunee (50 mile round trip). The night before, as I was falling asleep, I reminded myself to check the map for any nearby covered bridges. I forgot. And when I finally checked the map last night, this was the look on my face:

So that's the Kutztown University "Golden Bear," presently located on the north campus of my alma mater (class of 1994) between Schaeffer Auditorium and the library. It turns out that Kutz's Mill Bridge is located about a mile away from that damn bear statue. I noted the location of Kutz's Mill Bridge with a thumb tack on the map below.

The morning temperature had to have been in the low 60s, and there was an ass-kicking wind blowing in from the northwest, which sucker punched me from the flanks during the entire ride. And Lehigh Valley winds are famously powerful in the valleys northeast of Reading -- especially in Kutztown itself. Between the wind and the cooler early-morning temperatures, it took about 15 miles to really find some energy.

It's amazing what you discover around here when you actually *look*. I discovered an assembly of relics in Leesport known as The Reading Railroad Museum. It's a collection of vintage passenger rail cars from a time before Detroit and Big Oil all but killed America's rail system.

Take a ride on the Reading (below).

Several Pullman cars from the fabled New York Central Railroad (below).

The spillway bridge at Lake Ontelaunee:

And the map. Note the thumbtack marking the position of Kutz's Mill Bridge:

Peace In The Middle East

It seemed like the perfect day for my first half-century, so I did it. The 50-mile round trip to Lebanon, PA and back. I really only "bonked" (lost all will to live) once, and it was just a few miles from home. I wrote it before and I'll write it again: 422 West is awesome for cycling. Just awesome. More details and a map later on.