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Pre-Ride Guide 2013 Now Available ::Click Here to Download:: Cheer The Riders In! ::Click Here:: |
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WELCOME TO THE ENVIRONMENT RIDE BLOG
Meet the Ride Director Sat., 12/17 at Warrington EMS! This coming Saturday, December 17 from 11 - 3, I'll be in-store at the Warrington store of Eastern Mountain Sports. It's at 1700 Valley Square Boulevard at Route 611 (just north of Street Road). Joining me will be our Rider Coach, Blake Strasser. Please come by and say hello. Are you thinking about riding next year? We'll be happy to answer your questions. Bring a friend along, too; you can register to ride together and then buy each other some biking gear for the holidays at the same time! It should be a fun day, so come on by! Eric Epstein - Ride Director - 1:28pm Monday, December 12th, 2011 New Highlights for the First Day! I spent a good part of last week out on the route with our logistics coordinator, Jim. We had an amazing time digging up new treats for you to enjoy on the Ride next year. Today I'll focus on Day 1 of the Ride. Stay tuned for details on the all-new Day 2 and Day 3. One highlight from this year that we'll be repeating next year is the Amtrak ride from Center City out to our starting site in Elizabethtown. Once again, Bob Thomas will regale you with the geographic history of the region that you'll be riding through on your bike for the rest of the weekend. This was one of the most highly-rated parts of last year's event. We will again be starting at the E-Town Masonic Home, which offers both a great place to gather and a spectacular setting for our Friday afternoon ride-out. Here's one shot from last year, just to whet your appetite:
This year we've selected an entirely new set of oases for the first day. We bill the Environment Ride as being "from the Susquehanna to the Schuylkill" and next year we intend to give literal truth to the claim. Check out this photo from our proposed new first oasis, right on the banks of the Susquehanna:
Beauty, eh? You may be tempted to sit by the edge of the river for the afternoon, but then you'd miss our covered bridge tour of Lancaster County! It's 42 beautiful miles with four covered bridges. Here's one of them:
As you can see, Friday's ride is a lovely warm-up for your weekend full of treats! Eric Eric Epstein - Ride Director - 1:09pm Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
In my blog posts, I’ll try to share a bit of the backstory. My goal is to give you a little insight into the production side of the Pennsylvania Environment Ride. Sometimes I’ll give you a little history, sometimes you’ll get a sneak peek into something fun that we’ve uncovered, and sometimes I’ll just share what we’ve been up to. Please let me know if there’s an aspect of the Ride you’d like to hear more about! I’d love to hear your ideas. Today I’m going to kick off the series with an answer to one of the biggest questions we get about the Environment Ride: Where do we sleep? The answer is: In really cool places. How cool? Read on! With the help of our guiding spirit, urban planner Bob Thomas, we’ve selected destinations that showcase three distinct aspects of the southeastern Pennsylvania environment.
On the first night, we’ll bed down in Ephrata in Lancaster County. Home to one of the earliest religious communities in America, the Ephrata Cloister, this adorable little town is plunked in the midst of Lancaster farm country. Our hotel for the night, a modern Hampton Inn, is itself in a historic location. Its predecessor was the Mountain Springs Hotel, a nineteenth century resort where vacationers would journey to take in the natural spring water. We’ll stay right by Main Street, which means you can walk to dinner. We’ve specially selected this restaurant because the chef features local produce. After dinner, you may choose to stroll Main Street, imagining yourself to be a resident from an earlier time. We’ll spend our second night in Reading at the historic Abraham Lincoln hotel.
From small town to small city, on the third day we head to the big city: Philadelphia. In one weekend on your bike, you’ll see it all! Eric Epstein - Ride Director - 8:34am Monday, October 17th, 2011 |
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At almost seven times the population of Ephrata, Reading has a more urban look and feel. It’s a historic town, too; indeed, it was planned by William Penn’s sons, Richard and Thomas. The Abe Lincoln fits squarely in that historic tradition; this Art Deco hotel was built in 1928. Fun (if slightly creepy) fact: John Philip Sousa died here in 1932 after conducting a rehearsal of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” the previous day.