Monday, November 26, 2012

Le Retour du Stillwater 200k

*** Update #2 (11/30) ***
The Stillwater Retour 200k, originally scheduled for 12/1, has been postponed until Sunday, 12/2, due to a weather advisory posted this afternoon that is now calling for freezing rain.

*** Update #1 (11/29) ***
The cuesheet has been updated to draft 5, dated 11/28/11: The update corrects the name of Controle 2, which has changed from a Citgo minimart to a Penn Jersey food market.  Also, the date on the cuesheet has been corrected.  There are no course changes -- the route is exactly the same as the 2011 edition.

I'm keeping a close eye on the (small) chance of some precipitation on Friday night -- at this time, black ice conditions do not seem very likely but be sure to check back for any updates as the weather forecast firms up.  It does appear that there might be some rain spritzes through out the day on Saturday, so packing some spare clothing might be a good idea.

*** Roster (as of 12/1) ***

1 Clair Beiler
2 Patrick Chin-Hong
3 Robert Dye
4 William Fischer
5 Donald Jagel
6 Eric Keller
7 Chris Nadovich
8 Christine Newman
9 William Olsen
10 Peter C Phillips
11 Tom Rosenbauer
12 Hugo Safar
13 Gloria Safar
14 Norman Smeal
15 Bob Torres
16 Leonard Zawodniak


*** Original Post ***
The December R-12 is on Saturday, December 1st. We'll be running the same course as the November R-12 but in the reverse direction: Le Retour du Stillwater 200k.

The start/finish is at the Milford Bakery in Milford, NJ -- the southern most extent of the course.  There is plenty of parking in the large parking lot on Church St in Milford (PA Randonneurs has permission to use the parking lot which is now owned by the Medical supply store at the old bakery location).  The Bakery opens at 6AM and has breakfast sandwichs along with an assortment of baked goods.  The finish controle  and post ride gathering will be at Pipolo's Pizzera, a couple of stores down the street from the Bakery.

Additional event details are posted on the event webpage:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/R12ClubDec3.html

I've already heard from a couple of riders planning to clip-in. If you're planning to join us too, please send me a note by Thursday. And as always, be sure to monitor the PA message board for any last minute updates.


-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Stillwater 200k Report

Preliminary results have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200k_Results121110.pdf
... please let me know of any corrections or other issues.  Results will be submitted this week, and become final, pending RUSA certification.

The weather forecast promised 60F degree temperatures and at least partially sunny skies but we ended up with low 50F's and barely a peek at the sun.  As a couple of drops of rain began to fall, I started to wonder if I should have packed a rain jacket. I also began to see the merit in my riding partner Laurent Chambard's philosophy of "never look at a weather forecast but always prepare for rain."  Thankfully, the rain never amounted to very much.  But it was the effects of the weather nearly two weeks ago with super storm Sandy, that was most memorable for this ride. The fury unleashed was still quite evident with all the damage caused by fallen trees.

All 11 starters made it around the course in very good time for another 100% finish rate: congratulations to everyone, for another excellent result.  The first riders made it in with a time of 8:30, well before nightfall.

Of note, Doug Haluza persevered dispite having 4 flats and using up nearly all his spare tubes, tires, and CO2 cartridges.  Luckily, Doug was able to replenish his supplies at a bike shop along the way.  I was there for 3 of those flats, but I couldn't help out with any spare tubes, since Doug needs extra long valve stems for his deep aero rims.

Don Jagel writes: "...I just wanted to send you a quick thanks for putting together another great 200k.  We had about perfect November weather, being overcast with a quick glimpse of sun, and even about 10 raindrops.  The lack of wind was a real treat.  I always enjoy riding at this time of year as it seems to be quiet, with nobody out cutting grass, most yards are void of people, and traffic is light as the Christmas tree search and holiday traffic has not yet begun. I hope you were able to enjoy the ride as much as I did.  I'll see you in December..."

Eric Keller writes: "...Just wanted to thank you for the ride yesterday but it was really tough:  Ride to Milford, eat a pastry, ride to Big Meadow, eat a deli sandwich, ride to the Millside Cafe, eat a slice of pie, ride to Stillwater, eat a pizza, ride to Teresa's, eat another pizza...."

Norman Smeal writes: "...Great plan to reschedule the ride from the previous weekend.  Hurricane Sandy will be a storm that many of us will not forget.  Personally, the climb up Sweet Hollow Road left an impression upon me.  Seeing the force of winds from all of the downed trees, I could only imagine the fear of the residents of the area during the passing of Sandy.  Although, the weather didn't turn out to be as nice as the expected, it could have been worse.  I want to thank you, Tom and all of our riding pals for another successful Randonneuring event....Looking forward to Decembers Le Retour ..."

Bill Olsen writes: " ...
Thanks for the great ride!  While the weather was not as nice as the original forecast it was good to get out and get my mind off of still being "off the grid", and hearing all of those generators still running is a good indication that I'm not the ONLY one still without power.  Seeing all the houses and cars that were flattened by the fallen trees made me thankful that I only needed to clear the ones off of the driveway, rather having any more serious damage.  

Thanks also to Gavin, Bill and Norman for the company on the ride.  It was nice to be able to catch up on the news and the conversation made the ride appear to go by much (like a couple of hours) faster.  As I mentioned at the conclusion of the ride, this was the FIRST time I EVER made around the course when it was still daylight. 
See you all on December 1st.
... "


If you have any other comments to share, you can forward them to me for inclusion on the message board ride report.

Special thanks to Len Zawodniak for stopping by to greet the later finishers at the pizzeria.  Len was on his way back from State College, where he bought a brand new recumbent.  Perhaps we'll see Len on his new ride for the December R-12 event.  We'll be riding the same course, but in reverse and starting at the Milford Bakery.  Event details for the Le Retour du Stillwater 200k have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/R12ClubDec3.html

-Tom Rosenbauer, RBA

Monday, November 5, 2012

RUSA Elections

The United States presidential election is tomorrow, and I trust you will be exercising your civic duty to vote.  RUSA members also have a "randonneuring" duty to cast their vote for another election going on for the RUSA board of directors.   Your's truly, is one of the nominees, and I sincerely hope that I have earned your vote -- you can read my statement, along with the other four candidates at this link:
http://www.rusa.org/Download/2012-candidates.pdf

You can cast your ballot via e-mail at this link:
http://www.rusa.org/vote.html

Please note that you can vote for two of the five candidates.  In my humble opinion, Mike Dayton, and fellow RBA, Bill Beck would also be good choices to help lead our organization.  I also endorse John Lee Ellis, who has been my mentor as an RBA, to continue on as RBA Liaison.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA