Lebanon 52

Maurice

New Member
Hi all,

some time ago I bookmarked this ride.

July 4th I decided to do that before the parade in Lebanon. The parade goes right by my house so I didn't want to get caught up in it... I figured back by 10:30am would be good since it usually starts around 11:00am. At 10:10 I was back and to my dismay the parade had started earlier this year. A little bit of an embarrassing moment but I found a way around and snuck into the driveway just as the first vehicles were passing by.

The ride. Left the house at 6:50 after a big bowl of my favorite honey smacks cereals. Not a great idea when you need to climb 500' over 3 miles right off the bat, although by the time I reached the top I was decently awake. This pretty much sets the tone of the ride.
The memorable climbs to me are Hickory Run rd, which is very scenic and seems to never end. Then there's Middle Valley rd. with the right turn on Zellers, a nice touch. A host of roads with sweet names like Hill rd., Mt Lebanon, Turkey top, Mountain top, ... Even Sanatorium rd. sounds fitting towards the end. Mt Lebanon rd. had me wishing for a 25 in the back or a compact crank, but fortunately it's not that long.
The descents are worthwhile. I glimpsed 45mph when I dared peering down at the computer zipping down Point Mountain rd. That is one of the descents where the road is somewhat wide and the visibility is decent. Stephensburg rd. provides a long and twisty descent that I found entertaining.
Following the cue sheet was not very easy and I made several mistakes which brought the total miles to 57. The Sanatorium rd. area is not clear at all, I had to climb it twice, once going over to Hill rd. and all the way to the bottom thinking I had missed the turn... The trick is to stay to the right when you see the "No Outlet sign" (misleading) and then take the left-most road at the 4-way split (not 3).

All in all it's a great ride. I highly recommend this route, just make sure you take climbing gears.

Cheers,

Maurice
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Nice job! Well done! I don't think I'll get to it this weekend but next is possible.

You know if you had one of those Garmin things strapped on your handlebar you won't get lost. :)

Surprised no mention of West Valley Brook. Heythorpe and I went down it once and it sure as hell seemed like a brutal climb going the other way.
 

Maurice

New Member
Thanks.

Yes I've got a road bike now, a Blue RC4 with some Dura-Ace. 39/53 and 11/23. The bike is light and stiff, although it came with heavy but sturdy wheels. Got it to do some road racing in between MTB races.

W Valley Brook rd. was not that bad. I think I was able to climb it with two gears to spare. The ride down Beacon Hill rd. was pretty fast.
The whole ride was done at an easier pace (except the climbs, hard to take it easy there...), but getting up/down the stairs was interesting for the rest of the morning.

Maurice
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
That 39/23 will surely be rough on some of those climbs, certainly hard to take is easy on a road like Iron Bridge with that. I really should comment on that post of yours too - after this. Interesting about W Valley Brook. I have a loop out there that goes up Bissel then down into Califon and up WVB I'm thinking of doing this weekend.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Gotta give much respect to turning 39x23 on some of the those climbs. That's no joke.
 

Maurice

New Member
That 39/23 will surely be rough on some of those climbs, certainly hard to take is easy on a road like Iron Bridge with that. I really should comment on that post of yours too - after this. Interesting about W Valley Brook. I have a loop out there that goes up Bissel then down into Califon and up WVB I'm thinking of doing this weekend.

I like to climb Bissel. On my way back from work I'll either do that or keep rolling up Rockaway rd. and then loop around via Petticoat/Haytown. I used to find Bissel rd. grueling, but for some reason now it's relatively easy. Going to work I like to go up Deer Hill rd. and then catch Bissel in the middle. Deer Hill is a bit demoralizing, straight up with the grade increasing and some kind of a roller coaster effect to the road. Once I was coming down it and a dog was standing in the middle of the road. I must have been going around 40mph and praying it didn't decide to dart in front of me as my rear wheel was already skidding like I was riding on ice.

Really, no glory with the 39/23, anyone riding as much as I do would be able to, and probably more...

Cheers,

Maurice
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I like to climb Bissel. On my way back from work I'll either do that or keep rolling up Rockaway rd. and then loop around via Petticoat/Haytown. I used to find Bissel rd. grueling, but for some reason now it's relatively easy. Going to work I like to go up Deer Hill rd. and then catch Bissel in the middle. Deer Hill is a bit demoralizing, straight up with the grade increasing and some kind of a roller coaster effect to the road. Once I was coming down it and a dog was standing in the middle of the road. I must have been going around 40mph and praying it didn't decide to dart in front of me as my rear wheel was already skidding like I was riding on ice.

Really, no glory with the 39/23, anyone riding as much as I do would be able to, and probably more...

Cheers,

Maurice

I've only ever gone down Bissel, just like WVB. I can assure you that I do actually climb hills occasionally. I remember it being really long but not terribly steep anywhere. At the end it meanders nicely along a stream or river or something peaceful.

I hesitate to go too fast on downhills. I have been sooooo close to squirrels countless times. You might have too much momentum to crash but if you get the wrong combo you could come down pretty hard. Sometimes I see deer on the side of the road and get nervous. Every time I'm going really fast now I think of that guy coming down the volcano in Japan at like 160 mph and his wheel disintegrating.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
thats an awesome vid! Norm id like to hop in w/ you on that ride. may be in two weekends? Pedros is next weekend :D
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
thats an awesome vid! Norm id like to hop in w/ you on that ride. may be in two weekends? Pedros is next weekend :D

Vid? I think I'm getting old I don't understand you. I mean I assume it means video but I see no video.

Sure 2 weeks. Prepare for hell. What time can you start? Maybe Maurice can give us a good place to park in the busy rat race of downtown Lebanon.

I did a loop out there this morning, climbed Bissel, Guinea Hollow, and West Valley Brook. Bissel by far the hardest of the 3 and Maurice you were right that WVB really isn't that bad. Coming down seemed tough. Guinea Hollow isn't really on the radar with these roads. On paper it's a big climb but in reality not bad at all. I will say it is one of the most beautiful roads in NJ though. And it does give you free license to say Guinea and nobody can call you a bigot or anything.
 

hardtale70

She's Gone From Suck to Blow
Shop Keep
If this is gonna be 50ish mi let me know.If i can get my cockpit a little comfier by then I'd love to go.My new freeride pedals look so badass on the Allez and I need to show them to the world.................
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Maybe Maurice can give us a good place to park in the busy rat race of downtown Lebanon.
I lack Maurice's local knowledge, but I've found the school on Cokesbury Rd. to be really convenient parking for this loop.

Outside possibility I can trek out for this ride. Are we talking about the weekend of 7/21/22?
 
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ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
Vid? I think I'm getting old I don't understand you. I mean I assume it means video but I see no video.

I hesitate to go too fast on downhills. I have been sooooo close to squirrels countless times. You might have too much momentum to crash but if you get the wrong combo you could come down pretty hard. Sometimes I see deer on the side of the road and get nervous. Every time I'm going really fast now I think of that guy coming down the volcano in Japan at like 160 mph and his wheel disintegrating.

This video my friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfBfdnkoGR0
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If this is gonna be 50ish mi let me know.If i can get my cockpit a little comfier by then I'd love to go.My new freeride pedals look so badass on the Allez and I need to show them to the world.................

50ish and a lot of climbing, something like 6600 feet.

I lack Maurice's local kowledge, but I've found the school on Cokesbury Rd. to be really convenient parking for this loop.

Outside possibility I can trek out for this ride. Are we talking about the weekend of 7/21/22?

Cool, I'll keep that in mind (the school). And yes, the weekend is the 7/21-22. Actually I think it would have to be 7/22 for me to make it so let's unofficially call it 7/22 on the earlier side (but not my usual sick-early time).


Ok I'm not old, just stupid.
 

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you guys don't mind I may join you for this as well, hopefully on my new bike. I'll have to see if there is any family stuff going on that day.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
woohoo kirt! Its been a while my friend. Looks like this could pan out to be a pretty freakin sweet ride.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you guys don't mind I may join you for this as well, hopefully on my new bike. I'll have to see if there is any family stuff going on that day.

I thought you didn't ride a road bike after April.
 

Maurice

New Member
To make sure you climb the entirety of Cokesbury rd., you can park at the school in Lebanon, on Maple St. The train station also has some space.

Have fun on those hills. Like I said pay attention to the area near the top of Sanatorium rd. A piece of map should help. I gather Chris is familiar with the area so he probably knows already.

Have fun!

Maurice
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Thanks for the tip! I have it mapped out on the GPS already. I'll send Fred a link so he has it as well.
 
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