Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Hawk's Nest 200k

*** Update 1 (8/3) ***
Don Jagel completed a volunteer pre-ride this past Saturday, and sent the following scouting report:
"...After a too big breakfast at the diner in Water Gap, I walked out the door and the air smelled like rain.  I was sure I would get wet, but fortunately it never happened.  A dry day!

The bridge construction on 447/Creek Rd is completed.  There was no active construction work anywhere along that stretch when I passed through.  There is now a Deli at the corner of 447 and 390 in Canadensis that was open and would be a good stop for those wanting to stock up before the climb. 

Road conditions on Kimbles road are pretty bad, but better than they were during the 600K. The loose gravel that was present is now packed down, but you still have to pick your way through.  Ditto Towpath Road. 

After getting onto 590 at mile 53.3 (Rowland), the road was closed by Emergency Services at about mile 53.8, the intersection of 590 and Rowland Road.  This was a temporary issue, with emergency vehicles blocking the road, and should not affect the upcoming event.  Based on the large pile of burned out flares, it looked like they had been there for a number of hours. The folks blocking 590 told me that everything was shut down because of police activity, including the Roebling Aqueduct Bridge, and there was no way I was passing through to get to Route 97.  After some discussion about alternative routes, I set out on a 15 mile detour, up Rowland Road (the largest climb of the day), left onto Market Road into Greely (where the road was again blocked), right onto 590, then left onto 434 which led me to the bridge at Barryville.  All in all, it only added 5 miles to the day's total mileage.  It was a nice, scenic alternative route, but that was a pretty good climb.  Put Rowland Road into your climb reference folder for those days when you are feeling ambitious.  Once getting to Barryville, I was back on course.

The remainder of the ride was uneventful.  All roads are in good shape, except Kimble Road, Towpath Road, and Old Mine Road, all of which are in rough shape (nothing new there).

The Flats Deli (control 5) is closed on Sundays.  I did stop at the store in Layton, and spoke with the folks there.  From what I saw, the sandwiches looked huge, and it smelled wonderful. It seems that it is more of a sit down and eat type of place, and had very limited supplies for those who want to make a quick stop and grab something, even less than Flats Deli.  I mentioned that we could have about 20 folks passing through in a couple of weeks, and that they would be spread out over several hours, in one or twos, or small groups.  They gave me a menu with their information, and said that we should call ahead for a reservation (it was crowded when I passed through).  I think the Flats Deli is probably a better stop for a controle, but if someone wants to stop at Layton for a large hamburger, or cheese steak, enjoy.

All in all it was a very good ride to finish up a PA R-12.  The added scenic detour up Rowland Road was a nice, but challenging.  The road closure was temporary, and there should be no issues with Roebling Bridge in a couple of weeks.  -Don J. ..."

*** Roster (as of 8/15) ***
1 Barbara Solis Anderson 
2 Ronald Anderson 
3 Michael Anderson
4 Charles J Arayata 
5 Gavin Biebuyck
6 Jane M  Brown
7 Joe A Brown
8 Jeffery S Butt
9 Jonathan Clamp
10 Robert Dye
11 Joe Fillip
12 William Fischer 
13 Zachary R Goodrich 
14 Michael J Gorman
15 Donald Jagel - Volunteer Preride
16 Robin C Landis
17 Michelle  M Nguyen
18 William Olsen - Organizer
19 Tom Rosenbauer - Organizer
20 Norman Smeal 
21 Gilbert Torres
22 Leonard Zawodniak


*** Original Post ***
With summer weather upon us, the August 16th Hawk's Nest 200k course will be heading north into Promised Land, where the temperatures are typically several degrees cooler.  Most of the route is shaded, which will also bring some relief from the heat.  Riders typically finish this course about an hour faster than other Eastern   PA 200k's.  Event details are at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/R12ClubAug1.html

If you liked to join the roster, please send me an e-mail by Thursday, August 15th.  

Course Notes:
-Reminder: Parking is behind the Water Gap Diner -  Directions are posted here:
http://parando.org/WaterGapParking.pdf

-The Water Gap diner has promised to have the grill fired-up by 6AM, so you can top off with a good breakfast before the start.  

-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.

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