Autumn Among Amish and Many Mennonites

   Because the forecast called for a relatively mild day, followed by some really cold temperatures later this week, I planned a special ride out in Lancaster County. We had been having some erratic weather recently with heavy rains, strong winds and then some colder days with snow, and I had only been able to get out once in each of the last two weeks. I even turned to the indoor trainer (ugh!), as I could feel my fitness already slipping away due to the inactivity.

   One of those rides I had squeezed in was a fairly relaxing spin with the Cycle Tech Turkey Trek gang – we had a really great turnout, even though we were in for a chilly and windy day. There would have been well over a dozen participants, if some late changes in plans hadn’t occurred. I joked that the no-shows had seen the forecast and were looking for reasons to avoid riding, but it really ended up not being too bad.

   With the wind (light breeze early in the morning) at our backs and the sun out, we actually felt like we had over-dressed. Some of us were considering taking off some layers as we quickly reached the city line and made our way down along Boathouse Row. It was at this point the wind really whipped up, and although we were sheltered a bit down along the Schuylkill Banks boardwalk, our mini-peloton was really smacked around on the way back.

   With our heads sometimes down fighting the wind, and with the participants at various levels of strength or fitness, our group splintered often, with a couple charging off the front and/or falling off of the back. Eventually we all just kind of gave up and rode at a little more than a jogging pace, simply enjoying the company and conversation.

   Before I get back to my recent adventure, I wanted to provide an update on my Merckx Grand Prix build. My new friend Dirk, to whom I had previously sold a Tommasini Super Prestige bicycle, had been asking questions about the Merckx and eventually committed. I had been keeping him informed on progress, and he gave me some direction with details, as he liked the leather look of the Pinarello Treviso I built a few years ago.

   Dirk also requested that I take a shot at painting in the Merckx logos on the fork blades. Using some white acrylic paint, I filled in the logos, then waited a few minutes for it to dry slightly. I then folded over a moist paper towel into a point and gently wiped over the area, removing the white from the high points and leaving the logos filled. I was quite pleased with the results.

   Other than a good cleaning and a little cleaning/lube to the Dura-Ace brake/shift levers, this bike was ready-to-go. It had originally come with tubular wheels, so I replaced those with a nice set of Rigida CSB semi-aero rims. Finally, I did a little sanding and buffing to the drive-side crank, as it had a nasty scratch, and then I took some photos of the completed bike:

Dirk was going to install his leather saddle, but I did a little photo
editing to add my own version to match the bars.

   The previous night, while I was trying to decide where I wanted to ride, I saw a photograph on the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society’s Facebook page, featuring a Reading Railroad passenger train at the station in Ephrata, PA. I enjoy railroad history, have built a few detailed model railroads and have a great interest in railroad architecture as well. I “collect” railroad stations by snapping a photo when I visit them and currently have over 600 station pics from all over the country!

   I have been to Ephrata a couple times in my life, most recently to purchase a Bianchi that became a Marco Pantani tribute bicycle. I knew there was a rail trail in development at the time, but I had no idea there was a station still standing in town. After some research on the area, I had a nice route, centering on the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail, written down in detail on a small cue card that I clipped to the stem of my bike.

   The former rail line was chartered in 1857 as the Reading and Columbia Railroad to provide a connection for the city of Reading to the Chesapeake Bay region via the Susquehanna Tidewater Canal. Rails were laid in 1863, and trains transported coal, iron ore, and general merchandise. During its peak years, the railroad expanded into the Marietta and Lancaster areas and carried as many as ten passenger trains a day. Through its years as part of the Reading Railroad and eventually Conrail, the secondary branch declined in use until being abandoned in 1985.

   The Ephrata Station (above), which now serves as a visitor center, isn’t actually an official part of the trail, so I started my journey just off of Main Street and headed west on a smooth asphalt path. I had brought my cross bike partly because I was concerned with flatting on the debris left on the roads during the recent snowstorm, but also because I knew sections of the trail were gravel. Those areas of the trail ended up being a nicely packed base with finely crushed stone – I’ve ridden on worse surfaces with 23 mm tires, so I would probably choose one of my road bikes, should I visit this route again.

   The trail was nicely designed with well-marked, smooth transitions at road crossings and a lit underpass below busy Route 272. In some of the more exposed areas of the trail through farmland, the path was lined with shade trees, though I was glad the leaves had mostly fallen this time of year, and the sun could provide some warmth until I could get my own temperature up. One drawback was a break in the trail where a bridge is needed to cross the Cocalico Creek – a short on-road detour was necessary to link the two sections. 

   After reaching the end point in Lititz, I took to the streets in order to loop back to Ephrata. I think many of us incorrectly think it is flat farmland out there - it is far from it! In fact, just a couple of miles off of the trail I encountered a brutal incline up Kissel Hill Road. It wasn’t particularly long - it was just incredibly steep! At the top I was supposed to make a left turn onto Owl Hill Road, and I was praying that didn’t mean there was another climb right after this. Luckily, I was eventually going down Owl Hill after I made my way across a small ridge above Lititz Run.

   There were a handful of roads on my cue sheet that had the word “hill” in it, and the constant up and down nature of the ride didn’t leave much time for recovery. I was happy that the air was virtually still, and I didn’t also have to contend with wind.

   I crossed Zook’s Mill Covered Bridge (above) then turned east to follow the Cocalico Creek a bit, before heading back across the farmlands. I passed many horse-drawn buggies and a couple Amish adults on their kick scooters, which look very much like bicycles. Along the way, I received a few friendly waves from folks, mostly raking leaves in their yards, as the harvest was long past. I also saw a group of Mennonite children walking home from school, and a very small girl surprised me with a “Good afternoon!”

   I finally reached some less intense riding along Diamond Station and Peach Roads, then enjoyed some flat cruising along the Conestoga River on Cabin Drive. I didn’t really enjoy a short stretch of Route 322, as many tractor trailers blew by, but it was less than a mile before I turned east on Martindale Road and headed up Napierville Road and Church Street, over the pass through the hills that separate Hahnstown and Ephrata.

   I think if I was to tackle this ride again, I would cut down the size of the loop on the west side of this route to avoid the early nasty hills, and add the distance to the east side to go completely around the hills there. The riding to the northeast of Ephrata, through Reamstown and Denver was much more to my liking, even if there was a little more traffic out that way. In this more gently-rolling terrain, I could get up to a decent pace and hold it for a while.

   I can imagine some windy days out here in the flat farmlands near Cocalico High School, but I was thankful today wasn’t one of them! I knew there were only a handful of miles left, as I made my way down Church Avenue (the fourth different Church-named street on my cue sheet) through the eastside of Ephrata and back to my car.

   I always find November to be a disappointing time as a cyclist, since I know fitness will drop off as the weather causes interruptions to my riding schedule. Maybe finding other interesting routes on those bonus mild winter days will help compensate for any poor form. 

Bits and Pieces

   I would like to apologize for not really having a unifying theme in this week’s blog, but a lot has been going on the past couple of weeks, and I’ll try to devote a little time to all of the news.

   First off, this Saturday is the fourth annual Cycle Tech Turkey Trek, leaving at 9:00 from the Betzwood Park trailhead of the Schuylkill River Trail. We’ll be doing a 40(ish)-mile round trip into Philadelphia and back, hoping to take in sites like the Manayunk Bridge (Cynwyd Heritage Trail) Philadelphia Art Museum and the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, but sometimes city events will cause a detour or two.

   A nice-sized crew has already committed to the event. We won’t be crushing the pace, maybe 15 mph or so, if the forecasted wind allows it, but this is a social event, and we certainly don’t intend to drop anyone. Feel free to join us – just be sure to dress warmly!

   Last week I completed a bit of touch-up to the Merckx Corsa, and below are some photos. If anyone interested would prefer a vintage 8-speed setup, instead of the current modern components, let me know, and we can work something out.

   A couple weekends ago I attended the Philadelphia Bike Expo and saw some tremendous bicycles – too many to mention really, but I thought the Wilier-Triestina Cento10 Pro was a standout, with its cromovelato-esque paint job:

It's all about the gioiello ramato (copper jewel) finish!

   The real highlight of the Expo for me was the opportunity to speak with legendary framebuilder Richard Sachs. I think the reason he took the time to speak with me was probably because I didn’t just ask another cycling question. Having a graphic arts background, I was interested to know who had designed his head badge (compare it to his original version below).

   He told me that an old girlfriend had actually came up with it back in the ‘80s, when there were no computers with art programs. She did everything with paper cutouts, just messing around with some different shapes. He liked this version at the time because it suggested motion and reminded him of the Descente sportswear logo that was very popular in cycling at the time.

   The funny thing was that it was much later that he even realized the design incorporated his initials! A wonderful feature of this shape is that it can be inverted to create a pattern that Richard often uses to decorate his frames.

   The next day I was off to Brooklyn to meet someone I had spoken to on the phone about my Vitus 979 bicycles. Chris generously offered to pay for gas and tolls, and asked me to bring along both the purple and red bikes so that he could decide which he wanted after checking them out in person.

   Turns out he is a bit of a collector and told me about some of his other machines, which included a couple other Vitus bikes. He was just a few years younger than me, and we shared similar stories about our formative years as cycling fans.

   Chris was very generous in his comments about my work, and I could tell he was struggling to decide which of the two bicycles to keep. “You know, Glen, I think I’m just going to have to take them BOTH!” It felt pretty good to come home with a fat wallet and only one of the three bikes I had left home with that morning.

   The other bike was my Cannondale, and I had a really nice ride out from my friend Taylor’s townhouse on Quincy Street in Brooklyn, across the Manhattan Bridge for a couple laps of Central Park. The return leg of the ride went down the Hudson River Greenway and crossed back over the Brooklyn Bridge instead, which was a BIG mistake with all the clueless tourists clogging the bike lane with their photo ops.

   After fighting my way through the crowd, I enjoyed the bike lane down Brooklyn Boulevard. The temps were in that crisp-not-cold zone I love, so I decided to explore a bit. I rode down to the neighborhood of Cobble Hill then cut across on back streets to Prospect Heights (pretty sure I was on Bergen Street most of the way). Anyhow, it got really cloudy, and with the sun low in the sky at that point, around 5:00, dusk seemed to be closing in.

   I didn't want to mess around when I ended up intersecting Bedford Avenue and wanted to double-check that I was turning the right direction. There was a girl with headphones on, crossing the street, and I asked if she knew which way was Quincy. Her reply was "Quincy, Massachusetts?" I can't image how far she thought I intended to ride!

   Still tinkering with my own Vitus, I was able to find a vintage Sugino RT compact crankset that has a look more appropriate with the rest of the Mavic components than the modern FSA parts I had previous on the bike. The Sugino crankset was originally a triple, so I simply substituted shorter chainring bolts and found the 50- and 34- tooth chainrings to finish the job.

   I also removed the Italian 3t stem and bars (saved for near-future use!) that were on the bike when I bought it. I swapped in a Mavic stem, but I don't like the shape of the company's handlebars, which have a long forward reach to the curve. I just can't find a place to put the levers where they are comfortably in reach when riding on the hoods and in proper vertical position for squeezing the levers from the drops, while still maintaining the correct forward rotation of the bars.

   I went a completely different direction, as a bit of an experiment, and installed a set of Kestrel carbon handlebars. I thought it would be nice to cut a bit of weight from the bike, and they blend right in with the black bar tape, anyway!

The (hopefully) finished product

   I thought I’d spare you the blog title of Vitus Vision 3, but I have one more round from the French brand, as I received another visit from my “student” Jordan, who had a red 979 that he wanted to build up. He had quite a project in store, as he also brought along a very nice Bottecchia and a Look 231 that he wished to disassemble, with the intent to use some of the combined parts on the Vitus.

   Just like our previous “Bicycle University” session, we had a lot of fun and got a lot done as an effective team. We had some great conversation going, not only about bikes and racing but also about the NYC music scene, as we are both punk rock fans.

   It was a bit of a coincidence that, after posting the photo of the “Merckx Garage” in my last blog post, that my pal Brendan sent me a photo of his brother Aidan’s garage, which, in addition to the Vitus 992 I had built for him, had a Tommasini, Colnago and Look 595 hanging inside. I had replied that he shouldn’t tempt me with photos of Look bicycles, as I had been trying to keep from purchasing one in my (fruitless?) pursuit not to become a collector.

   Well, the Look 231 frameset Jordan brought along was gorgeous! It is gold (despite the more yellowish hue that shows up in the photo below) with the unpainted carbon sections in between having the appearance of fish scales when light reflects off the frame. I have plans in the works for this bike already!

   Speaking of Brendan, when I was finally able to deliver his Sean Kelly Vitus, he gave me another project bike that is a bit different, an Atala Grand Prix with a “townie” setup. One of my first restoration projects, was an Atala Aelle Victory, and I once owned a Cromor Triomphe, which I eventually sold to a friend in Philadelphia.

   This bike is going to require some polishing to its chrome lugs and some touch-up to the black paint, which will be simple enough. The bike has some really interesting parts, including a mystery crankset that doesn’t even have a manufacturer listed in the original catalog, found online! The Grand Prix is equipped with a Campagnolo Valentino front derailleur that is push-rod activated, instead of having the common parallelogram construction. Strangely, the matching rear derailleur has the incorrect routing of the chain through the pulleys, but it still functions! I’ll correct that anyway.

   The bike has a set of wheels built around Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo high-flange hubs, and according to the catalog, Fiamme rims, though they are unmarked. Unfortunately, the bike has Shimano brake levers, but I’ll let that slide, as finding Campagnolo levers for a flat bar configuration will be difficult and pricey.

   Finally, I was able to find a set of Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels to complete the Wilier-Triestina Cofidis team bike. I contacted my prospective buyer in South Carolina before the purchase, since the wheels were expensive enough to put this venture beyond the proposed budget. I wanted to get the okay to proceed with plans to stick as close to team specs as possible. That project should come to a quick close when the wheels arrive, as the bike has otherwise been complete and hanging in my rafters for weeks!

As always, I’ll keep you informed on my progress.