Blue Mountain 200k

Blue Mountain as seen on the 2014 edition, compliments of Nigel Greene

*** Postponed (3/20) ***
Due to snow and icy road conditions, the Blue Mountain 200k originally scheduled for 3/21 has been postponed until Saturday, 3/28.  Hopefully, we'll have some spring weather conditions by then.  Please let me know if you plan to ride on the rescheduled date.

 *** Update 1 (3/19) ***
With a winter storm forecast calling for 3-6" of snow on Friday along with the below freezing temperatures overnight into Saturday morning, there's a good chance that the Blue Mountain 200k will need to be postponed.  An assessment will be made around midday on Friday on whether it will be safe for us to ride or not.  Be sure to check back on the website and message board for updates.

*** Course Notes (3/17) ***
The Eastern PA spring calendar kicks off with the Blue Mountain 200k on March 21st out of Milford, NJ. The start is at our favorite bakery.  But due to the limited parking spaces at the Milford Station Bakery, please do not park your car there. Parking is available in a parking lot off of Church St (across the street from the Bakery).  There are "No Parking" signs but PA Randonneurs has permission from US Health Care: to use the lot for our event.  The March event typically has a pretty good turn-out - there is additional seating at the bakery start controle in a room down the hallway past the bathrooms.
The controle in Water Gap is at another bakery.  But right next door, there is the Water Gap Diner if you would like a more substantial sit-down meal.  You may get your brevet card signed at either location.

I want to emphasize taking extra care with those RR crossings early on, as noted on the cuesheet -- especially if you find yourself in a large, fast bunch as you approach these hazards.  The second one at mile 7.2 will be extremely treacherous, especially if it is wet.

The finish controle is at the Ship Inn, at the other end of Bridge St, where organizer Eoghan Barry will greet you.  Eoghan is also riding as a participant, so if you finish before he does, you can leave your signed brevet card with the hostess if you leave before he arrives.

SPOT GPS Trackers will be handed out to a couple of riders at the start. The webpage with links to the trackers is here:
http://parando.org/SPOT_Links.html
... if you have a personal SPOT tracker not listed, please send me a link to your tracking webpage.

A volunteer preride was completed by Pat and Cecily Gaffney this past weekend.  Pat reports:
"...Thanks again for a wonderful route.  Despite the fact that the temperatures never seemed to get anywhere near their advertised highs, a pretty stiff headwind through the first two controls and some sleet and freezing rain we had a great time.  
As with all the Eastern PA rides, the route was a fantastic mix of interesting terrain and beautiful scenery.  We didn't find any issues with the cue sheet, and given the winter we had, we thought all the roads were in pretty good shape.  There were no real problems with any roads, though I must say there was a fair amount of gravel and cinders over the entire course, which i think could be expected. It was never a real big concern, but there were a few spots that we thought you may want to make note of.
- At mile 16.3 - right turn onto Abbott St - there is a pothole in the turn that could cause some pinch flats
-Mile 21.7- N Delaware Dr - - There is a fair amount of gravel on the shoulder
-Mile 34.3 - QR - Eighth St - There is a metal grate in the turn
-Mile 34.6 - Roosevelt St is unmarked
-Mile 44.6 - Delps RD is probably one of the roughest roads on the route.  It is not horrible, but there a few spots along the whole stretch of Delps that have to be picked through with a little extra caution, particularly if a large group is moving through.
-Mile 49 - Red Maple Drive - Gravel in this turn
-Mile 52 - There is a lot of gravel on the shoulder of the climb up Blue Mountain Drive.
-Mile 79.1 -Cherry Valley Rd - This stretch has some rough patches between 191 and 611.
-Mile 93.3 - Sandy Shore Dr. - Gravel in this turn
-Mile 119.1 - Sweet Hollow Road - Gravel and rough road in this turn.


Other than these spots the course was in pretty good shape, as we mentioned before.  The climb up Turkey Hill was not too bad.  We made it up without any issues and the 3 mile descent down Sweet Hollow with out turning the pedals over was worth it.

Hopefully the weather will be a little better for the group this weekend, but I am sure everyone will enjoy the ride regardless..."  -Pat and Cecilie

And a couple of other important reminders:
- Lighting and reflective gear will be inspected at the start
- Print out a cuesheet for yourself
- Monitor the message board and website for any last minute updates.  There's another round of winter weather in the forecast late in the week that I'm keeping a close eye on.
...And most importantly, be sure to have a **safe ride***!

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

**** Roster as of 3/27 ***
1 Glenn Ammons -
2 Whit Anderson -
3 Dan Barbasch -
4 Eoghan Barry - Organizer
5 Ed Bernasky
6 Gavin Biebuyck -
7 Ronald Burdalski II - unconfirmed
8 Janice Chernekoff -
9 Jonathan Clamp -
10 Tim Conway -
11 Timothy Creyts -
12 Ed Dodd -
13 Alfred Dolich - unconfirmed
14 Chris Errico -
15 Matthew Farrell -
16 William Fischer -
17 J Scott Franzen -
18 Cecilie Gaffney - Volunteer
19 Patrick Gaffney - Volunteer
20 Zachary R Goodrich - unconfirmed
21 Nigel Greene -
22 James P. Holman -
23 Greg Keenan -
24 Eric Keller -
25 Alexander Kojevnikov - unconfirmed
26 Robin C Landis -
27 Gil Lebron -
28 Gary Mass - unconfirmed
29 Rudi Mayr -
30 William Olsen -
31 Tom Oswald -
32 Keith A Spangler - unconfirmed