Everything you never knew you needed to know about the "Search for the BLOB" bike ride.

from an original movie poster, the blob
is shown devouring the original
Downingtown Diner

How many of you have seen the movie "The Blob"? Not the gory 1988 re-make starring Kevin Dillon, but the 1958 original featuring a young Steve McQueen, aka a "real" movie star. While most of you are aware that the movie or at least a movie was filmed in Downingtown many years ago, but it has occurred to me during recent conversations that most people around town these days have never even seen "The Blob", or at least it's been a few years.  It was this revelation that drove me to think up some event that would showcase Downingtown's role in cinematic history. After all, why should Phoenixville get all of the glory?
"The Blob" trailer on youtube

  At first I had the idea of having a full scale bike race from The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville down to The Downingtown Diner. For those of you familiar with the movie the bike race would be our explanation of how people were able to run out of a movie theater in Phoenixville in one scene, and run up to the Downingtown Diner (13 miles away) in the next. Upon further planning we (Downingtown Main Street Association and myself) decided that such an event would be too logistically difficult to produce at this time, and the idea was scrapped. However the idea of having an event that would combine biking and The Blob just wouldn't leave our heads. It's such a natural, don't you think?

The Downingtown Diner
 as it looked in 1958

The Downingtown Diner today.
All that remains of the original
diner is the basement.

  Eventually, the idea evolved into "Search for the Blob", a family-friendly bike ride through the streets and trails of Downingtown followed by breakfast at Victory Brewpub and a screening of "The Blob". Here are the top ten FAQ's that you might want to know about "Search for the BLOB" :

1) "When and where?"
Participants will meet at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday May 10 at the parking lot of Victory Brewpub, 420 Acorn Lane, Downingtown, PA.

2) "What happens next?"
Upon checking in, helmeted bike riders of all ages will set out on a 9.3 mile trek through the streets and trails of Downingtown. Though largely self guided, we will have course marshals stationed all along the way to keep riders on the right track. All cyclists will eventually be guided back to where they started at Victory. The 9.3 loop takes approx. one hour to complete. I did the entire course yesterday and I had forgotten how scenic certain parts of Downingtown can be, but you can't see these parts from a car.

3) "9.3 miles, that's a lot for us, do you have anything, well, shorter?"
No problem, since 5 miles of the course is on the Struble Trail, you can either shorten your ride up the Struble or you can by-pass it altogether, making your ride a little less than 4 miles. Participants even have the option of skipping the bike portion of the event altogether and go to Victory at 9:00 for food and entertainment.

4) "What's for breakfast?

I put that question to my friends at Victory and I was informed that the Victory Chefs will be preparing a simple breakfast buffet made with fresh ingredients. We will have scrambled eggs, hash browns, breakfast sausage, English muffins with butter & jelly, and fresh fruit (apples and bananas).

5) "After my ride, I'll be thirsty, is a Victory Beer included with my ticket?"
No, but you will be able to purchase your own if you wish.

6) "Do you have a map of the course?"

Yes.













7) "How much are tickets?"

$30. for adults, $15.  for kids 14 and under.

8) "Where can I get tickets?"

get tickets HERE

9) "What time is the movie?"

10:00 a.m. sharp. The movie will be over at about 11:45 and the event will be concluded

10) "Is this a benefit?"



These two need to wear their helmets!

The main goal of this event is to have fun, plain and simple. We want to do this by showcasing what a fantastic place Downingtown is to enjoy bicycling and the outdoors, and also by celebrating our role in a classic 1950's horror movie. There are expenses involved with this event, and once we have paid them, if there are any funds left over, Main Street will put that money towards our many improvement projects that we have going on in the borough, such as the lighting of the trees along Lancaster Ave. This having been said, we have kept the ticket prices as low as we possibly could.

  So hopefully you can join me and my friends from Main Street on Saturday May 10 for a morning of fun in Downingtown! People say there's never anything to do, well here's something to do!
RECAP:
 1) BUY TICKETS HERE
 2) Be at Victory's parking lot on May 10 at 8:00 with your ticket, helmet, bike, and your appetite.
If you have any further questions please e-mail me at prd1961@gmail.com

Thank-you!