PA600k

*** Update 2 (5/30)  ***
A preride was completed on Thursday by volunteers Bill Olsen and Guy Harris and the cuesheet has subsequently been updated to draft 9 (dated 5/29) -- be sure to use the 'refresh' button on your browser to flush any stale cuesheets that may be cached.  This update incorporates one course change at mile 255 for a detour around bridge construction which adds 1 mile to the total distance.  Several other minor corrections and clarifications were also added:

Mile 63: At this unmarked turn, you'll be passing through some open white gates onto a golf course access road.  There is a sign posted nearby indicating private property but the access road is open.  The access road (Fairway Dr) will zigzag past houses on the edge of the golf course.  As the road meanders around some bends, you'll want to stay on the main hardtop road and avoid the gravel side lanes.

Mile 68: There is a note on the cuesheet about multiple metal grate bridges that you will be encountering. A couple of these are on a downhill dip and a bit longer, and will require some extra caution, especially if wet.

Mile 59 and 182: You'll be passing through Water Gap twice on day 1.  The controles listed are the Bakery and Diner.  However just like with the 300k and 400k, Water Gap will be an open controle and you may stop at any of the other options along Broad St, which also include two mini-marts and a pizzeria.  If you are close to the time limit, these establishments may be closed at night -- if so, you can stop at the Deer Head Inn on Rt 611 near mile point 183.

Mile 181: If you've never been across the Rt 80 bridge near Water Gap, it's a little bit tricky.  You need to look for a sidewalk/ramp about 50 yards past the Rt 80 underpass which you will cross under.  The picture below shows the ramp on the left, which is in between the road you will be traveling (on the right) and Rt 80 (far left):

You will be facing on-coming traffic as you go across the bridge.

Mile 295 and 322: You'll be passing through Morgantown twice on day 2.  There is no controle stop here, but there are several good stores and restaurants for resupplying.  There are very limited services beyond Morgantown in both directions, and the the turn-around point (which is recently now under Exxon ownership) does not have rest rooms and only limited food options.

Mile 349: Caution added for rough, milled road surface on downhill

Mile 354: Caution added for rough road surface.

If you are staying at the hostel on Friday night, earlier arrivals before 9:30PM should use the Woman's dorm. Later arrivals should use the Men's dorm.  You can use the same bunk when you return for the overnight controle.  I'm planning on being at the hostel by late afternoon and hope to be asleep by early evening in the Family dorm, so I can wake up early and prepare breakfast.

Park your car in the large gravel lot on your right, halfway between the road and house -- the few parking spots near the house are reserved.

SPOT trackers will be handed out to select riders.  Rider tracking is at this link:

http://parando.org/SPOT_Links.html

If you have a personal SPOT unit that is not listed above, please send me a link to your personal tracking page.  Please note that the older SPOT units need to be reset after 24 hours. 

*** Update 1 (5/27)  ***
The cuesheet has been updated to draft 8 (dated 5/26).  This update incorporates many course changes based on a checkout ride this past weekend of the upper 200k Water Gap to Water Gap loop. With it being my first "warm" ride of the year for me this year, I was glad not to have another 100k to go when I got back to Water Gap.  And without a doubt, road crews have their work cut out for them this summer to repair many potholes and rotten pavement.  Unfortunately, there has been little progress so far in fixing the roads from the rough winter we had.  And the poor condition of Rt 97 between Barryville and Hawk's Nest has prompted a major reroute to instead use an alternate route through Eldred.  While adding a bit of climbing, this reroute will avoid several miles of rotten pavement along with many large cracks between the road and shoulder that were particularly hazardous.  The reroute will also avoid quite a bit traffic in the form of motorcycle packs and vans for all the rafting operations which is typical for Rt 97 this time of year.

Some additional course notes:

- There was closed bridge on Snow Hill Rd.  The bridge was actually in great shape, and looks like it was replaced some time in the past 10 years.  But in addition to mounds of dirt, PA DOT put in a barrier at both ends of the bridge for good measure.  It is passable by foot, but a bit inconvenient: you will need to lift your bike over the barrier and then straddle it to get past.  But that minor inconvenience is worth having a 5-mile segment with virtually no traffic.

- Rt 402 is in bad shape, with big potholes in many locations.  Riders will need to stay vigilant to avoid these. The last 2 miles on the downhill on this segment are particularly bad, and need extra caution.  With fast traffic on this stretch, it is advisable to stay on the shoulder and slowly pick your way around the rotten pavement.

- There was a "Road Closed" sign at the beginning of Kimbles road (the turn off of Rt 6).  It is actually passable by both car and bike, but there are several short stretches of road that have deteriorated to gravel patches.  With the low traffic through here, it is entirely manageable but extra caution is needed.

- Towpath Rd along the Lackawaxen is another road in serious need of some love from the DOT.  There are some stretches of rotten pavement that are manageable, given the low traffic conditions.

- The first 2 controle stops on day 2 after the sleep over controle are both untimed.  The first stop is a postcard drop at the Limerick post office, and yes, I'm expecting some good limericks to be written on the card by you.  For some ideas. you can look at last year's submissions:
http://parandonneurs.blogspot.com/2012/06/pa600k200k-recap-and-limericks.html
The turn-around point in New Holland is an untimed information controle at a MiniMart.  So the first closing time that you need to meet is the penultimate controle at mile 348 -- this gives you practically all day to catch up on the time limit if you get a late start after the sleep stop.

I am often asked about the availability of GPS files. Even though I have recently purchased a Garmin 800, I confess to being somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to GPS navigation.  Given the many different ways that even experienced users can mess up a GPS route, I'll be sticking to cuesheets as the official course description.    Also, there are specific safety warnings on the cuesheet that may not carry across to your GPS.  That all being said, if you have GPS file that you would like to share with others, you can post a note on the message board with your contact info.

There is a volunteer preride scheduled for this Wednesday -- be sure to check for any last minute cuesheet changes on Friday.

*** Original Post ***
The website has been updated with draft 7 of the cuesheet, which has the 2014 changes.  A map/profile has also been updated.  For 2014, day 1 will follow the Delaware River to Water Gap, like the 400k did.  From there, we'll head to Hawley, using roads we once used a long time ago in the other direction (Snow Hill Rd).  We'll return to Water Gap using the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.  Day 2 is mostly unchanged from 2013, with the exception of Blue Ball being the turn-around point.

The changes for the 600k **should** make the course kinder and gentler -- unlike the 400k which were decidedly harder.  Following the Delaware River to Water Gap is most certainly easier than the 2013 route.  The approach to Hawley up the Alleghany front is probably equivalent to the 2013 route.  The return through the park on the NJ side is a bit tougher than the 2013 route down the PA side, but should be much quieter and more pleasant in the fading sunlight than dealing with the traffic through Shawnee.

A volunteer preride is planned for Wednesday, May 28th.  Be sure to check for any cuesheet updates which will be posted on Friday, May 30th.

*** Roster (as of 5/30) ****
1 Daniel Aaron -
2 Michael Anderson -
3 Jonathan Clamp - Friday Night Hostel
4 Ed Dodd -
5 Joe Fillip -
6 Cecilie Gaffney -
7 Patrick Gaffney -
8 Guy Harris - Volunteer
9 Lothar Hennighausen - Friday Night Hostel
10 Donald Jagel -
11 Greg Keenan -
12 Eric Keller -
13 J Michael Lutz -
14 Lawrence A Midura -
15 Russell A Morris - Friday & Sunday Night Hostel
16 William Olsen - Volunteer
17 Tom Oswald - Friday Night Hostel
18 Peter C Phillips - Friday Night Hostel
19 Tom Rosenbauer - Friday Night Hostel
20 Norman Smeal -
21 Bob Torres - Friday Night Hostel
22 Gilbert Torres -