The temperature was on the chilly side, with some brief sprinkles during the partly cloudy day, but the warm rando camaraderie more than made up for the raw weather. Of the 27 riders that clipped in at the start/finish, 25 completed the whole course within the time limit for a 93% completion rate. Congratulations and well done to all! Preliminary results 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 after review and will become official once certified.
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| Gavin pauses at the Pagoda controle |
It almost seemed like the before-times, with a staff of fully vaccinated volunteers providing "hostel quality" food and beverage services at the start, finish, and Pagoda controls while riders congregated (with some distance) in the outdoor pavilion to trade war stories.
Organizer Chris Nadovich set up and ran the start, Steve Schoenfelder operated a "secret" control at the Pagoda, then raced back to the finish to check-in returning riders. And volunteer veteran Len Zawodniak fed them their choice of freshly grilled veggie or beef hamburgers. As if that wasn't enough experienced rando volunteer power, RBA emeritus Tom Rosenbauer lent a hand as well.
Alongside the usual group of veteran randonneurs, there were five totally new RUSA members doing their first randonneuring event ever. It shows the right stuff to pick such a difficult course for your first brevet, and their results showed they were up to the challenge.
The five new riders were Seth Hallam, Steve Handleman, Brad Layman, Angela Martinez, Michael Panzitta, and Garrett Redmond. Welcome to Randonneuring!
Four of the five new riders finished well within the time limit to become freshly minted randonneurs. The one exception was Steve Handleman, who was riding very well, but abandoned in comradeship with ailing Iwan Barankay so he could drive Iwan home to Philly. To accomplish this good deed, Steve rode back from the Macungie control to fetch his car. That means he rode back over the mountain at Chestnut Hill, and back over the mountain at Applebutter. Clearly Steve is a very strong rider who knows the rando maxim that just because you've abandoned the ride doesn't mean you stop riding. Well done Steve! I expect we'll see you clip in and easily complete your first brevet very soon.
Another of those freshly minted randonneurs, Seth Hallam, unleashed an incredible ride, zooming up and down those 9000 feet of climbing and 125 miles of road (and gravel) in an incredible 7:47 (think 747 jetliner speed). This smashed the course record by almost an hour. Former record holder Chris Magliari was also in the field. Chris beat his previous record as well, but was about 10 minutes slower than Seth. If Magliari didn't stop and take pictures all the time, who knows what the result would have been!?
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| One of the many interesting sights on the Pagoda 200K captured by Chris Magliari |
Thanks Chris for organizing this great brevet. The scenery was amazing. The cuesheet cues were A+. This was the most challenging ride I've done to date. And it is good preparation for a more challenging one, training both legs and logistical skills.
George Retseck writes...
A great day on the bike thanks to the tireless volunteers who made it happen! Thank You!!
Thanks for putting on another top-notch event this past weekend. It was great meeting up with the riders at the finish, both familiar and new. I'm looking forward to riding this course some time, and have put that on my bucket list.
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