Morgantown-Middletown
200K Brevet
Saturday 5 January 2019
07:30 EST Start Time
07:30 EST Start Time
The starting location is easily accessible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, SR 23, and the I-176 spur to Reading. There are several breakfast options in the area. A McDonald's opens at 5am for quick breakfast and is located about 1/2 miles from the start. There is a Turkey Hill convenience store across the street. The Windmill Family Restaurant is also nearby.
The Clocktown Plaza is a sparsely filled strip mall with reasnable parkiing. Riders should park in the northeast corner of the lot generally behind the Burger King.
Suggested parking locations for the start/finish are public places, with theft and vandalism a real possibility, especially in cities. Park during the event at your own risk. Please do not leave valuables in your car during the ride.
Traveling far? Overnight accommodations are available at the Holiday Inn Morgantown adjacent to the start location. The USA Inn and the Red Carpet Inn are also located in Morgantown within a mile of the start.
The finish check-in will be at Antonio's Pizza located in the Clocktower Plaza or the Turkey Hill convenience store located directly across Rt 23. Confirmation of the finish location will be provided at the pre-ride meeting. A post ride gathering may be planned, venue also to be announced at the pre-ride meeting.
This event needs volunteers for the following jobs:
Contact Organizer to Volunteer.
Kick off the new year on a brevet route we haven't ridden in many years. The route heads west from the Morgantown area generally avoiding major climbs over anything and instead paralleling the northern side of a valley. The route passes through several little villages before finally reaching a control at Brickerville. This open control allows riders to restock and warm up at either a Speedway or a Turkey Hill convenience store. The route then crosses the Furnace Hill ridge on its way to an info control in Cornwall. From Cornwall, we join the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail for a few miles, avoiding traffic and rollig terrain. The trail is a combination of pavement and crushed stone suitable for most bicycle tires. The route exits the trail at Colebrook. There is a small convenience store in Colebrook should riders need to re-supply or warm up. The roads continue westward to the turn-around control in Middletown. The eastward return takes a southern track, generally paralleling the Susquehanna River. We join the Northwest River Trail in Marietta to avoid the busy climb over Chickies Rock and control again in Columbia. Riders who have ridden along this portion of the trail know that Marietta offers several pubs along the route. The segment after Columbia is lumpy, dealing with the river hills on our way to the penultimate control in Strasburg. From there its a nice 25-mile leg back to Morgantown.
An added benefit is that PA Randonneurs members with current memberships ride for free!
Thi event is run in classic R-12 format; don't expect a shower or a comfy sofa to await your arrival. Amenities are limited. We will start and finish in a parking lot, but I expect to be hanging out in a nearby pizza joint instead of standing out in the cold.
| Date | Finishers |
|---|---|
| 2019-01-05 | 6 |
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. You need a current RUSA membership to ride this event. You can sign up for RUSA here.
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.
To receive credit for finishing a randonneuring event you must complete a brevet card as required by the rules. PA Randonneurs accepts traditional brevet cards filled out with stamps/signatures and backed up with merchant receipts. PA Randonneurs encourages use of the eBrevet cell phone app. (Version 1.3 minimum required) as an electronic brevet card assistant. Nevertheless, you must check into all controls on the app -- or provide traditional proof for each control. Your finish time and finish code from the app must be written on the paper card, along with your signature, or you may be disqualified.
These events are not for beginners. The courses are hilly. You may face extremes of weather: heat, cold, wind, rain. The roads are unmarked and open to automobile traffic. There will be night riding in the longer events. Complete several ordinary century cycling events before starting a 200K brevet; complete several 200Ks before starting a longer brevet.
This brevet is FREE to PA Rando members. Pay $20 now to renew your membership dues and ride "free". If you don't want to join, the price is $15, so why not pay the extra five bucks to join now? With PA Rando membership you receive a members discount for our events all year. Your dues help support randonneuring in PA, and you break even if you ride just two other events as a member.
The online URL for this event info page is
https://parando.org/info/event/2019-01-05/200
For all other information about Pennsylvania Randonneurs, visit our web site https://parando.org/