Iron Tour to pedal through Chester County
PHOENIXVILLE >> Bicyclists from across the region will converge on Kimberton Fairgrounds to begin a rolling tour of some of Chester County’s most beautiful wide open spaces.
Over 1,500 bike riders are expected to pedal into town for the 13th annual French Creek Iron Tour June 14.
“It is a bike tour,” said Iron Tour chair Jen Trachtman, “not a race. It started 13 years ago to show off the preserved land being protected by French and Pickering Creek Prevention Trust.”
“Riders will have a chance to see first hand the work the trust is doing in protecting the land in between the two watersheds,” said Eleanor Illoway, who cofounded the tour with her husband, and whose parents, Sam and Eleanor Morris, started the trust.
The tour begins and ends at Kimberton Fairgrounds and offers seven different courses for riders to choose from that range in distance. There are 11, 20, 32, 50, 62, 75 and 100 mile courses that riders can pick. The longer the tour distance, the earlier the start time. The 100 mile course, for example, travels through Valley Forge National Historic Park, Hibernia County Park and Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site before returning to Kimberton. That course begins at 7 a.m.
Don’t let the name fool you though, this tour is about promoting open space, not finding the next Tour de France contestant, Trachtman said. Each course will have rest stops with food and water for riders to take a break.
“It’s not an Iron Man Tour,” she said, “We accommodate all levels.”
The name Iron Tour, she said, comes from the number of iron furnaces found throughout northern Chester County that helped provide, among other things, cannonballs during the Revolutionary War.
“There are several remnants of them in the area,” she said.
At the same time, though, for those looking for a challenging ride, the Iron Tour has plenty to offer.
“Northern Chester County has its hills,” Trachtman said. “It’s not flat like southern New Jersey.”
Along each route, signs will be posted on all the properties that have been preserved from the French and Pickering Creek Conservation Trust. All riders eventually meet back at Kimberton and are treated to a lunch, Trachtman said. As the race takes place on Flag Day, participants will also receive a red T-shirt to celebrate the holiday.
All of the courses are on paved roads that are not too busy with traffic, which will allow riders to view the countryside and landscapes, Illoway said.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. “We started with about 100 people then dropped below a hundred. We’ve put a lot of effort in making it grow over the years.”
For full details about the event, visit http://www.irontour.org/.