SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE SHOP RIDE

Bare trees, short days, freezing nights, and what sunlight we get is pale, hardly warming at all. Who wants to bike in these conditions?

We do! Let’s get off our butts and ride this Sunday morning, December 4. We’ll take off at 11 a.m. from the CAT office, 1935 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem, and we’ll head north and west on relatively quiet roads to our cozy coffee shop in N. Catty, stop for a warming beverage and snack, and then head back either the same way or via the Nor-Bath Trail, for a total mileage of somewhere between 15-20 miles, depending on which route people prefer.  (Note that the Nor-Bath Trail is very civilized, and we don’t hesitate to take our road bikes on it.)

If you are not typically comfortable riding on the roads, this is a great opportunity to practice safe riding skills of good road positioning, communicating with other road users through hand signals and body language, and the like.  As an added benefit, on a group ride such as this, we are very visible, and we are all that much safer.

The weather forecast says we’ll have temps in the 40s and sunshine and that’s good enough. The best way to deal with riding in colder weather is to wear many thin layers – a next-to-the-skin layer of a moisture-wicking fabric like wool is best – and do whatever you have to to keep your hands and feet warm.  Once we start riding, even if we keep to a moderate pace, we will warm up aplenty.  Some of us will ride with panniers if anyone wants to carry extra clothes or needs to take off a layer after we warm up.

Remember to bring your helmet.  We can help adjust the straps to have it fit over your hat. If anyone needs to top off  air in your tires or any other quick adjustment to your bicycle, we’ll be at CAT 15 minutes early to open the doors to the bike co-op.  If you need any more substantial mechanical work, or require more information about this ride, you can contact me at annef@lvcat.org.

This ride is supported in part by a grant from Lehigh Valley Greenways.