Yesterday I had the opportunity to check out some Lehigh Valley trails out in the northern reaches of Northampton and Lehigh Counties. There was a warm sun shining when I started out from Slatington, and I may have let my enthusiasm get the better of me, as I shed some of the layers I had put on that crisp morning and wondered if I might be paying for it later.
I was starting out in a westerly direction on the Slate Heritage Trail (photo left), which winds along Trout Creek. There were many remnants of the once-flourishing slate industry along the way with some historical markers to give information about some of the locations
I pedaled out into some open farmland, and in the abundant sunshine, I was working up a decent sweat. The terrain was becoming incredibly hilly, and I opened up the front of my jacket, knowing that, if I didn't stay fairly dry and cool, when the sun started to get low I was going to be wet and cold.
Going up a particularly brutal incline on County Bridge Road, I crossed through an unmarked intersection and waved to a car passing by for some I.D. help. She could tell that her answer wasn't the one I wanted to hear, meaning I'd have to continue up the nasty climb, but she wished me a pleasant ride anyway.
Finally over the top of the hill, I turned onto Best Station Road and soon connected to Route 873. I made my way over gently-rolling terrain to the village of Neffs, veered onto Route 329, then headed south on Mauch Chunk Road to reach the Ironton Trail. I had been on this wonderfully-done path years ago with my father, but we were only on the the main 5-mile loop that encircles the borough of Coplay, as well as the communities of Stiles and Hokendauqua.
I was on a three-mile extension of the trail, out to the village of Ironton itself, and the paved course is lined with ruins and historical markers that give visual evidence of the iron ore mining industry that once dominated the region. The trail is on the roadbed of the former Ironton Railroad, which transported the iron ore to blast furnaces that lined the Lehigh River. In later years the area was dominated by cement mills, and some of those still remain, though much of the transport is now done by trucks.There are many railroad remnants along the trail as well, including a nicely-restored caboose, a passenger car (which needed some work) and a concrete telephone booth (photo below).
As I neared the river, I could see the landmark red brick Coplay Cement Company kilns looming in the distance. Built in the late 19th century, the kilns and surrounding land were donated to the county to become an open-air museum.
I turned onto 2nd Street before reaching the kilns, so that I could head across the Chestnut Street bridge into Northampton. I made a left onto Main to meet the 10th Street trailhead of the Nor-Bath Trail which runs about six miles between its namesake boroughs. There had been many improvements to the trail since I last visited here years ago, and new bridges had been recently constructed over the busier roads that intersect the trail. Maybe the local parks department was feeling pressured by the quality of the Ironton Trail on the other side of the river?
The trail climbs rather quickly away from the river, but not too steeply, as this was the roadbed of the Northampton and Bath Railroad. The shortline primarily served the many area cement mills (the high school nickname is the Koncrete Kids, after all) to interchange with the New Jersey Central in Northampton.
I was aware of the lowering sun and definitely didn't want to get caught riding in the dark. I still had over ten miles to ride up the D&L Trail to return to Slatington, so I only rode half of the Nor-Bath Trail, doing a U-turn at the Bicentennial Park sports complex. Eventually heading through Canal Park, which is a short segment of the trail route on the east bank of the Lehigh River, I was disappointed by the condition of the asphalt surface, but I suppose with its proximity to the river, exposure to flooding is a frequent issue.
I crossed back over the river on the Woodward Bridge at 21st Street and continued up along the D&L Trail towards the community of Laurys Station. The bluffs on the west side of the river become higher as you near Lehigh Gap, so I was in a cold shadow for the rest of the ride back to Slatington. I jumped out of the saddle a few times, not only to keep up a pace, but to try to generate some warmth from the effort.
I was generally happy with the performance of the new Bianchi, though I'm not sold on the wider 38mm tires. I expected a lack of nimbleness on the streets, compared to the 30mm versions I have been riding on in the past, but I'm not sure what to think about their performance on unpaved paths. The surface of the D&L Trail is very fine cinder - though it doesn't puddle, it does hold water and becomes rather mushy, and like the Perkiomen Trail near my home, because it receives very little winter sun, it is rarely dry after the month of November. Both trails are constantly going through a freezing-overnight/thawing-during-daylight process.
Now, physics would tell me that I was actually better off with the wider tires on the soft path, as their greater surface area would keep the tires from cutting into the mush and sinking. I also noticed a more comfortable ride on some of the more coarse or broken surfaces.
I certainly don't feel the need to keep two wheelsets on hand for changing terrain, like a pro cyclocross racer might. I prefer not to ride in the wet, so I'm leaning towards trying a 32- or 34-millimeter tire and leaving it at that.
So I'm now selling my 2006 Cross Concept - it served me well for nearly eight years, and I hope someone else can enjoy a few more years of off-road adventures on it. The bike has been cleaned and tuned-up, so it's ready to ride!
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