Hey everyone, The rain did its job, everything is green as can be, and it looks like Sunday May 7 will be a lovely day. Let’s go for a ride! Our goal is to have fun, eat well, and go 15-20 miles.

Short version: Meet at 11 a.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the Charlies Brown Icehouse on Sand Island in Bethlehem; estimated distance and time, 15-20 miles, 3-4 hours.  Calories in versus calories out: Your call!

A while ago we set ourselves the onerous task of finding the best empanadas in the area, so we’ve designed a ride that will take us to a couple of spots where we can move this job along. We’ll pick up food, and then head to a park to enjoy our purchases.

Our ride will be a combination of trail and road riding and will start and end at Sand Island in Bethlehem. We’ll take the trail to Allentown, where we’ll cross the Lehigh River and go to our first stop for empanadas (or whatever you like). Then we’ll take the roads and head back east across the Lehigh River, where we’ll make our second empanada stop. We’ll have bike bags to cart any of your food purchases to our next stop, which will be Illick’s Mill Park in north Bethlehem. Illick’s Mill Park is on the Monocacy Creek and showcases stonework done by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. It’s a beauty and a great place to hang out!

If the Monocacy Trail has dried sufficiently, we’ll take that route back to Sand Island. If not, we’ll take quiet roads to get to the same place.

As this route covers a significant portion of trails, you can expect to have minimal hills; on the road portions, you should expect some gentle hills (you are in Pennsylvania, after all). As always, we will go a pace that leaves no rider behind.

The best bike for this ride is the one on which you are most comfortable.  Skinny-tired road bikes are likely okay, as are mountain bikes with wider tires — keep in mind that wider tires may ease your way on the bike paths (mostly unpaved but generally smooth) while those same tires will slow you down on the paved road surfaces.  In addition to your bike, you must wear a helmet, and bringing along a spirit of fun would be a plus!

If you need any additional information, please contact annef@lvcat.org.

This bike ride is organized by CAT-Coalition for Appropriate Transportation. CAT envisions a world where bicycling, walking/ADA accessibility, and public transportation prevail. Learn more at LVCAT.org

This project is being completed in partnership with the Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape.  Funding is provided in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, Environmental Stewardship Fund, administered by Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Inc.