NIGHT RIDING may be required for many people on the 200K. You must have full reflective gear (vest, ankle bands) and adequate head/tail lights firmly attached to the bike. Backup lights are strongly recommended. Riders without adequate lighting and reflectivity will not be allowed to start.
Course Notes
This course is a classic for a reason: classic scenery, classic landmarks, and plenty of classic climbs. Ho boy, are there climbs. I do think this course is the hardest 200K on our schedule. I think this course is also one of the prettiest. So many classic views. I think I could see orange along the crest of the Mt Minsi ridge. Next week I'd expect a lot more Fall Color. It should be spectacular.
The 154K is no easy ride either. Although it cuts out the Fox Gap and Wind Gap climbs, all your other favorites are still in it.
The pavement on almost the entire route is decent. There are, however, some twisty descents with a lot of tree debris and acorns -- bonus year for acorns, and that means a bonus year for deer as well. Coon Hollow was a little soft last year, but it's better now.
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| Lake Nokamixon |
There a lot of creepy Halloween decorations. Giant skeletons are still a thing this year, it seems.
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| Please don't ride faster than your guardian angel. |
PA Rando veterans will be familiar with most of the features in this course. Except in THIS version, we ride them all backwards. The climb up Fox Gap (200K only) is a lot easier this way, as is the Mountain View climb. Another improvement this year is to take a more oblique attack on Wind Gap, using Faulstick and Mountain Rd. This adds some distance, but keeps us off 115 as long as possible.
With climbs come descents. There are several extended, steep, twisty descents. The biggest of these is the decent off the north side of Fox gap, but there are many others, some of which end in T intersections, some of which have vast sinkholes and collapsed guardrails. PLEASE DO NOT RIDE FASTER THAN YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL, especially coming off of Fox Gap. I'm not kidding. No need for more skeletons on the route.
Another change this year is a detour around the middle section of Mud Run. The bottomless sinkholes on Mud Run have become deeper somehow, and they now stretch across the better part of what was an already narrow road. The road is also sticky -- as in there are a lot of sticks, acorns, and other tree debris. In lieu of repairing and clearing this road, PADOT added a rather discouraging fence to try to block access. Don't cross the fence. The road has become too hazardous to use, especially at night. Please make sure you have the latest official route which turns left at Miller and avoids the whole mess. The detour adds about a mile -- small cost to avoid a tumble into the abyss.
The Columncil and Wind Gap controls (200K) are untimed info controls, so there should be no reason to panic if you find yourself a few minutes past the cutoff at these and eBrevet taunts you with LATE! After Wind gap the course is mostly downhill (but not completely). Even totally exhausted, you can possibly make up 10-15 minutes on the clock over that segment into the finish -- AMHIK. Given the Mud Run and Wind Gap reroutes adding a few bonus miles, the RBA will allow "some" leeway in the finish 13.5 hr cutoff. Don't give up if you are a few minutes late, bon courage, keep riding. We will keep the food warm and save plenty for you.
And try to enjoy the ride, as you remember what I said about your guardian angel! STFD on those big descents!
Websites for the 200K and the 154K with online registration.
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