Preliminary results for the August 13th Hawk's Nest 200k have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200k_Results110813.pdf
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200k_Results110813.pdf
... please let me know of any corrections or other issues. Results will be sent to RUSA shortly, and then become final, pending ACP approval.
Once again, there couldn't be too many complaints about the weather -- while it's been a very "Hazy, Hot, and Humid" all summer, we just got the "Humid" for Saturday's ride. Overcast skies kept the Hazy and Hot at bay, although the sun did poke through the clouds a couple of times. Some riders saw a couple of little rain spritz's at the end, but everybody made it in to the finish before the heavy rain moved in.
Once again, there couldn't be too many complaints about the weather -- while it's been a very "Hazy, Hot, and Humid" all summer, we just got the "Humid" for Saturday's ride. Overcast skies kept the Hazy and Hot at bay, although the sun did poke through the clouds a couple of times. Some riders saw a couple of little rain spritz's at the end, but everybody made it in to the finish before the heavy rain moved in.
All of the 16riders who clipped in for this event, including three riders who did a pre-ride last weekend, made it around the course in good time for another 100% finish rate. Congratulations to everyone for an excellent result. Of note, Geoff Brunner and Evan Crovo finished their very first brevets. Geoff also arrived with fellow first finishers, Jonathan Clamp and Don Jagel. But this was little surprise to me, since Geoff just happens to have completed RAAM this year as an official finisher. You can read more about Geoff's remarkable accomplishment at:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/06/geoff_brunner_of_allentown_off.html
With their first R-12 event completed, Geoff and Evan only have 11 more to go! And speaking of R-12's, volunteer prerider George Metzler has a streak of 11 going, and is looking to complete his series next month. Also of note, Don Jagel, decided that 200k wasn't quite enough of a workout, so he rode the 50 or so miles from his home in Germantown to the start. Of course, that meant another 50 miles to get back home after the finish. And although we all know Don is a very fast rider, he wasn't quite fast enough to make it back home before the drenching rains started. Don writes: "...Thank you for putting together The Revised Hawks Nest Brevet yesterday. The weather, route and good company made for a great day on the bike. The route revisions definitely get two thumbs up! It was nice to get the views of Lake Wallenpaupack. The Eldred control (The Corner) seemed to be a good choice. The girls working were quite pleasant and efficient. They quickly made burgers for Geoff, Norman and Jon,and even delivered them outside. It took afew minutes to get the pedaling rhythm back for the climb out of
Eldred after relaxing for awhile at the control. However, the descent that followed certainly made it worthwhile. I hope everyone made it back before the rain started. I got a good soaking while riding home..."
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/06/geoff_brunner_of_allentown_off.html
With their first R-12 event completed, Geoff and Evan only have 11 more to go! And speaking of R-12's, volunteer prerider George Metzler has a streak of 11 going, and is looking to complete his series next month. Also of note, Don Jagel, decided that 200k wasn't quite enough of a workout, so he rode the 50 or so miles from his home in Germantown to the start. Of course, that meant another 50 miles to get back home after the finish. And although we all know Don is a very fast rider, he wasn't quite fast enough to make it back home before the drenching rains started. Don writes: "...Thank you for putting together The Revised Hawks Nest Brevet yesterday. The weather, route and good company made for a great day on the bike. The route revisions definitely get two thumbs up! It was nice to get the views of Lake Wallenpaupack. The Eldred control (The Corner) seemed to be a good choice. The girls working were quite pleasant and efficient. They quickly made burgers for Geoff, Norman and Jon,and even delivered them outside. It took afew minutes to get the pedaling rhythm back for the climb out of
Eldred after relaxing for awhile at the control. However, the descent that followed certainly made it worthwhile. I hope everyone made it back before the rain started. I got a good soaking while riding home..."
Roy Yates writes "...yesterday was a perfect day for a perfect ride. Also, the modified route through Eldred with smooth roads, not too much traffic and a plethora of truck-on-cheese signs was very agreeable..."
Guy Harris writes: "...Great route change going up to Eldred. I think it makes the route just a little tougher but more pleasant and a bit safer to ride. Barryville to Hawks Nest on 97 was my least favorite part of the old route. The Eldred controle was friendly and fast as well - hamburgers were
recommended by the group in just ahead of me and hit the spot. Thanks to Bill for organizing and pre-riding the new route...."
Guy Harris writes: "...Great route change going up to Eldred. I think it makes the route just a little tougher but more pleasant and a bit safer to ride. Barryville to Hawks Nest on 97 was my least favorite part of the old route. The Eldred controle was friendly and fast as well - hamburgers were
recommended by the group in just ahead of me and hit the spot. Thanks to Bill for organizing and pre-riding the new route...."
Norman Smeal writes: "...Great day for a great ride. Thank you Bill for putting on the show..."
Bob Dye writes: "...A great big thank you to you and Bill for a wonderful day in the saddle! Not only is the course beautiful but you guys did a great job on the weather, too. The cycling gods were smiling on me today and I don't believe I've ever had a more enjoyable ride. BTW, I'm not so sure I believe Bill regarding the new extension around Eldred being no more difficult than the old route. I did like the change however. Thanks again and I can't wait to do it again..."
Geoff Brunner writes: "....Thanks for a great day! The route was wonderful. I would concur with others on the side trip to Eldred as it was an accommodating controle and a nice break from 97 - personally, I'll take hills over traffic any day. The route was overall very well thought out, and made for an enjoyable time with certainly some significant challenges! I particularly enjoyed the company of all of the riders in the group with whom I had the pleasure of riding with at various stages....Thanks again to you and Bill and the others who were involved in organizing the event. I'll look forward to the Hawk Mtn ride next month!...."
Bob Dye writes: "...A great big thank you to you and Bill for a wonderful day in the saddle! Not only is the course beautiful but you guys did a great job on the weather, too. The cycling gods were smiling on me today and I don't believe I've ever had a more enjoyable ride. BTW, I'm not so sure I believe Bill regarding the new extension around Eldred being no more difficult than the old route. I did like the change however. Thanks again and I can't wait to do it again..."
Geoff Brunner writes: "....Thanks for a great day! The route was wonderful. I would concur with others on the side trip to Eldred as it was an accommodating controle and a nice break from 97 - personally, I'll take hills over traffic any day. The route was overall very well thought out, and made for an enjoyable time with certainly some significant challenges! I particularly enjoyed the company of all of the riders in the group with whom I had the pleasure of riding with at various stages....Thanks again to you and Bill and the others who were involved in organizing the event. I'll look forward to the Hawk Mtn ride next month!...."
Nigel Greene writes: "...Thanks for putting on this ride. It was a fast course and a challenging one, which made and interesting combination. I also enjoyed sharing the road with you (Tom) for a bit. I look forward to the next edition. If you are interested, my ride report is at:
If you have any other comments or pictures to share, you can forward them to me or post them on the message board.
Special thanks to Bill Olsen for a superb job of organizing the ride. In addition to preriding the revised route, he swept the course in his car, making sure everybody was safely accounted for. Thanks also, to volunteers Bill Blank and George Metzler for joining Bill on the volunteer preride.
After two visits to Hawk's Nest, next up, we'll be headed out to Hawk Mountain for the September R-12 event. As you can see from last year's ride report:
http://parandonneurs.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-r12-results-hawk-mountain.html
... this is an absolutely fantastic route that organizer Andrew Mead has put together.
http://parandonneurs.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-r12-results-hawk-mountain.html
... this is an absolutely fantastic route that organizer Andrew Mead has put together.
Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA