Hope to New Hope Ride Report

It was about as hopeful a December day as could be expected, riding along the Delaware. Chilly, a little breezy at times, but there was a good amount of sunshine. Of those that clipped in at the Blairstown Diner, 13 of the 14 made it to the finish at the Blairstown Inn within the time limit for a 93% completion rate.   Preliminary results for the December 2019 edition of the Hope to New Hope 200K have been posted on the website.  Please review the results and let me know if they align with your memory.  The results will be submitted to RUSA later in the week and will become official once certified.

James Haddad enjoys a gyro at the Market in New Hope

Riders had little trouble navigating the relatively straight and flat course (for PA Rando) from Blairstown, beyond Hope, on to New Hope, and back through Hope to Blairstown. The only DNF was Tom Keenan, who's navigation device was lost till Spring somewhere in a snowbank after an unfortunate glove maneuver.

The Hope to New Hope route is not the most scenic PA Rando route. H2NH uses larger secondary roads such as 519 and 29. The higher traffic on these roads is tolerated in the hopes that the shoulder remains snow and ice free through the Winter. On this occasion, there was little issue with snow and ice (other than in Footbridge Park). Any "stickyness" on the shoulder was limited and manageable. The biggest annoyance reported was, in fact, the traffic: specifically all the cars with Christmas trees on the roof. The consensus was that 1 in 3 cars was carrying a tree.

And here's some Blairstown Diner trivia you might not have known. December 13th is a Friday! Whooo...

Winter riding protective facemask with rando mottos.

First finisher Iwan Barankay writes...

Thank you for putting together this brevet. Perfect start and end controls and ideal conditions for a December brevet. I particularly enjoyed the meditative and muscle relaxing walk across Stockton bridge and the warm coffees at each control. Glorious day to end the 2019 brevet season. Next year I hope we will put together a brevet to start in Philly.

Hey Philly Gang, did you hear that "brevet to start in Philly" part? Time to get crackin' on this!

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This brevet completes the 2019 season for Pennsylvania Randonneurs. Thanks to all the volunteers, this year has been an amazing success. Congratulations to all the riders -- especially those who went on to PBP this year.  I wish you all the best over the holidays and hope to see you next year at our first event, which will be held on 4 January 2020. Details coming soon on the PA Rando website.

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Chris Nadovich
Brevet Organizer