The Midnight Ride of the Sinister Nuts

The 3-man Fixed Gear Fleche Team of last year returns this year with a full complement of 5 riders. Since it will be ridden on the 234th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride which left Boston on April 18th, 1775 the team name was chosen to commemorate Paul Revere's ride, with the obligatory modification required of all fleche team names (one if by land, two if by fixie?)

Last years route was modified to keep the best parts, and those that weren't well received were deleted. It was interesting that the first editing of the course came out with "just the right mileage" to make it approvable by the RBA just as it was submitted. Changes included deleting the route along the Raritan Bay and the Jersey Shore down Sea Girt, proceeding directly from the Cranbury Controle over to Sea Girt, and adding on additional mileage on Route 9 continuing along the shore to Tuckerton (vs. Barnegat last year) before making a "bee line" back to Frenchtown via Route 539.

An added benefit of this new route is that it is "fixie friendly" which means to say, we're all fairly seasoned randonneurs that are all friends (you couldn't ask for a MORE FRIENDLY group of riders) and we'll all be riding fixies - running the gammet of a "vintage" Paramount track bike from the 60's, a Whitcomb from the 70's, a Bob Jackson from the 80's, and two more recent vintages, a Rivendell Quickbeam and a Surly Crosscheck.

Although we all are experienced riders, some are in better shape than others at this point of the season so as one can see from the attached elevations, the rout pretty much starts in the New Jersey Highlands, goes down hill to the mid-central plane before proceeding to the coast. There is a very slight ride as one passes through the Pine Barrons, and then it is pretty flat as the ride follows up the Delaware from Washington's Crossing up to Frenchtown for the penultimate (22 hour) controle. There is a necessary climb up to the Weisel Youth Hostel finish in Quakertown but rigorous scouting has located the "easiest" routing back up to the hostel, even if it means that there will need to be an additional mile or tow added on to make it without needing to resort to "geezer gearing" (the 17-21 Surly Dingle one rider has or the "flip-flop" - both fixed, no single speed coasties allowed) let alone the obligatory "24-inch" gearing that all riders will be keeping in reserve.

The group will depart at 9:00AM on Saturday morning with a completion anticipated for 24 hours later at the Weisel Hostel. At this time, the weather is calling for sunny and temps in the 30's at the start with highs in the 60's Saturday and lows in the 40's in the night with the temps returning to the 60's on Sunday. No word on the wind but it SHOULD be a tailwind all the way. I'll post this now, and provide an update on Sunday after we complete the ride.

The Season's Officially Begun - The Eastern PA 200K April 4th, 2009

Note: Sometime I'll figure out how to properly post pictures in their right order. As it is, these are the ones I took of Wind Gap from about 5 miles away, the stone house, the whitecaps crossing the Delaware at Milford, and my "mudflap of the ride" - Rat Fink.

I saw in the paper today that with today's Paris-Roubaix, the cycling season is "officially" begun. The season for me, however, officially began last Saturday, April 4th, with my completing the Eastern PA ACP 200K. While the winter roads of PA and NJ were a little broken up from the winter, they were a far cry from the pave of northern France, but in turn, we were fortunate to be able to experience the spring winds that are normally found in the Midwest - a steady wind of 25 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph through out the day (although listening to the NOAA weather on the way home the recorded peak gust was only 49 mph.) As far as temperatures went, the forecast was for the low 50's. It was 49 degrees when I arrived at the Hostel at 5:05AM so as far as dressing for the conditions, it didn't appear that there would be a warming trend over the day's ride.

How time flies ... when I realize that I had last ridden this course in May of 2005 when it was still part of the NJ Randonneurs series, and although it was a great course the first time I rode it, Tom has made some improvements to the course, claiming "This edition of the PA200k combines the best of the Spring and Fall editions held in 2007." I'd have to agree with this as he made a great ride EVEN better. Those looking to get their legs back (including yours truly) were relieved to see that he didn't take out any of the "gratuitous" climbs including Lower Saucon Road Fox Gap, and Lommason's Glen (after which riders are rewarded with equally magnificent downhill runs) but Tom also managed to reroute the brevet in between the climbs to take in some of the beautiful vistas that a brevet up and down, along the Delaware River has to offer.

The brevet started out of the Weisel Youth Hostel on Richlandtown Road in Quakertown, PA promptly, for some, at 6:00AM and 5 minutes later for the rest of us that, due to the weather forecast, were realistic about not making it ins under 10 hours. Although the group might not have required splitting into two groups, in this case it was probably prudent of Tom to due so, as there weren't any major climbs to "naturally" split up the groups for a couple of miles and seeing how the wind gusts really blew some of (the lighter) riders around the road, it was good to not have everyone bunched together.

The gravel driveway out of the hostel also helps to break up the the riders, yes there was a flat on this section, and on my 28mm's I was leading out the second group of rider. It was probably good I had made some distance initially as about a block down the road, an opossum crossed into my path, requiring me to do a "quick turn" that would have made my LCI instructor proud - and it was good to not have to take down the rest of the group with this deft little maneuver.

Rick and Juan were riding in the second group and at this point of the ride, I managed to ride along with them and mentioned to Rick that although Juan was anxiously waiting to see what my "mudflap of the ride" was for this brevet, I could tell that he was not to impressed with my selection of Rat Fink for this ride - see photo of the mudflap (as a follow-up to last month's "What, Me Worry?" Alfred E Neuman.) Since Juan had NO IDEA of who Rat Fink or Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, or Kustom Kulture is, I guess this pretty much dates Rick and me.

We initially heading out north into the rustic farmland of the Saucon Valley. Following the first real climb up Lower Saucon Road (a 30X34 works well if one remembers to keep pedaling) I was getting prepared to do the second leg up Lower Saucon Road and its steep climb right after the nice downhill run where the last time I mistakenly put my bike into the 52X11 for the down hill) when I looked down at the cue sheet and saw that we were going cross country to connect with Buttermilk Road - another steep climb Tom reserves for the end of brevets that finish in Easton. (For the record, with as much climbing as there is on Lower Saucon Road, it NEVER becomes Upper Saucon Road.)

I was please to see that this detour actually made the route much more pleasant. The connection over to Buttermilk only included one climb and joined Buttermilk near the crest where the route wasn't so steep. Since I wasn't out of breath from this less strenuous route up out of the Saucon Valley, I actually had time to enjoy the view before I joined back onto Lower Saucon and rode the downhill into Easton directly into the wind. There was no coasting on this section and on the way down I thought of the NOAA weather alert I'd heard on the morning regarding the high winds, indicating that when approaching these high wind areas "high profile" vehicles should use particular caution - I guess a 68cm bike would meet the definition of "high profile."

Crossing over the canal on onto Lehigh Drive, I was rewarded with a tailwind all the way into Easton. Tom made some modifications to the route coming up out of Easton via College Avenue, as opposed to the previous routes circuitous path up to Cattell Street. Although a little steeper, it is nice to have the simpler, more direct, routing.

The next section was the familiar, and also pleasant ride up to the Wind Gap controle via Lower Mud Run, Upper Mud Run, and Pen Argyl Roads. I was pretty much riding on my own between two groups and it was nice to see another rider catching up to me - especially when I was able to ascertain that I was holding my own on the headwind sections (at this time the mist could be felt as freezing rain/sleet) and only when I was taking it easy savoring the tailwinds did they make up distance on me. As the rider got closer I recognized him as Guy so we rode along together for a short bit - until the first climbing section where I let him go ahead, knowing what was ahead for a headwind as we would soon be approaching Wind Gap.

Although I've ridden through Wind Gap many times, and seeing that it is the only "gap" in this Appalachian ridge line, I never really gave it too much thought until I approached it fighting a 35 mph headwind. From a distance, it didn't look too bad but remembering my college chemistry and the examples used to demonstrate the Bernoulli effect, I quickly did some calculations to figure that I'd be experiencing those forecasted 40 to 50 mph wind gusts. I also took a lot of photos of the Gap on this ride but in looking at them later, they really didn't look all that much different from the other days.

Following a short stop at the Petro Mart controle where I enjoyed a breakfast sandwich from the microwave. Since at this point I realized that the sun wouldn't be coming out very soon, and my wool socks with my sandals were getting wet from the constant mist, I also put on a second pair of socks under my heavier outer wool socks. Apparently I wasn't the only one that was getting cold toes at this point since later on when I ran into Tom he mentioned that the Petro Mart owner had called him to complain that one of the riders had been seen putting their socks into the microwave and was wondering if we had seen it. Based upon the time that the owner provided regarding when it was done, it appeared that it was about a half hour before the time I arrived to use that SAME microwave to heat up my breakfast sandwich - no wonder it tasted so good that morning. I thought it was just that I was so cold and hungry.

Surprisingly, Wind Gap wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. We were in the "dead zone" as we approached the summit, and at the top, it appeared that, due to what I remembered from my Transport Phenomenon course in college, boundary conditions, the wind wasn't all that bad either but...as I rode the descent Cherry Valley Road, I had the wind full in my face. My "high profile" vehicle was subject to some turbulence, the buffeting was minimized doe to my extra mass.

The calm of Cherry Valley Road was pleasant, as always, and pretty much out of the wind. I was looking for the tailwind boost up Fox Gap but I guess when one is riding up the hill at 4mph, one really isn't going to get much of a boost from the wind. I could tell that there was a tailwind as, at that point, I was getting pretty warm, even with my windbreaker and wool jersey unzipped, and the fog from my breath was heading away from me up the hill.

The informational controle at the top of Fox Gap was one of the drawings one is required to send in as part of the application to the "Minneapolis Institute of Art" correspondence school. Needless to say, I guess I'll keep my day job. Following this, we took Tom's new "favorite" routing down to Portland along Lake Minsi and the Million Dollar Highway, before stopping at the Portland Diner for the "lunch stop" controle. I managed to snap a couple of photos of the stone "castle" as I rode by and chuckled to think that the Million Dollar Highway must be REAL OLD, for if it wasn't and if it were build today, they'd need to call it the Billion Dollar Highway.

I wasn't really all that hungry for diner food, especially knowing that at Belvidere Deli I could get a good 12" tuna sub so I made this a quick stop and was able to join up with a group of riders including Guy, Rick, Bill, Juan, Jack, and John Dennis as they were just leaving. John must have also recognized Rat Fink on my mudflap as in his ride report he "pegged" (incorrectly, I might add) that I was "a 60-something rider." (Note, for the NEXT Brevet be sure use Hanna Montana for the mudflap!!!)

The pace at this point was great, at least for me, as the rest of the group was "taking it easy" as they worked off their lunch from the Portland Diner. However, this merry group's time together was limited as Bill flatted. He offered that he was fine and that everyone should go on without him but only Guy, John and I took him up on his offer with the remaining riders, who had been riding with him all day, choosing to stay with him. I was happy to push onto Belvidere where that tuna sub sandwich really hit the spot. I managed to almost get it down by the time that Bill and the group who stayed with him passed by. I quickly wolfed down the rest of the sandwich and caught up with then but this time it was my turn to hang back and take it easy as I climbed up Lommason's Glen as meanders up the same ridge that could be done in half the distance by going up Fiddlers Elbow (with it's 28 deg. climb) instead.

One really knows one is at the TOP of the climb when you see all the cell phone and microwave transmission towers as one does just before taking the turn off Harmony Brass Castle onto Montana, and then seeing that one can't go any higher, knowing one has a 2 mile downhill into the next valley.

As much as I KNOW Tom likes the descent down Sweet Hollow Road (in its entirety), perhaps the highlight as far as vistas go was his choice to delete the Asbury loop and pass through Stewartsville, heading directly to Bloomsbury and up Jug Town mountain the steep way, straight up Milford and Staats Road. The reward for the climb was one of the best views of Pennsylvania, and not having the vegetation on the trees allowed one to see Easton and Bethlehem all the way to Allentown and beyond. Additionally one knew that the next section descended back down to Milford via Sweet Hollow.

Crossing the Delaware at Milford back into Pennsylvania it was one time that it was actually GOOD to have to walk one's bike across the bridge. The wind was blowing directly down the river at this point, making for some pretty impressive white caps on the water. I took several photos but they aren't as impressive as actually being there. Again, my mass, as well as that of my bike helped to keep me on firm ground but some had difficulty with the wind. The Homestead General Store controle was a welcome break at this point as I was total dry and I managed to make short work of a gallon of water. Resuming the ride, the course went down the Delaware and with the tailwind, I lost track of distance and missed the turn up Red Hill Rd that came 1.5 miles down the road (gosh, it seemed to be only a half mile.) Since I was so rested, the extra mileage wasn't all that bad and I got to catch up and ride the rest of the brevet back with all those who arrived at the controle just as I was leaving before.

The remaining ride pretty much routed back to the Hostel through Tinicum County on a route that was new to this 200K, but were familiar from previous 200Ks ridden since Fall on the PA R-12 series, crossing a couple of the covered bridges as we rode to mail Post Cards at Point Pleasant and get in the required mileage to make it a 200K by the time we meandered our way back to the south shore of Lake Nokamixon and the Hostel

Although we could have probably made better time, this last section was pretty much ridden directly into the wind and the only good thing about having to pedal DOWN the rolling hills was knowing that somewhere on the way down, one would get out of the wind hand have a period of calm, which was welcome even as one rode back up out of the valley back into the wind. All-in-all it was a great ride, and we did manage to beat the 12 hour mark, even if only by a couple of minutes. Some of the early arrivals had already left but there were enough riders still there, and still out on the course arriving over the next hour, to have enough company present to swap stories as we enjoyed the PA birch beer, grilled beef and chicken that Tom had waiting for us.

Of the 42 registered riders, there were 37 starters and 30 who finished within the allowable 13.5 hours. For more information see: http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200K.html

The next ride is the Midnight Ride of the Sinister Nuts - a fleche team made up of 5 riders, all on fixies of various vintage. I'll post more on this soon.