Manheim Township Cycling Club Ride

(Josh, Joe, Me, Brad and Matt)

Went for a ride with members of the Manheim Township Cycling Club yesterday. It was my first ride as the new faculty advisor to the club. We met at the school at 1:00 then proceeded to the northeast. I was amazed at the amount of open farmland and low traffic volume in this area. It reminded me of rides outside of Mount Joy.

We maintained about a 14-15 mph pace, which was fine with me, because of being in recovery mode from last week's Marine Corps Marathon. Shortly after leaving the school, we encountered our first hill, which I believe would have been Kissel Hill. After a short climb we were treated to a really nice downhill, which ended in the Millport Conservancy region. This was the most beautiful part of the ride. The stream - Lititz Run - looked really nice with a decent flow. I began dreaming of where I would cast if I were fly-fishing, but my dream was shattered by "BustyourBallstown" Road. While not a long hill, it definetely was steep, and got the heart pumping. I was reminded yet again of something my earth science prof at LVC told the class: "the world is flat when you're driving in a car. If you want to experience topography and the results of tectonic forces, ride a bicycle."

After the climb, we were rewarded with another nice downhill, and then a general leveling off back to the school. Got back around around 2:00. Really nice ride with a great bunch of young riders.