Back to our Routes Figure Eight
200K Brevet
Saturday 1 December 2018
07:00 EST Start Time
07:00 EST Start Time
The start location at the College Hill Wawa is a traditional PA Randonneur start finish venue, dating back to the early days of the club. This Wawa is located in College Hill, a residential neighborhood situated on the hill overlooking downtown Easton. The hill was once known as Mount Lafayette, and before that, Mount Washington. The northern boundary of the neighborhood lies along Chestnut Ridge, an even taller hill that rises to 700 feet. Basically this means that every ride from College Hill must start with a climb, or finish with a climb, sometimes both.
You may legally park curbside along the roads to the East of Cattell Street (same side as Wawa). Parking is legal for most of the day in almost all locations. There are signs that say "No Parking" that seem off-putting, but these are usually good places to park. Careful reading of the sign reveals that overnight parking is prohibited, but parking during the day is just fine. Don't park in the Wawa lot, or too close to Wawa as this is a high traffic area. Park back past Porter Street for best selection of spots. Parking on or near Monroe Street is convenient to the usual post-ride gathering place.
Traveling far? Overnight accommodations are available at several hotels in Easton. Make your own reservations by calling the hotel directly. One option is the Holiday Inn Express at 90 Kunkle Dr, Easton PA. Somwhat less expensive is the Quality Inn at 2415 Nazareth Rd.
The post ride gathering is likely to be at the College Hill Tavern, which has an above average menu and ranks as one of the better college bars in the USA. If this is not to your taste, there are several food alternatives in the area, including Pizza D'Oro, and, of course, Wawa.
Descending from the College Hill start/finish we head north, along the Delware River and up Mud Run towards Wind Gap. After the first controle stop in Wind Gap, we ride along the base of the Appalachians through Pen Argyl and eventually past Lake Minsi. After a long gradual descent to Portland, we cross the Delaware River pedestrian bridge. The pedestrian bridge offers a classic view of the Delaware Water Gap off to our left -- which is where we are headed. But first, we make a stop at the Gourmet Gallery in Blairstown and then tackle the Millbrook climb. After an exhilarating descent, we enter the Delaware Water Gap recreation area at Millbrook Village to climb again on Old Mine Road into the Walpack valley. From there it's basically flat roads as we head north to the turn-around controle in Hainsville. After crossing the only private bridge on the Delaware (no toll -- ride your bike across!) the return trip is down the "Ho Chi Minh trail" (local name for Rt 209), past the Shawnee Ski area and on to Delaware Water Gap to visit the Village Farmer, the last controle before the finish. We then continue south along River Road. We switch back to the NJ side at Belvidere. There are some surprising short climbs near Foul Rift. Eventually we return to PA across the Free Bridge into Easton and up "one last little grunt" to the College Hill finish.
This ride is a randonneur style bicycle event under the sanction of Randonneurs USA. Completing this event can help you train for Paris-Brest-Paris and earn RUSA awards.
First time riding with PA Randonneurs? Read an overview of what to expect on your first PA brevet. All participants are obliged to follow the rules for riders as well as local vehicle laws (PA, NJ, NY). Safety is a primary concern. All riders must sign a waiver. Please read these Safety Instructions.
The online URL for this event info page is
https://parando.org/info/event/2018-12-01/200
For all other information about PA Randonneurs, visit our web site https://parando.org/
