Blue Mountain 200k/300k

The cuesheet for the Blue Mountain 300k has been updated to draft 2, dated 4/16/13 with minor clarifications from the a volunteer preride completed by Bill Olsen, this past weekend.
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/BlueMtn300k_A_cue.pdf

The current 200k cuesheet is draft 3, dated 3/19/12:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/BlueMtn200k_A_cue.pdf

Hopefully, the heavy rain in the forecast for Friday night into early Saturday morning will clear out quickly.  But it looks like there's a good chance for a "character building" opportunity ... at least for the 300k riders, with their 5AM start.  The bakery opens at 6AM, so the riders clipping in for the 200k will be able to top off with coffee and breakfast before their 7AM start.

Please note that you need to decide on riding the 200k or 300k course at the start -- i.e.: you can't change your mind in Water Gap, where the 200k and 300k split.  For those opting for the 200k, you should note that there is another chance to ride a PA300k on May 4th.

Organizer Bill Olsen will be meeting you at the start and sending you off on your way.  Please note that the bakery will be closed at 5AM -- Bill will meet you in the bakery parking lot near the RR tracks.  You should park your car in the big lot off of Church St, which US Health has granted us permission to use.  I will meet you at the finish at Pipolo's Pizza -- if you arrive before I do, leave your brevet card and any loaned SPOT devices at the checkout counter.

*** Course notes ***
- As noted on the cuesheet, there are a couple of RR crossings early on.  The one at mile 7.2 is particularly hazardous, with a bad angle, and will be extra treacherous if wet.  Please take extra caution here, especially if you are in a large group.
- The 300k riders will be headed into the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area.  The descent from Millbrook Village is still very rough, as noted on the cuesheet at mile 96, although some of the bigger craters have at least been patched up a bit.  (In talking with the park administrators, there are plans to resurface this rotten stretch of road some time this year.)  Also please note, that the cuesheet has you turning LEFT at the bottom of that descent, instead of RIGHT, giving you the opportunity to see some new roads.

- Since we haven’t ridden these routes since last year riders will be pleased to note that some of the other sections of the road have been repaired since last summer including the climb up Blue Mountain Drive, mile 51.7, where the potholes along the right side of the roadway and missing shoulder were replaced all the way up to the top, crossing the Appalachian Trail.  Riders should exercise caution on the descent as there are areas that were  patched and “chipped and sealed” resulting in some uneven surfaces.
-Old Mine Road, mile 115.4, is still in rough shape but the bulk of the damage is on the other side of the road and if one pays attention they should find a good line along the right hand side of the roadway.  The deepest potholes are at the end of the section where the road is less broken up.
- There is now a recently posted  “No Left Turn” sign at Community Drive, mile 132.1, due to the heavy traffic from the opposite direction. Dismount and walk your bike across Rt. 209 as a "pedestrian" to make this LHT onto Community Drive.  This road has been poorly patched several times over the years and although rough, there is low traffic and one should be able to find a good line as one climbs the worst section of the road.)

Best of luck to Jon Clamp, Gavin Biebuyck and Norman Smeal who are off to Crush the Commonwealth this weekend.  You can follow Norman's GPS SPOT tracker at:

http://bike.talloakfarm.com/spot_map.html

... and selecting the tab for Norman.  The PA 1-5 SPOT trackers will be tracking selected riders for Saturday's event. (and special thanks to Don Jagel, for maintaining the SPOT Tracker webpage!).

And as always, be sure to check the website and message board for any last minute updates.

**** Roster as of 4/19 ***

1 Dan Barbasch 300
2 Clair Beiler 200
3 Jeffery S Butt 200
4 Tim Conway 300
5 John Dennis 200
6 Ed Dodd 300
7 Joe Fillip 200
8 William Fischer 300
9 J Scott Franzen 200
10 Nigel Greene 300
11 Matthew Groff 200
12 Doug Haluza 200
13 Guy Harris 200
14 Donald Jagel 300
15 Eric Keller 300
16 Christopher Anson Knight 200
17 Kate Marshall 300
18 Chris Nadovich 300
19 Christine Newman 300
20 William Olsen 300
21 William Reagan 300
22 Tom Rosenbauer 200
23 Chris Roth 200
24 Gloria Safar 200
25 Hugo Safar 200
26 Paul D Scearce 200
27 Victor Urvantsev 300
28 Leonard Zawodniak 200

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA