Lackawanna 200k Results

Morning Sky
Photo by Michael Povman

Preliminary results for the Lackawanna 200k have been posted at
http://parando.org/PA200k_Results180324.pdf.  These will be submitted to RUSA in the coming week and become official pending certification by the ACP.

The roller coaster weather of winter threatened once again and dumped well over a foot of snow on the area on Wednesday.  Spring thawing began in earnest but with overnight lows in the mid-20s each night, re-freeze remained a significant concern.  A delayed start to near sunrise allowed riders to see the slick spots in time to avoid them as well as melting any icy spots.  No cycling incidents were reported, though one group managed to find a ditch while driving to the start.  All 25 riders who clipped in finished.

Greg Keenan writes, "I wanted to mention what a great call it was to move yesterday's ride start time to day light hours.  Safety was greatly improved by being able to see the little ice patches from the melt that froze over night.  Thanks for another great ride."

From Steve Schoenfelder:  We were able to avoid scattered patches of ice due to the delayed daylight start.  My GPS read 23 degrees at the hostel, but reached a high of about 55 degrees in the afternoon.  The winds and climbs made it a challenging ride, but the usual randonneur camaraderie helped reduce the suffering.  It turned out to be a beautiful day to be on a bike.  The route was spectacular, crossing the Delaware four times; coursing through picturesque countryside and historic villages.  We meandered along the historic Lackawanna Cutoff railroad grade with its many tunnels, and passed under the impressive Paulinskill Viaduct.  Here are a few pictures:

Climbing Sweet Hollow Rd

Steve Schoenfelder & Brandon Detweiler crossing the Delaware

Relaxing at Portland

Congratulations to Brendan Detweiler for notching his first brevet finish to join the ranks of Randonneurs.

From Michael Povman, Thanks again to Chris, Bill and all the other volunteers for another well-run Pa. ride.  Moving the start back an hour was a great call as any patches of ice were on the road were pretty easy to spot in the daylight.   The hills and the wind seemed relentless, but  I really enjoyed the snow-covered vistas on this very scenic route, not to mention the company of my fellow riders.  Here's a picture of Rudi Mayr and Neil Lerner.

Rudi Mayr writes, Many thanks to you, Chris, Bill, Jeff, Lenny, chili chef Joe, the hostel's staff, and everyone else who contributed to yesterday's ride! It was truly memorable.

Beautiful sunny day and a great scenic route that protected us from the winds most of the time.  There was always some snow in sight, but often only small patches here and there, on northerly hillsides etc. Spring has not yet come to the trees, so we could see a lot of stuff that's going to be hidden in a couple weeks.

The most spectacular thing I saw was something that can only happen to a cyclist (and perhaps only to a cyclist wearing black pants and a bright yellow windbreaker). I was cruising along at a good clip, having just come off a descent, nice smooth pavement with the warm sun over my right shoulder, my shadow to my left. A little cloud of shadows passed right through my own, and I realized a tiny flock of birds had just gone right over my head. So I looked up and there, almost within reach, were a dozen male goldfinches flying in tight formation, brilliant yellow in the sun against the blue sky. Just at that moment they separated like an explosion of sparks flying in all directions, and then they came together again. My road turned to the left, they went straight, I was alone again... bedazzled. 

A little while later there was a huge flock of blackbirds in the trees to the left, and as we rode along they all flew up and passed over us, dense clouds of birds above and their shadows below,  moving sideways as a unit, giving the illusion of a world torn into two planes... almost enough to confuse a cyclist's balance. And really loud!

Many thanks to organizers Chris Nadovich and Bill Olsen for handling details on the ground and to volunteers Jeff Lippincott, Pat & Cecile Gaffney, Joe Ray, George Retseck, and Len Zawodniak for stepping up to make sure the route was navigable,  riders were well fed, and cleaning up after it was all over.

We will return to the hostel in three weeks (April 14) for the 300k.  Details and registration information will be posted soon.

Andrew Mead
Eastern PA RBA