A pre-ride of the Lackawanna 200K was completed on Tuesday, 21 March.
The Hostel parking lot was mostly clear of snow. There were some mushy areas but I was able to park easily without needing to engage 4WD. At 6AM I set off in the dark in a light drizzle at 37F.
Although the course is generally beautiful, with quiet roads and many interesting sights, it begins with some tense drama almost immediately after leaving the Hostel. Starting from the left turn at the TFL onto Rt 313 (mile 1.6) the shoulder is rough, and so is the main lane. The potholes filled with water are hard to see through the glare of oncoming headlights. Worse yet, there are detour signs with sandbag bases blocking the shoulder at intervals, forcing you into the lane.
State highway 313 should be relatively quiet 6AM Saturday, but at any time of the day or night it can have platoons of cars zooming by at 50+ mph.
We ride this segment before dawn. Please ride single file and provide a good space cushion between riders. Don't ride faster than your guardian angel OR faster than the range of your headlight. Make sure your taillight is on and your reflective gear is worn correctly.
Inexperienced night riders should be extra cautious.
Approaching the next light at the top of the climb (2.8 mi), carefully get into the left lane. The turn here onto Ridge Rd is marked the "Car Detour" for 313. After completing the turn onto Ridge Rd, the drama abates. Although there isn't much of a shoulder on Ridge, traffic is low and visibility is good. You will have a generally calm ride for the next few miles.
At about mile 8, where Ridge Rd starts to descend to the creek, you'll hear the roaring water going over the Nokamixon dam. Your speed will increase and the number of potholes will also increase. It still will be before dawn. Once again, please don't ride faster than you can see ahead to avoid potholes.
That's pretty much all the drama. Once you pass the dam, the sun will come up and you will be able to relax and enjoy this beautiful course with all the interesting Lackawanna civil engineering marvels. I found the course to be in good shape. Although the woods were still full of snow pack, the roads and most shoulders were completely clear of snow and ice. Creeks were swollen, but flooding was very limited. There's some sand and salt remaining, so be careful around fast
corners.
At mile 23.1, sadly Milford Bakery is defunct. The building has For Sale signs. Those hungry for second breakfast or coffee might instead steer to the Bridge St Bagels and Deli next to the the TL at mile 23.3
62.0 The Jct of Rt 612 is unmarked. Look instead for the Breyers Ice Cream sign above Chrusz's Store on the right.
117.9 Stoney Garden is freshly paved. The smoothest road of the day. Sadly, some of the roads before and after Stoney Garden have a few potholes.
No substantive cue sheet changes were made.
Have a great ride!
--
Chris Nadovich
*** Original Post
Now that winter brevets are behind us and hopefully winter itself will soon depart, it's time to turn our attention to the ACP events. First up is the Lackawanna 200k on March 25, starting from our rando clubhouse at the Weisel Hostel near Quakertown. Event details have been posted on the website.
Registered Riders (as of 3/23/2017)
1 Michael Anderson
2 Charles J Arayata + Fr, membership
3 Jimmy Aspras
4 Peter Bakken
5 Eoghan Barry
6 Gavin Biebuyck
7 James Bondra +Fr, Sa
8 Mario Claussnitzer
9 Alfred Dolich
10 Chris Errico + membership
11 Matthew Farrell
12 William Fischer
13 Patrick Gaffney
14 Nigel Greene
15 Vadim Gritsus
16 James R Haddad + Fr
17 Steve Harding + Fr
18 Guy Harris
19 Greg Keenan
20 Eric E. Keller + Fr, membership
21 Jeff Lippincott
22 Christopher Maglieri
23 Rudi Mayr
24 Andrew D Mead
25 Chris Nadovich - organizer
26 William Olsen - organizer
27 Joseph Ray
28 Bob Torres
29 Aleksey M Vishnyakov +Fr
If you're considering the fleche, please remember that the deadlines are fast approaching. Details are also available on the PA Randonneurs website.
The fleche team line up for 2017:
Escargots Volants: Paul Shapiro, route pending, start TBD
Fistful of Xanax: Chris Slocum, route approved, start TBD
Flesh Eating Rumble Ponies: James Haddad, route pending, start TBD
Now You've Gone Too Far: Eric Keller, route approved, start Sa 8:00
Sins of the Fleche: James Bondra, route pending, start TBD
The Midnight Ride of the Sinister Nuts, 10th Anniversary Edition:
Bill Olsen, route approved, start Sa 9:00
Three Rivers of Guiness: Bill Fischer, route approved, start Sa 10:00
TBD: Rudy Mayr, route approved, start Sa 8:15
Routes are due by 3/24. If your route shows pending, please send it to me (or resend). If your start time shows TBD, drop me a line and enlighten me.
Finally, for those of you who finished the fleche in 2016, I am still waiting to receive the certifications from RUSA/ACP and will mail your entire 2016 package of brevet results once those arrive. Still no official word on a forecast date.
Andrew Mead
- Eastern PA RBA
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