No Jim Thorpe 600K Ride Report

The PA Randonneurs 2024 SR series concluded this past weekend with the completion of the No Jim Thorpe 600K. Twelve riders started out on a beautiful morning that evolved into a wonderful day to spend on the bike. Low humidity and a lite breeze kept the riders feeling good throughout the day. Day two proved to be just as nice with morning cloud cover giving way to sunny skies as the riders returned to the Chamounix Mansion. Along with one pre-rider, eleven riders finished in good time, for a completion rate of 92%. Preliminary results have been posted. Please review them and let me know if there are any discrepancies. Results will be submitted to RUSA after review and will become official once certified. 

Riders ready at the Start

A 600K is a daunting ride and completing one amongst the steep climbs of Easter PA makes it even more challenging. While the grand climb from last year’s edition, Mt. Penn, had to be removed due to trail maintenance in Jim Thorpe, this course still packed a punch. Everyone who saddled up for this ride should be pleased with their efforts.

First finisher, Ben Keenan

 

Photo: Ron Anderson

 

Congratulations to our eight PA Super Randonneurs for 2024

• Ron Anderson
• Pat Gaffney (7)
• Tracey Hinder
• Ben Keenan (3)
• Greg Lang (2)
• Brad Layman (4)
• Sophia Lofaso
• Paul Schack

Two of these riders, Tracey Hinder & Paul Schack, completed their first Super Randonneur series. Welcome to the club!

photo: Greg Jacobs

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make this ride possible. Without volunteers these rides would be next to impossible to put on. RBA Chris Nadovich and OG RBA Tom Rosenbauer for greeting and supporting riders at the Easton control. Nick Manta and Ryan Stanis for greeting, feeding, and sending riders back on their way at the overnight control. Iwan Barankay for welcoming riders on Friday night, attending to the finish control on Sunday afternoon and cleanup on Monday morning. And Soph, Nicole, & Tracey for helping with Monday morning cleanup

Alex's Pop Tart Cache,  Photo:Iwan Baran

Michael Evangelista writes:  

Sadly, I have no amazing stories to tell (unless walking down S Fireline Rd in my socks counts). But I do want to thank you and the volunteers for putting on another great PA Rando event, and -- even more importantly -- for ensuring there was cold seltzer at the finish. I'll definitely be back for a 200K to finish off my first PA SR Series!

Brad Layman writes:

Thank you to all the volunteers, especially those who put in many hours waiting for us to arrive.

Highlights included stopping next to a peaceful creek in the middle of nowhere to enjoy the pork buns and Italian cookies I brought from Philly, hanging out at the mansion, and the night riding on Saturday. I really enjoy the night riding on Day 1 of 600s. It has a more relaxed feel compared to the 400s since you know there's another day of riding left.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the SR Series happen this year. These are my favorite events on the calendar, and I hope to be back for another one next year. I love how the series pushes me to go farther while getting to share the experience with other randonneurs.

Greg Lang writes

[ED: Greg once again completed the series fixed and brakeless!]

About 200k into the ride I shredded my back tire while skidding down
South Fireline Road in Palmerton. It was a gnarly, white knuckling,
heavy skidding descent. The condition of the tire was a predicament
to say the least. I was not confident it would last for the remainder
of the ride even though I was prepared to ride it to the rim if needed
to finish. For that 75k, I had to find the correct skid patches by
sound and only could skid on half the tire as well as responsibly
backpedal in the right time frames. Luckily, with the help of
Pennsylvania Randonneurs they helped me find a bike shop about 75k
away where I was able to get a new tire. That was a good lesson to
always check for bike shops along the route in case you have a
mechanical problem.

Ben Keenan writes:

Thanks Pat, Nick, Ryan, Chris, Tom, Iwan and all others for organizing this event. It was a fitting end to another great SR series. The early June conditions made for pleasant riding even in the later stages when I tired and was rolling slow. Thanks to all the other riders in the series from the icy first ride in March until now. I really appreciated sharing the miles and hearing your stories. Hope to see everyone at a ride soon!

Greg Jacobs writes:

What a great experience for my first 600k and a great way to cap off a first, albeit not totally PA, SR series. There's no better way to explore than on a bicycle and this route had it all from urban to suburbs to rural and even some stretches in the woods on the various bike trails. A small group at the start meant a fair amount of solo riding but the stars aligned as I met up with Ron A for the last 100K of night riding on Saturday. His companionship and experience were invaluable in both this ride and the 400K in May. Day 2 had ups and downs. The day started well riding through Delco into the Brandywine Valley. The toughest part of the whole event was the climb up Apple Grove through to the controle in Christiana (miles 45-60) as the climbing increased as did the headwinds. From the top of Beaver Dam Rd. it was relatively smooth sailing back east into Philly. Thanks to Pat, Chris and the rest of the PA Rando volunteers (especially the overnight guys willing to carry bikes and dish out meals into the wee hours of Sunday morning). The entire club is a class act and I look forward to more rides in the future.

Ron Anderson writes:

PA Randonneurs "No Jim Thorpe" 600k: Wonderful. Awful. Oh so rewarding in the end. If you're a randonneur you know exactly what I mean. Sorry I don't have more photos to post. Busy riding.

I'm having trouble putting together a coherent summary of the weekend's ride, so I'm giving up and instead you're getting the random thoughts that stick with me from my 375 mile, 2 day tour of Eastern PA.
Day 1 was the Wonderful part. 247 miles in a hilly, challenging counter-clockwise loop from Philadelphia, northeast into NJ, then on to Lehighton and back south to Philly. I had a plan and executed well. Rode strongly, enjoyed the gorgeous route and weather. Listened to the Phillies v. Mets in London (Phils won 7-2!) Such a pleasure to see RBA Chris N. and RBA Emeritus Tom R. at the Easton control. Hooked up with my nighttime PAR riding buddy Greg J. to finish off the final 53 miles back to Chamounix Mansion in the dark. Arrived at 1:37am, feeling good about the day's effort and hopeful for a strong finish on Sunday.
Opened my eyes around 4:55am Sunday, 5 minutes before my alarm. Got myself together and had some breakfast. Day 2 was only(!) a 128 mile loop west toward Lancaster County, with no crazy climbing on the menu. Easy peasy, right?
WRONG!!! Despite the lovely cool morning, my legs would not follow the plan. I had nothing. Completely dead. My mood soon switched to match my energy level. My whole body was in limp mode. At mile 23, nearly 2½ hours into my day I stopped and checked Google Maps for the most direct route back to Chamounix. This was no fun at all. I had to dig in to the old bag of mental tricks to convince myself to keep going. My biggest motivator at that moment was the disappointment I knew I would have felt at not finishing my spring goal: a full PA SR series. So, onward I pushed.
The excruciatingly slow pace and dark mood continued all morning into the afternoon. I was working the mental gymnastics of speed vs. time vs. time limit. It wasn't a rosy picture.
At sometime before 3pm I rolled into the Turkey Hill convenience store in God-Knows-Where, PA needing to eat, resupply and regroup for the final 50 miles home. It was good to see Paul S., whom I'd been leapfrogging all day, there and in a similar state as me. We went about our business and chatted in a subdued tone. Then as we were getting ready to depart in rolled Tracey and Soph, followed shortly by Nicole. The whole Brooklyn Rando Crew was in the house! It was odd (to me) and wonderful how all our moods were immediately lifted. Each and every one of us were genuinely thrilled to be in the company of the group. This took me by surprise. If you ask me, I'll claim to be an introvert, and completely happy to ride solo at my own pace, even for a ride of this length. But the feeling of joy with some good company at this point in the ride was undeniable. We hung out a bit longer while everyone ate and filled waterbottles then rolled out more or less together for the final 50 miles.
The transformation in my mood and performance in that last leg really can't be understated. Suddenly I could roll along at 15mph again. My fears of running out of time evaporated. I was going to finish! We were all going to finish! I made the final slog up Greenland Dr. to Chamounix to stop the clock at 6:59pm. Finished with an hour and one minute to spare. Nicole A. would tell you she came in behind me to take Lantern Rouge honors (DFL!,) but we both checked in at 6:59pm.
A HUUUUUGE thanks to all the volunteers who made this ride happen: Patrick G., Chris N., Tom R., Nick M., Ryan S., Iwan B., and all the riders I shared the road with. You folks ROCK!!!

I'm very proud to have finished off my spring goal and bagged my very first PA Randonneurs

Super Randonneur series (despite having been an on and off member since 2007...) Cheers to everyone who finished this epic adventure!

With the SR series not in the books, PA Randonneurs returns to monthly our monthly R12 series this Saturday with the Keystone Brevet Co 200K. Hope to see you there!