Endless Mountains
1240K Randonnee
August 8, 2013

Registration is Closed
General Info
This ride is a randonneur style event sanctioned by RUSA and Randonneurs Mondiaux. All participants are obliged to follow the rules for riders as well as PA, NJ and NY vehicle laws.  Safety is a primary concern ... please read and carry these Safety Instructions with you.

Start/Finish Location

Hampton Inn
1915 John Fries Highway
Quakertown, Pennsylvania 18951
DIRECTIONS
Tel: 215-536-7779

Traveling far? A limited number of rooms have been reserved with a special group rate:
- Group code EM1 (the night before the start)
- Group code EM2 (the night after the finish)
Make your own reservations by July 17th, by following the links above in the group code.  Looking for somebody to share a room?  Make a connection using this message board.

Traveling really far? Lehigh Valley Airport (ABE) is the closest airport.  Philadelphia (PHL) and Newark (EWR) are major airline hubs with several Ground Transportation options.

Qualification
The primary qualifier is a Super Randonneur series in 2013, completed by July 15.  Alternatively, permission of the RBA may be granted for exceptional circumstances.

Registration
Registration opens Jan 1, 2013
Register On-Line -or- Mail Form - Closes 7/15/13

All riders must sign waiver and be at least 18 years old.
All riders must carry a SPOT GPS tracker during the event (SPOT rental units available on registration form).
Field Limit: 50 riders

Securing a slot within the field limit is on a first come basis; you may register before you have completed your qualifying brevets.

Registration includes:
- Preride breakfast buffet
- Hotel accommodations at 3 overnight controles
- Drop bag at each hotel (15 lb limit)
- 2 meals at each overnight controle
- Postride dinner buffet and hotel facilities

Refund policy:
- Full refund less $25 before June 1.
- Full refund less $50 before July 15
- 50% refund before August 1
- No refund thereafter

Schedule
Wednesday
5:00PM - 9:00PM Sign-in, Bike Inspection

Thursday
3:00AM Sign-in, Bike Inspection
3:50AM Rider meeting
4:00AM Riders depart

Sunday
6:00PM - 11PM Postride buffet

(93 hr. time limit)

Climate
Daylight hours: 6:05AM - 8:07PM
Quakertown: 59-83F
Halstead:   59-78F
Lewisburg:  61-83F


Start Controle
At the start/finish hotel, breakfast will be provided approximately 1 hour before the start.  Limited storage will be available to hold luggage and bike cases 

Sleep Over Controles and Timing
In order to limit the amount of riding in the dark, the
route has been designed with sleep-over stops at hotels spaced ~220 miles apart in Halstead and Lewisburg.  Since the route is 40k longer than 1200k, the time limit is 93 hours..

A single drop bag for each rider will be transported to each of the over-night controles - you will see the same bag which will be dropped off for each of the 3 nights (in other words, pack just 1 bag, not 3). Only a medium sized 28x12x12" duffle bag or smaller and no more than 15 lbs will be accepted (like this one).  When you get to the hotel controle, go to the volunteer room to collect your bag and room key (the volunteer room number will be posted in the lobby or at the registration desk). The bags will be available each night by 4PM.  When you are ready to depart, return your bag and room key to the volunteer room.  Food will be provided in the staffed volunteer room.

Riding straight through the sleep-over controles is not recommended -- but if you intend to do so anyway, please give us an idea of your plans.

Post Ride
Showers available at the finish hotel. A postride buffet is included with your registration.  A limited number of rooms are available for resting before traveling home -- you may also book a hotel room at the group rate for Sunday night.
Pablo Software Solutions
Ride Description (2009 edition)
The Endless Mountains Randonnee offers a challenging tour of northeastern Pennsylvania.  The course covers a variety of geological regions, including the Highlands, Water Gap, Poconos, NY Southern Tier, Pine Creek Gorge, Juniata River, and of course, the namesake Endless Mountains.

Participants are expected to be fully self-sufficient and confident of their ability to complete a challenging course with minimal support.  Participants are responsible for making arrangements for alternate transportaton, if they cannot finish the ride under their own power.

The course is a loop that starts out from Quakertown, PA.  It is largely based on the PA1000k, previously run in 2007 and 2008 with the addition of the Juniata River Valley segment.  The 2008 PA1000k Ride Report has several pictures and rider comments that gives a good overview of what to expect.

Day 1 features 3 challenging climbs across the Appalachian Trail as we traverse the Pennsylvanian Highlands Region. Enroute, we travel through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area upon Old Mine Road -- the oldest continuously-used road in the US.  As we exit the park, we cross the Delaware River at Dingmans Ferry and head into the Pocono Mountains Region of the Allegheny Plateau.  As you ascend the Allegheny front upon Raymondskill Falls Road, be sure to look for the opulent outhouse.  We briefly descend the plateau to ride across the Roebling Aqueduct and along the scenic Lackawaxen River. We then tackle some challenging terrain through the Wyoming Valley and Endless Mountains before resting at the first over-night controle in Hallstead.

Day 2 starts off with some gentler terrain along the NY Southern Tier and Susquehanna Valley where we trace the historic route followed by the Sullivan Expedition into Towanda.  From Towanda, we'll take Rt 414 into the scenic  Pine Creek Gorge region where a pair of challenging climbs out of Waterville awaits us, up along Rt 44 and 144.  After a long, twisty descent into Renovo, we tackle the second major climb of the day as we enter Sproul State Forest.  Exiting the forest, we head into the State College area for the second over-night controle stop.

Day 3 continues on journey southwest into the Juniata River Valley where we eventually head east past Lewistown and back to the Susquehanna River. After a brief ride along the river, we continue working our way back east into the Hegins Valley Region. We eventually head up to the ridge we've been riding along and head into the overnight controle near Pine Grove.

Day 4 takes us into the Pennsylvania Dutch Region and eventually back through French Creek State Park and to the finish at Quakertown.


As shown in the route profile, there are several steep, extended climbs.  A triple or 39x27 is highly recommended.

googledoc


Rider Comments
"...The scenery was absolutely fantastic - almost enough to take your mind off of the brutal climbs..."
-Craig Martek 2007 PA1000k

"...Thanks for your good organization on this ride and the brevet series. I doubt there are many, if any, series in the U.S. that are as well conducted and offer such challenging and scenic terrain..."
-Ed Pavelka 2007 PA1000k

"...The difficulty with these Pennsylvania climbs isn't that they continue for 20 miles; nothing on those roads stays the same for 20 mi. The grades are never constant, and there's usually a lot of up and down before you start going up for good. When you start really going up, it often gets extremely steep. But while they aren't that long, they are relentless, and the space in between big climbs is filled with little rollers, some of which are quite steep little kickers in their own right..."
-Emily O'Brien 2008 PA1000k

Historical Records
Sep 30, 2009    Results 

2009 Ride Reports
Bill Beck
Vincent Sikorski
Scott Gater
Joseph Maurer
Rob Welsh
Judson Hand
Dan Blumenfeld
Kate Marshall

2009 Photos
Bill Beck Music Video
Bill Beck
Christine Newman
Maile Neel
George Winkert
Marc Pritchard
Eric Keller
Cue Sheet and Excel Cue Sheet
Map and Profile


Registered Riders
Message Board & FAQ's
Volunteers

Rider Tracking

Preliminary Results

Rider Comments and Pictures and Ride Reports
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