READING PAGODA DRIVE - DRIVE TO/UP THE 1100ft ELEVATION PAGODA HILL

This is drive 33 for the year!

When -                   Sat Sept 18th, 2021

                                  Arrive:                     9:00 a.m.

                                  Drivers' Meeting:      9:30 a.m.

                                  Depart:                    9:45 a.m. 

Where -                  Meet in Macungie, PA

                                  3369 PA-100 Macungie, PA 18062  (Google Map HERE)

Meet in the parking lot in back of the old Weis grocery store.  This is next to Wawa to fill up and bathroom before we leave

Note - This will be limited to 11 cars per drive, with priority given to paid LVMOC members.  I am planning to do the drive twice with one on a Sunday and another on a Saturday so more can enjoy.  To be an official club drive there need to be officers in attendance so there could be some duplicates for officers only.

Event Leader -  Mike Weil

Join Miata Mike as he leads the Pagoda drive again. This event will be like 2 drives in 1.  The first part is driving on some great roads on the way to and from the Pagoda in Reading.  The highlight is really the second part of the drive which is experiencing a great road named Duryea Drive which takes you atop the south end of Mount Penn overlooking Reading which is where the Pagoda was built in 1908.

The drive will start in Macungie and will cover many great roads to the Pagoda.  Growing up in Berks County I drove many great roads on my CBR Sport Bike over the years.  Thought would be cool to do those roads now in the Miata with the club.

Duryea Drive which is a windy road up the hill to the Pagoda is so good in fact that the road is closed 2x a year for an official SCCA event where they do timed races to the top.  How cool is it to have that type of community support!

The next SCCA event on this road that you can watch is on the weekend Aug 21 and 22nd.  I would encourage you to go up and watch that event.  I have seen it many times and there are many different types of vehicles that race to the top in many different vehicle classes.  We are going to do this drive on a different day because we want to drive that road too and not only be a watcher!

FUN FACT:

The road is named for the obscure automobile maker and following the same route that Charles Duryea used to test his cars, this is a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) hill located in a beautiful city park in downtown Reading. With a history dating back to 1951.  The SCCA Hillclimb association says it is possibly the most diverse and challenging hill in the Northeast, Duryea boasts 11 turns (most of which are negotiated in the first half of the course) coupled with some high speeds at the top. Duryea's finish line elevation is 1100 ft.

• Location: Reading, PA
• Length: 2.3 miles
• Elevation Change: 800'
• Number of Turns: 13

Drive Overview

            Leave from Macungie to Pagoda and ultimately end up at Crystal Cave for Ice Cream

Macungie to Pagoda

• Head out from Macungie traveling briefly on Route 100 then to the backroads
• Backroads passing through Barto, Boyertown, passing the Landis Store Hotel, Pikeville, Oley then onto Reading
• Bathroom stop at Walmart near the Pagoda
• Continue to the Pagoda

Pack a lunch and we will gather and eat at the Pagoda.  Bring a chair if you would like. Great view and a great spot for pictures of our cars.  During that lunch time some will want to drive the Pagoda hill road more than once.  Why not!

Pagoda to Crystal Cave

• From the top of the hill back out to Rt 12 towards Pricetown, then through Fleetwood, Moselem Springs, passing Lake Ontelaunee and on to Crystal Cave
• We will stop for ice cream at Crystal Cave

Drive will end at Crystal Cave (963 Crystal Cave Road, Kutztown, PA 19530

I don’t have the time estimate or total distance yet until I do a test run of the route.  Rough estimate is to be at Crystal Cave 1:30-2PM.

This event will follow the current Pennsylvania rules for COVID-19 safety.  To avoid common handling of materials, we will email the directions to participants, for home printing, and we will eliminate the usual paper sign-in sheet.  Since the sign-in confirms your agreement with LVMOC’s standard Waiver and Release, we will now consider your post to this event thread, indicating that you intend to participate, to be your “electronic” signature, indicating your agreement with said Waiver and Release (copy available on request).

We will use FRS radios for communications.  Be sure to arrive by 9:00 a.m. with a full gas tank and an empty bladder.

Attending:

1. Mike
2. Louie and Corrina 
3. Jeff and co-pilot
4. Brian
5. Jerry and Wanda
6. Doug
7. David & Lori
8. Dawn & Tom
9. David W.
10. Jim T
11. Ken and Evan

WAITING LIST: