Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Stillwater 200k

For the November R-12, we'll be running the Stillwater 200k -- although the fall foliage has peaked, there are still plenty of trees with some leaves remaining.  A volunteer preride was completed by your's truly on Monday.  Temperatures at the start were a chilly 28F but warmed up to the 60F's by midday -- it was certainly one of the best day's of the year for a ride.  Now that the former Portland Diner has been reopened as the Portland Bagel and Deli, that is the start location -- it opens at 4:30AM, so you have plenty of time for breakfast there.  However, please note that you should park your car at the Portland Park and Ride (see event webpage for map and directions):
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/R12ClubNov2.html
The finish is at Teresa's Pizza, about one half mile from the Park and Ride: after signing-in at the pizzeria, you can coast all the way downhill from there to the Park and Ride and your car (directions are on the cuesheet).

*** Course Notes ***
The current cuesheet is Draft 10 dated 10/29/13, with some updates from my  volunteer preride.  In general, the roads are in great shape, with many stretches of freshly paved asphalt -- some sections didn't even have lines painted yet.  However, there is some rain in the forecast, so you should be mindful of wet leave hazards that may develop.  Additionally:
-Mile 120.9: There is a reroute here to follow the detour for Station Rd: the bridge on Station Rd is under construction and not passable.  As noted on the cuesheet, you will be following the orange detour signs for 2 turns.  This detour will put you on Rt 94 a bit sooner, and although there is a lot of traffic on that main road, the shoulder is very good.
-Mile 126.9: The route puts you on a road that is closed to car traffic but is passable by foot.  You should dismount, and walk past the two barriers.  The course routing on State St through this "closed" stretch keeps you off of a busy section of Rt 611 which has marginal shoulders.

*** Roster (as of 10/31) ***
1 Michael Anderson
2 Clair Beiler
3 Joe A Brown
4 Jane M  Brown
5 Jeffery S Butt
6 Matthew Farrell
7 William Fischer
8 James P. Holman
9 Donald Jagel
10 Eric Keller
11 Christopher Maglieri
12 Tom Matragrano
13 Chris Nadovich
14 William Olsen
15 Peter C Phillips
16 Tom Rosenbauer
17 Norman Smeal
18 Bob Torres


If you plan to join the roster participate, please drop me a note by Thursday, November 1st.

And as always, be sure to monitor the message board and website for any last minute updates.
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/
http://parandonneurs.blogspot.com/

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

Sunday, October 20, 2013

PA150/200k Ride Report



Photos compliments of Dave Linkchost

Preliminary results have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200k_Results131019.pdf
Please let me know of any corrections or other issues.  Results will be submitted shortly, and become final, pending RUSA/ACP certification.

The string of near ideal weather conditions continued for the October 150/200k classic.  With the colorful fall foilage peaking, it was a great day to be out on the bike.  All 22 participants finished for another 100% finish, with 5 opting for the 150k course.  Of note Norman Smeal completed his PA R-12 series, and joined the Eastern PA Honor Roll.  Norman has also completed his PA-5000 this year, with his Endless Mountains 1240k finish.  Well done, Norman!  Also of note, Tom Matragrano completed his first PA event, and I believe, is only his second brevet.  Hailing from Long Island, Tom M. told me he was looking to try a hillier brevet than the first one he completed on Long Island -- I trust he wasn't disappointed!  Indeed, this fall classic is one of the hillier courses, mile for mile, and Paul Scearce managed to get around it on a fixed gear -- although a couple of the steeper climbs required the 24 inch gear.

Special thanks to volunteer Dave Linchorst, who manned the secret controle on Fox Gap and swept the course to the finish.  Dave is a member of the Berks County cycle club, and this was his first experience with randonneuring.   And special thanks also to 150k participants Bill Slabonik and Keith Spangler who volunteered and helped out at the hostel finish with the BBQ and cleanup.  It's volunteers like these, who really make it all possible to run these events.

Norman Smeal writes: "...Thank you once again for giving us the chance to get together for a bike ride.
Beautiful course filled with river crossings and a few hills.  Weather was a bit chilly in the morning, but warmed up nicely.  All followed up with some good grilling at the end. ..."

Bill Olsen writes: "...As promised, it was a fantastic day for a fantastic ride with a fantastic group!  The hamburgers and chicken at the end WAS the icing on the cake.  Thanks again.  It was nice to see familiar climbs out of Easton, Fox Gap and Staats, but for some reason I forgot several including Geigel Hill.  I'll remember that one for quite some time. ..."

The next event is the Stillwater 200k on November 2nd.  Event details have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/R12ClubNov2.html
... as usual, drop me a note by the Thursday before the event to join the roster.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA
-organizer

Monday, October 7, 2013

PA150/200k

The PA Randonneurs fall series kicks off on October 19 and you have a choice of either a 150k or 200k course.  The start/finish will be at the Weisel hostel, with breakfast served 1 hour before the start  We'll also have the traditional post-ride BBQ, where we can recap the accomplishments of the past year and look forward to the challenges of the coming year.
PA Members can register by sending me an e-mail, and pay the $30 entry fee when they sign-in.  Non-members can register by mailing in the registration form posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA150_200K_A.html

With only about 10.5 hours of daylight available, lights and reflective gear will be required, unless you have previously finished the course in less than 9.5 hours.

It's also time to cast you vote for two board members at RUSA-HQ.  Bill Bryant, RUSA member #7, is one of the founding members of RUSA and one of the giants of our sport.  He has certainly earned one of my votes.   There are several other excellent candidates you can choose from as well:
http://www.rusa.org/Download/2013-ballot.pdf  ..

... you can cast your vote at this link:

http://www.rusa.org/vote-2013.html