The D&L Blog

Blog Post By: Terri Monserrat, D&L Communciations & Education Coordinator

Endurance races have always captured my imagination. Little wonder that the Tour de France – with its steep mountain climbs, breathtaking descents and fans with a zest for snagging camera time – is my favorite. Despite watching some of my cycling heroes go down in scandal, wondering if my favorite riders hide motors in their bikes, and questioning why women aren’t allowed to participate in the world’s greatest bike race, I still keep coming back for more.

Why?

The history.

The roots of Le Tour are fascinating. I’ll keep this brief and get to the ice cream, but stick with me here! In 1903, two sports newspapers were battling for readership: Le Velo, France’s largest sports newspaper versus L’ Auto, a newcomer. Predictably, L’ Auto faced some big challenges competing with the well-established Le Velo. In an effort to save itself from extinction, L’ Auto planned a daunting, 19-day July race that attracted approximately 60 riders of professional AND amateur status. The idea to host the race came from a 26-year-old junior employee – a cycling reporter – and the paper was not only desperate enough to listen to him, but also gave him full control over organizing the race.

Let’s stop here for a second. L’ Auto’s owners essentially put the fate of their company in the hands of a 26-year-old with a big, risky idea. Crazy, right?

By the end of the race, L’ Auto not only saved itself, but was presented with a new problem. A good one. The race was so popular that they had to make it an annual event. And that big, risky idea? It’s still going strong. I can’t help but hope that people with new big, risky ideas will come along and solve the sport’s most glaring problems.

So, without further ado and in honor of Tour de France month and National Ice Cream Day, it is my pleasure to present the D&L Staff’s Tour de Ice Cream on the D&L Trail. We decided to present this list of all locally owned businesses from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, because if you’re going to stuff yourself with ice cream, you’ll want to take advantage of the slight downhill grade. Each business highlighted is along or easily accessible from the D&L Trail.

1. Diamond City Dairy in Wilkes-Barre. https://www.facebook.com/Diamond-City-Dairy-377646335647354/
2. Woods Ice Cream in White Haven. http://www.woodsicecream.com/
3. Chantilly Goods in Weissport. http://chantillygoods.com/
4. We can’t think of or find any ice cream shops that are easily accessible from the D&L Trail in Walnutport, Slatington, Northampton or Allentown. Are we overlooking any? If not, these might be great places to get into the ice cream biz!
5. Penn State Creamery Ice Cream at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem: http://www.hotelbethlehem.com/penn-state-creamery-ice-cream/
6. Bank Street Creamery in Easton. http://www.bankstreetcreamery.com/
7. The Canalside Cup in Williams Township. https://www.facebook.com/TheCanalsideCup/
8. Homestead Coffee Roasters, serving Nelson’s Dutch farms Ice Cream in Upper Black Eddy. http://www.homesteadcoffee.com/
9. Dilly’s Corner in New Hope. https://www.facebook.com/Dillys-Corner-285301853318/
10. Yardley Ice House in Yardley. http://www.yardleyicehouse.com/
11. McGinty’s Ice Cream Creations in Levittown. https://www.facebook.com/McGintys-Ice-Cream-Creations-140078098974/
12. Let’s Go to the Hop in Bristol. https://www.facebook.com/LetsGoToTheHop/

The best part of compiling this list was finding out how many locally-owned ice cream shops are located along the D&L Trail.  We’re proud of the Corridor’s many small businesses and we encourage you to get out on the trail and shop local.

PS. That was a VERY abridged version of The Tour de France’s inception. If you find this as interesting as I do or if scandal and inequality have you questioning why you follow cycling, check out these reads:

1. Short article on the race’s history – http://www.history.com/news/the-birth-of-the-tour-de-france-110-years-ago
2. The Tour de France: A Cultural History – https://www.amazon.com/Tour-France-Cultural-History/dp/0520256301/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468587062&sr=1-1&keywords=the+tour+de+france+a+cultural+history

Not your average history of sport. You’ll explore the Tour from many perspectives: the media, the fans and the     organizers. You’ll also learn how key Tour moments impacted French history.

3. The Shattered Peloton: The Devastating Impact of World War I on the Tour de France: https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Peloton-Devastating-Impact-France/dp/1621240118

Interested in how war affects sport and vice versa? This is the book for you.