Reading 120 races through Kutztown
An enthusiastic crowd of townspeople and visitors lined the shady side of Main Street in the heat and humidity Sept. 10 for an eventful morning that included two rounds of the Reading 120 bike race separated neatly by the Kutztown University Sesquicentennial Parade.
The first cohort of racers entered Main Street from Willow amid a cacophony of horns, sirens and the cowbells rung by university students from a front porch on the corner. A small sign attached to the Basin St. Hotel announced that the Main Street section of the race was a competitive sprint and the racers to hit the turn at full speed.
A pack of about a dozen leaders rounded the turn, followed mo-
ments later by the tightlypacked peloton containing all remaining riders save one, who followed a couple of minutes behind. In less than three or four minutes they were gone, followed by a gaggle of sag wagons and support vehicles almost as noisy as the lead contingent.
Quiet descended on Main Street again, but spectators remained in the shade waiting for the Sesquicentennial parade to begin at 11 a.m. Mild speculation circulated among the waiting spectators as to what may happen if something occurred to speed the second cohort of racers to Main Street before the parade was finished. University organizers and the police had worked out contingency plans, however, which did not turn out to be necessary.
The street came alive again as a bagpipe band lead a National Guard striker vehicle, other bands, floats by students and other campus groups, the Old Time Plowboys and university officials.
Quiet descended again until the second lap of the Reading 120 arrived just after noon with attendant hoopla.
This race was part of the on-going Classic of the Americas series. Comments from the contestants after the race revealed that this was the toughest race in the series, but all who commented said that it was one of the excellent segments of the contest.