Event is West Coast version of one held in Pennsylvania in October
Published in the May 27-June 9, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo courtesy Bicycling magazine
Riders in the 2015 Bicycling Spring Classic ride through the backroads of South County.
More than 600 cyclists toured the back roads of Morgan Hill May 3 during the second annual Bicycling Spring Classic presented by Specialized. People from the region and from other states started and ended their pedaling adventures from the headquarters of Morgan Hill’s bicycling components company located on Concord Circle.
“In the two years that we’ve run the Bicycling Spring Classic, we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from riders,” said Bicycling magazine marketing manager Andrew Bernstein. “Of course, California’s perpetually amazing weather is a huge part of the success, but we also believe that the roads in Santa Clara County are some of the best in the country. It’s such a pleasure to help riders from all over California and the West Coast experience such amazing riding. ”
The event is a West Coast version of a ride the publication developed in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania held in October. The city of Morgan Hill served as a partner in organizing the event, with businesses and community organizations taking part in many aspects of the event, Bernstein said.
“The Spring Classic would not be possible without Specialized,” he said. “We run the whole event out of their facility, and their team is amazingly supportive — because they also want riders (even those who ride bikes from their competitors) to experience their home roads.”
The Spring Classic is also one of the only times during the year that members of the public can visit the Specialized wind tunnel and museum.
Morgan Hill is a community that supports the activity of bicycling with local businesses such as Concept Cyclery, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, the Morgan Hill Community Foundation and Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce all helpful in making the event a success, he said.
“We are grateful for their support. Each of those organization recognizes that the more than 600 riders we bring the Morgan Hill are all going to stay after the ride for dinner, or stay in a hotel, and many are going to return,” he said. “We hope — and believe this to be the case — that our event is more than just a great bike ride. It’s an economic engine for the city of Morgan Hill.”
The roads in Santa Clara County are some of the most scenic in the country, Bernstein said. He spent about a week planning the routes with help from the staff at Specialized and other local riders, and he was impressed by the different environments that cyclists can ride through in a relatively small area. Each of the three routes (25, 60 and 90 milers) show off farm land, rolling hills and the county’s impressive bike infrastructure. “We’re excited to continue helping riders to experience these amazing roads and environments.” Bernstein expects to announce the date of the 2016 Bicycling Spring Classic soon.
“We believe that our ride’s combination of singularly amazing roads, timed climbing segments, on-course and post-ride amenities, the chance to ride with our staff and Specialized’s, and then to visit Specialized afterward, make it one of the best events of the year,” he said.
Morgan Hill resident and Tourism Alliance founder John McKay spent much of the day helping out with the Spring Bike Classic event, which he believes helps the community build its reputation nationally as a destination for riders.
“It’s a huge honor that Bicycling would bring this event to Morgan Hill. It gives us a huge amount of credibility as a bike destination because Bicycling magazine has the highest circulation of any bicycling specialty publication,” he said. “Specialized is one of the largest premium bike builders in the world. When you get that kind of combination for hosting an event like this, you’re taken pretty seriously.”
McKay hopes the success of this year’s rides will encourage even more participants in the 2016 event.
“Everybody came back happy,” he said. “It was great to see all these people come back completely satisfied with what they accomplished.”
