September 2008 - Spokes Magazine

I came to Wertz’s covered bridge at the Berks County
Heritage Center, which tells the story of transportation’s
key role in Berks County’s history, specifically
wagon manufacturing and the canal system. It’s an
interpretive complex featuring the Gruber Wagon
Works and C. Howard Heister Canal Center. The area
consists of an old farmstead dotted with several buildings,
and it also includes Melcher’s Grist Mill.
During construction of the lake, the Army Corps of
Engineers preserved the Gruber Wagon Works. Built
in 1882, it produced hundreds of wagons before it
closed in the 1950s. The massive building was located
at Mt. Pleasant within the project’s flood pool boundary
and had to be either removed or demolished.
They separated it into four sections and moved it to
a new site five miles away to serve as the focal point
of the Heritage Center. They give tours of the Gruber
Wagon Works and C. Howard Heister Canal Center
May through October. The Country Store and Snack
Bar occupied an old barn with an old barge nearby.
Next, I came upon Gring’s Mill Recreation Area,
which features an old concrete bridge with a dam
on one side and sluiceways, originally built to funnel
water to power the mill. Stone buildings stood on the
other side of the creek on a hill at a bend. I stopped
for lunch on a bench at the Veterans Outreach
Center, another park nearby, and watched as flocks of
Canada geese and mallards made a ruckus.
The trail stretches about five miles, making for an easy
ten-mile out-and-back trip. An interstate-looking highway
appeared near the end, and planes buzzed overhead as
they came into Reading airport nearby, both signs indicating
history had given way to modern civilization.
With the easy part under my belt, I next took a transitional
step to the grueling lake trail by trying Skinners
Loops on the south side of the lake. It consists of a
10-mile figure-eight arrangement with two loops, one
extending out a long peninsula and the other partially
along the main trail. Starting at the end of Lake
Road, I wheeled along the trail as it followed a knoll
overlooking the lake and made its way down to the
water. It consists of some doubletrack but mostly singletrack,
all smooth dirt with roots and rocks thrown
in to test your front suspension.
Rolling hills with occasional short steep sections were
the rule. Some sections of trail went through corn
fields, affording views of surrounding ridges, hills, and
the lake, while sections near the lake knifed through
woods. It made for a nice introduction to the lake
trail and gave me a peek at the daunting journey that
lay ahead the next day.
Because the lake area has no lodging accommodations,
I drove into Reading that night in search of a
hotel room and found one at a Comfort Inn at the
intersection of Fifth Street and Route 12. A Ramada
and EconoLodge stood nearby, and franchise hotels
can be found along Route 12 in the northwest quadrant
of Reading. Closer to the lake, along Route 183,
hotels await near the airport, including Airport Lodge
& Suites and Holiday Inn Express, and several restaurants
are located between there and the lake.
After a good night’s rest and the complimentary
breakfast at the Comfort Inn, I was fortified for a trip
around the lake on the trail. I parked at the visitor’s
center, which has information on the lake, including
maps and brochures, along with an overlook in the
back and bathrooms. While this is most convenient,
the trail can be accessed via numerous other trailheads,
as it is well marked with brown posts with white
directional arrows and mile indicators. Several other
bikers prepared for the journey as I did.
From the visitor’s center around the southern side of
the lake to the bridge in Bernville measures 18 miles,
and from there around the northern side back to the
visitors center 12 miles. I planned to ride clockwise
around the lake so I could conquer the steep parts first.
Blue Marsh Lake
With a few new cohorts, I pedaled through the stilling
basin at the base of the dam. Some parts of the trail
were dirt road through corn and winter wheat fields,
while other sections followed old asphalt roads going
to the lake. Many people were hiking, biking, or walking
their dogs, and a few equestrians maneuvered
their horses on the trail.
Along the south side, the trail earns its reputation
among serious stumpjumpers with its many ups and
downs and unforgiving steep sections. More than
one cyclist jumped off their bike and walked up here.
Many switchbacks add to the challenge, and the trail
often turns sharply as you head up or down a hill.
Several wooden bridges, sans rails and only about
three feet wide, cross small creeks flowing into the
lake, and some throw a sharp turn or hill just before
them, so you have to steer accurately. With its many
obstacles, dips, bridges, turns, and other pop-quiz
YIN continued on p.10
September 2008
9