Sunday, November 29, 2015

Brandywine 200k

 *** Update 1 (12/4)  ***

Pre-ride breakfast options are somewhat limited.  The announcement page identifies Aunt Jenny's 41 Diner as a possibility, primarily due to its 24-hour operation.  I've never tried the food and can't comment.  The Dutchway Restaurant is closer to the start has a great breakfast buffet, but does not open until 6am.  Watch your time carefully should you choose this option.  New Jersey riders may feel more at home at the Wawa located at the intersection of Rts. 30 & 41 in Gap.  No further explanation necessary.

Parking at the Metzler residence is limited, but manageable for a group of our size.  George will be directing parking in front of his house and in the vacant business parking lot across the street.  Carpooling is encouraged and appreciated.  We plan to have registration/check-in set up at the top of George's driveway so you don't have to begin your journey with the climb out of George's driveway.  Those of you who have been here before know to appreciate this little detail.

The weather forecast is looking quite favorable for a December brevet.  Still, it is better to be prepared for a dramatic swing in temperatures.  Near freezing temperatures at the start combined with lots of shady sections for much of the route (this is normally a summer route) equals at least a couple hours of chilly riding to start.  Expect temperatures to plummet as the sun goes down.  Layers are your friend.

Finally, membership renewals in PA Randonneurs will be handled at registration for those of you needing to join or renew.

Andrew

*** Original Post ***
The 2015 Pennsylvania Randonneurs R12 Series concludes this year with a favorite from 2014, the Brandywine 200k.

*** Houses, Horses, and Hollows ***
After an initial climb, enjoy an uncharacteristically straight and level Highland Road, which follows the top of a ridge into Western Chester County. You gradually lose elevation as you meander along Buck Run Creek, while skirting the edge of Chester County's horse country which once included a 13,000 acre northern connection of famous King Ranch in Texas.

The route picks up the Brandywine River from Modena at mile 15. As the river grows and the valley widens you will begin to see the landscapes that Andrew Wyeth made famous in his artwork around his hometown of Chadds Ford at mile 34 on the ride and a quick post card controle.  As the route climbs out of the Brandywine Valley on Twaddell Mill road you will enter the "House" part of the 200K and enjoy the classic colonial and federal style architecture of Delaware. The Centerville Bakery at mile 38 offers the tastiest treats of the ride which you don't want to miss.  Shortly after refueling, look for this home on left side of Way Rd, its a beauty.

The route re-enters Pennsylvania just south of the mushroom capital of the world, Kennett Square, which produces over a million pounds of mushrooms per week. This normally quiet town of 6,000 people hosts over 100,000 people in the late summer to celebrate its annual Mushroom Festival.

Continuing west and south, the route enters Maryland in open farm fields and reaches is southernmost point of the ride at the Landhope Farm controle.  Heading west from the controle, the route drops to the Susquehanna along the route of the abandoned Octoraro Branch of the Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad.  See if you can spot signs of this landmark as you ride along before climbing back up to Conowingo.   You will also notice a change in the horses as you leave behind horses leading a pampered life in the stables of Chester County and see work horses used heavily by the Amish.

Having now seen houses and horses, we begin our focus on hollows. There is Scalpy Hollow, a bucolic, shaded road that gently climbs from the Susquehanna toward the southern ridge of Lancaster County.  Once on top, you will find Snyder Hollow Rd which offers a glorious 3 mile descent along a little creek. Enjoy.   A quick info controle and a eastward home stretch brings you back to the starting location.  As is typical, Cafe Metzler will be ready.

*** Additional Course Notes ***
A pre-ride checkout was recently conducted with the following areas you should take particular note of:
-Mile 11.9   Yes, we cross this closed covered bridge and enjoy a traffic-free road thereafter.
-Mile 16.2   The signs seem to have been turned a little leaving one to wonder which road is which.  You want the road with the "Road Closed" barriers.  Once again, you'll enjoy a nice road with no cars.
-Mile 80.5   The shoulder is in rough shape along this leg.  Please be very careful moving into the traffic lane to avoid the broken pavement as SR 222 may have some fast traffic.

With the limited amount of daylight, lighting and reflective gear will be inspected at the start.  Please note that the bike inspection checklist requires that you have redundant lighting for both the front and back.

SPOT trackers will be handed out to a few selected riders. The units are about the size of a cell phone and can be carried either in your back pocket or in a bag, away from the saddle. If you happen to have a personal SPOT tracker, not already listed here:
http://parando.org/SPOT_Links.html
... please send Tom a link to your SPOT tracking webpage.

*** Roster (as of 12/4) ***
1 Charles J Arayata -
2 Ed Bernasky -
3 Gavin Biebuyck -
4 Robert Joseph Burdalski II -  Guest
5 Paul Currie -  Volunteer
6 Jono Crane Davis -
7 Matthew Farrell -
8 J Scott Franzen
9 Patrick Gaffney -
10 Jeffrey A Gregg -
11 James R Haddad -
12 Doug Haluza -
13 Eric  K Hannon Ford -
14 Steve Harding -
15 James P. Holman -
16 Greg Keenan -
17 Christopher Anson Knight -
18 Christopher Maglieri -
19 Daniel McGill -
20 Andrew D Mead -  Volunteer
21 Chris Nadovich -
22 William Olsen -
23 Bob St. Pierre -  Guest
24 Gilbert Torres -
25 Allison Wong -  Guest

Andrew Mead
- organizer

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Milford 100k Ride Report

Photo compliments of CJ A.

Preliminary results have been posted at:
http://www.parando.org/PA100k_Results151115.pdf
...Please let me know of any corrections or other issues.  Results will be submitted shortly, and become final, pending RUSA certification.

The day got off to a chilly start in the upper 30F's but the plentiful sunshine eventually warmed things up to the upper 50F's by early afternoon. All 29 starters were official finishers for another 100% finish,  -- congratulations and well done for an excellent result. Of note, four riders completed their first brevet and are now freshly minted randonneurs: CJ A. introduced Brendan G. to our sport, Michael P. introduced Jay and Wynn S., and Razvan B rounded out the field of first timers.

Jeff G writes: "... Hi Tom I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill Olsen on a very enjoyable 100k ride. As always the ride was very well organized, the traffic was as advertised light and the course though shorter was still challenging. It was nice to have some time to talk, eat and relax after the ride at the Ships Inn. I do have some questions about the rides from Milford. Why does the traffic light at 519 and Bridge Street always  get farther away as you approach it at the end of the ride?  Why is the last mile on Javes Rd longer then all the other miles on these rides? And can anyone tell me where the tunnel is on Tunnel Road? I still haven’t found it and if I could take the tunnel to Javes Rd instead of going over the hill I might not mind riding that longer mile into town. Thanks again for another fun day on the bike...." [ There is indeed a tunnel near Tunnel Rd, but you wouldn't want to use it since its only meant for trains -Tom R. ]

Bill S. writes: "...Tom, thanks to you and Bill O. and the rest of your fine troupe of volunteers for another great ride. The course, cuesheet and cast of participants made for a completely enjoyable day of fall riding. Other than an exciting round of dodge Chris's glove and a puncture halfway up Tunnel Rd. the day contained plenty of pleasant peddling, wonderful weather and a minimum of mad motorists....."

Jimmy A. writes: "...Great ride yesterday!..."

Gilbert T. writes: "...thank you again for another great route. It was a great day to be on the bike..."

Jim H writes: "...Thanks for another great ride yesterday.  Even with the chilly start, it was a pleasant late autumn day for a leisurely ride.  Thanks also to Bill for organizing the ride, and to Guy and Grace for helping with pre-ride course intelligence...."

CJ A. writes: "...Yesterday's ride was a great route, great company, and pretty agreeable weather (minus the bit of winds, of course). It was interesting to see how the shorter distance changed the dynamic of the ride; everyone wasn't as spread out temporally as is made apparent for the 'usual' 200k distance. I managed to recruit a new Philly friend, Brendan, who had a very good time. When I showed him the route profile, he said "some of those climbs seem intense, which makes me want to do it!" A promising sign, and hoping I'll have made a convert by next Spring.Had a good (half) day out with Jono and Brendan for the most part, save Jono snapping his rear derailleur cable at about the midpoint of the ride. We managed to field-repair with a borrowed Leatherman to extract the cable head, and I knew that the spare cable I've been carrying for over a year would come in handy someday. It was a strange yet pleasant feeling finishing at lunchtime.... Jono and I joked that it was like "getting out of work early". Not that brevets are a chore, but it's nice knowing that if it had been a 200k, it would have been hours after dark at the finish. Thanks to Bill for the route and for the send-off and finish greeting! Hoping this event becomes a fixture on the PA calendar...."

CJ posted some very nice pictures which can be viewed here:
https://goo.gl/photos/LkiozkB626pJVoJ26

If you have any other comments or pictures to share, you can forward them to me for inclusion on the PA Message board.

Your safety is the number priority on an Eastern PA event. Please mention any safety hazard you might have spotted, or near-miss incident you saw. We value this feedback highly and it will help PA Randonneurs improve the next edition of the event.

Special thanks to organizer Bill Olsen, who suggested getting an autumn 100k on the Eastern PA calendar and proposed the route.  Bill not only ran the start and finish controles, but also spent the day out on course meeting up with riders.  Thanks also to volunteers Guy H. and Grace A., who along with Bill, checked out the course the weekend before.

The Eastern PA 2015 season concludes with the Brandywine 200k on December 5th.  Highlights include meandering along Brandywine Creek, visiting THREE states, riding along numerous roads incorporating the word "Hollow," and an almost unheard of in Lancaster County 3 mile descent.  Event details have been posted at:
http://www.parando.org/Brandywine200k.html
Use the on-line registration form by 5PM on December 3rd if you would like to join the roster.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

Monday, November 9, 2015

Milford 100k

The Milford 100k is on 11/15.  Please note that this is a rare Sunday event.

The start/finish is in Milford, NJ.  Organizer Bill Olsen will be sending you on your way at the Milford Bakery start and greeting you at the Ship Inn finish. Do not leave your car at the Bakery -- there is plenty of parking in the large parking lot on Church St in Milford (PA Randonneurs has permission to use the parking lot off of Church St which is now owned by the Medical supply store at the old bakery location). The Bakery opens at 6AM and has breakfast sandwiches along with an assortment of baked goods.  The finish controle and post ride gathering will be at the Ship Inn, a couple of stores down the street from the Bakery.

SPOT trackers will be handed out to a few selected riders. The units are about the size of a cell phone and can be carried either in your back pocket or in a bag, away from the saddle. If you happen to have a personal SPOT tracker, not already listed here:
http://parando.org/SPOT_Links.html
... please send me a link to your SPOT tracking webpage.

Additional event details are posted on the event web page:
http://parando.org/Milford100k.html


Additional Course Notes:
A volunteer preride was recently completed by Guy H. Grace P. and organizer Bill Olsen. The cuesheet was updated to draft 5 dated 11/9/15 with the changes noted below.  Organizer Bill Olsen reports:
The course is very gentle in the opening miles, but being a PA course, it of course doesn’t cut riders any slack once they get warmed up and into the ride.  By the time riders get over Charlestown Road and through Tunnel, they will appreciate this shorter 100K ride.

1.       Riders should park in the lot and NOT at the Milford Bakery.

2.       Due to the low Autumn sun, depending upon their speed, faster riders may find themselves riding directly into the morning sun on some sections of Creamery and Sugan Roads.  Be on the lookout for deer and don’t take the downhills too fast.  Fortunately there is very little traffic on all of the roads.

3.       The Controle 3 is officially listed as the WaWa, but you may also stop at the McDonalds on the corner to get your card stamped.  The WaWa has no facilities but if folks need them, there is the McDonalds across the road with McCafe Coffee

4.       The section from New Hope up to Perryville is on some very low-traveled, scenic roads.  Grace remarked how did we find them…to which Guy and I responded, every road in this area of PA NJ is pretty much this nice

5.       Featherbed Lane and Hammer Road were sealed and chipped in late Summer and there is still loose stone, primarily along the edges of the road, but there are some spots where it is still in the middle sections.  At Mile 28.8, there is a gentle downward slope prior to the SS onto Featherbed Lane.  Be VERY CAREFUL to check your speed early as there is quite a bit of loose gravel at the stop sign.  A note was added to the cuesheet to remind you of this hazard.

6.       The Bear Left at 32.7 really wasn’t that hard to miss, especially with the excellent spotting cue “Barbertown Point Breeze Road on Left.”

7.       At 33.7, Highway 12 is can be busy.  It was interesting that we saw a whole string of cars waiting for traffic to clear but by the time we got to the intersection, there were no cars, and very little traffic on 12…must have been a stoplight clearing up the road.

8.       Highway 513 in Pittstown can have some traffic so be very careful making the LHT onto Perryville Road at mile 40.5.  The oncoming traffic comes over the hill pretty much just prior to the turn.

9.       They are doing storm drain repairs on Grand Street and there is a fairly large cut in the roadway just at the turn from Upper Skillman onto Grand.  It is very visible and is also filled in but one could easily catch a wheel if one is not paying attention.  This is active construction and it could be repaved by the time riders pass on the 15th.

10.   The BP MiniMart (control 4) is relatively easy to get into.  Riders will be taking the left onto 31 with the light and there is a wide shoulder on the Northbound lane.  The course has you backtracking when leaving the controle.  But rather than taking a left hand turn out of the driveway across 3 lanes of highway, riders should instead proceed to the south entrance of the BP and walk their bikes the very short distance along the shoulder to the intersection and take advantage of the crosswalk and traffic light.  Highway 31 is two lanes in the Southbound direction with no shoulder and a curb on the right hand side.  The cuesheet has been updated with these instructions to get you safely across Rt 31 at the traffic light.


*** Roster (as of 11/14) ***
1 Charles J Arayata -
2 James Aspras -  Guest
3 Razvan Buciuc -  Guest
4 Janice Chernekoff -  Guest
5 Jonathan Clamp -
6 Robert Dye -
7 Matthew Farrell -
8 Patrick Gaffney -
9 Cecilie Gaffney -
10 Michael J Gorman -  Guest
11 Stewart J Gouck -
12 Brendan Graham -  Guest
13 Nigel Greene -
14 Jeffrey A Gregg -
15 Eric  K Hannon Ford -  Guest
16 Guy Harris -  Volunteer
17 James P. Holman -
18 Gil Lebron -
19 Christine Newman -
20 William Olsen - Organizer
21 Althea Grace Pineda -  Volunteer
22 Michael Povman -
23 Jay Schulz -  Guest
24 Wynn Schulz -  Guest
25 William M Slabonik -
26 Keith A Spangler -
27 Bob Torres -
28 Gilbert Torres -

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Stillwater 200k Retour Ride Report

Photo compliments of Chris N.
Preliminary results have been posted at:
http://www.parando.org/PA200k_Results151101.pdf
...Please let me know of any corrections or other issues.  Results will be submitted shortly, and become final, pending RUSA certification.

The 40% chance of rain in the forecast never materialized.  Clouds in the morning gave way to some peeks of sunshine with very mild temperatures for this time of year. All 25 starters made it to the finish in good time for another 100% finish,  -- congratulations and well done for an excellent result. Of note, first finisher Ed B. set a new course record of 8:04, despite logging an extra 5 miles when his Garmin GPS went haywire.  Ed completed PBP this year in Charly Miller time (under 56:40) -- you can read all about his preparations at:
http://pbpfaq.blogspot.com/2015/11/charly-miller-society-member-ed.html
Next up for Ed, is the 24 Hour World TT Championship next week in Borrego Springs where he hopes to crack 400 miles.  Best of luck to him for a successful and safe race!

Jeff G writes: "... I waited for 2 weeks with great anticipation for this ride and I must say I was not disappointed. The smells of autumn, the remnants of the fall leaves, the beautiful lakes with their reflections, the great views while riding across the ridge lines and the haunting ride across the “Shades of Death Road”, ( at least I found “Hope” to carry on at the end of this road), made for a memorable day.  Thanks for devoting so much time and effort to these events. I truly do enjoy them...."

Photo compliments of Chris N.

Mordecai S. writes: "...Beautiful scenery, light traffic, roads mainly in very good condition, great weather, and the camaraderie of fellow randonneurs made for a perfect day on the bike.  I really liked the start at the bakery (it was nice to head out after warming up with good coffee), the finish at Ship Inn, and everything in between.  The Tunnel Road climb wasn't quite as hard as I remembered, and there was the bonus of knowing that I'd be rewarded with mostly downhill roads to the finish. Thank you for creating this great route, thanks to Norman, Jon, and Len for volunteering, and thanks again to Patrick and Cecilie for giving me a cue sheet, since I had unaccountably neglected to print one out. Congratulations on successfully guiding the Eastern PA series for ten years....."

Fixed-gear rider Chris N. writes: "...Thanks for organizing the ride this past Sunday - it was great to be back riding in PA. Thanks to volunteers Norm, Jon and Len for making the day run so smoothly..."
Chris took some fantastic pictures along the course which can be viewed here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153021634381853.1073741855.696631852&type=1&l=dccd1bc209

Jim H writes: "...Just a brief note to thank you for yesterday's ride.  Thanks also to Norm and Jon.  And Len, who was cheering me on Javes Road as I neared the finish.  Some decent pockets of late autumn color along the route and, as usual, a very nice post-ride atmosphere at the Ship Inn...."

Patrick and Cecilie. write: "...Just a quick note to say thanks for the wonderful ride yesterday.  Cecilie and I had a great time enjoying some truly beautiful scenery and what was left of the Fall colors.  As I mentioned to some of the guys as we pulled into Nykun's, a trip down Shades of Death Road seemed very appropriate for a 200K on the Day of the Dead.  Also, many thanks to Norman and Jon for seeing us off and Jon and Len for meeting us at the finish. ..."

If you have any other comments or pictures to share, you can forward them to me for inclusion on the PA Message board.

Your safety is the number priority on an Eastern PA event. Please mention any safety hazard you might have spotted, or near-miss incident you saw. We value this feedback highly and it will help PA Randonneurs improve the next edition of the event.

Special thanks to a large number of volunteers who stepped up to make this event possible: Len Z not only helped with the course checkout the weekend before, but also manned controle 3, swept the course on the way back to the finish, and helped man the finish controle - whew! Organizer Norman S. ran the start controle and sent the riders on their way. Jon C. helped out at both the start and finish controles.  And Bill O. and Chris N. wrapped up the finish controle, collecting the SPOT trackers and getting the brevet cards back to me.

The Eastern PA fall series continues with the brand new Milford 100k populaire on November 15th.  This course is based on the lower loop of the Blairstown 200k we ran last December.  Hopefully, some of the colorful fall foliage will still be around by then.  Take note that this is another rare Sunday event.  Event details have been posted at:
http://www.parando.org/Milford100k.html
Use the on-line registration form by 5PM on November 13th if you would like to join the roster.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA