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.
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