Philadelphia Pagoda Pocono (PPP)
600K Brevet
Saturday 18 May 2019
04:00 EDT Start Time
04:00 EDT Start Time
The Holiday Inn Express in Easton is centrally located near US 22 and PA 33 in Easton, PA.
There is ample parking all around the hotel.
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.
Riders are advised to make sleeping arrangements at or near the start/finish. Please book a room directly with the Holiday Inn Express or one of the other nearby hotels.
Join us in the buffet in the meeting room to recount your tales of joy, woe, and epic adventure (some of which may even be true). There will be access to a hot shower, allowing you to clean up after the ride, as well as bathrooms.
A tour-de-force 600 kilometer ride that will inspire you to fly high and reach your goals.
Leaving from the breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn Express in Easton we head southward, toward Philly. The first fifty miles are a relatively easy spin through the suburban sprawl of Bucks and Montgomery counties, still asleep in the early morning. The route uses the 202 bypass trail and the Cross County trail, threading through this heavily populated area. Enjoy the quiet, but ride fast to bank time; you'll need it later. Oh, but maybe stop at one of the cafés at the foot of the Manayunk Wall to sip a macchiato. Try to look phantastic. But then get rolling. You need to bank time.
The route follows the Schuylkill eastward along Kelly drive, past the lighthouse on Turtle Rock and on to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where you will pause to draw inspiration and strength at the foot of the museum steps, the Rocky Steps, where there is an information controle. The route then reverses to follow the other side of the Schuylkill westward along the Schuylkill River Trail all the way to Gibraltar, near Reading. A section of the SRT past Pottstown is crushed stone and gravel, suitable for most tires.
After the controle in Gibraltar we continue on toward the city of Reading as we leave the river. Soon the "fun" begins climbing the switchbacks up Duryea Drive. Your reward for summiting Mt Penn is the breathtaking vista from the Reading Pagoda, roughly halfway to the overnight controle.
From the Pagoda the route now heads North East, eventually leaving the mountainous ridge of the Reading Prong and entering the Great Valley rolling farmland at Fleetwood PA. Here the riding is similar to the riding near Lancaster. Crossing the Lehigh River at Catasaqua as the sun sets, you will see the glow of Allentown to the South. There are several replenishment options through this section. Find a place to eat and stock up with supplies. The controle in Wind Gap at the foot of Blue Mountain begins a section of night riding through difficult terrain with relatively few services. Think of Rocky Balboa as you climb the steps of the Ridge/Valley Appalachians to the Pocono Plateau. Feeling strong now?
In about 40 miles you reach the Promised Land (with salvation in the form of a 24hr convenience store) and the highest elevation of the ride (about 1800 ft higher than the Rocky Statue). Continuing North beyond Hawley you soon arrive at the overnight controle, Pine Grove Cottages at Beach Lake, PA.
After a well deserved rest, your journey now turns to the East as the route returns to more familiar PA Rando roads. PA Rando regulars will start to recognize the territory crossing the Roebling Aqueduct at the conflux of the Lackawaxen and Delaware. There is the infamous climb to an info controle at Eldred NY (El Dread!) and the scenic Hawk's Nest before reaching the Port Jervis controle. From here the route follows the Delaware to Wallpack, where we climb Kittatinny Mountain on Old Mine "Road" (gravel, and potholes suitable for most tires) and freshly paved Millbrook Rd into the penultimate controle in Blairstown. Returning to the Delaware and the last few grunts on Foul Rift Rd, the route returns triumphantly to Easton over the Free Bridge, through the center square roundabout, and up Northhampton Street to the finish at the Holiday Inn Express.
| Date | Finishers |
|---|---|
| 2019-05-18 | 27 |
| 2021-06-05 | 7 |
This ride is a randonneur style bicycle event under the sanction of Randonneurs USA and Audax Club Parisian. Completing this event can help you train and qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris and earn RUSA and ACP 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 also accepts Electronic Proof of Passage (EPP), but the only form of EPP accepted is the eBrevet cell phone app. (Version 1.2.4 minimum required). Your finish time and finish code from the EPP app must be written on the paper card or you will 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. There is no sag wagon. Complete several ordinary century cycling events before starting a 200K brevet; complete several 200Ks before starting a longer brevet.
A complimentary breakfast buffet will be provided before the ride, and a pizza/pasta buffet will be available after the ride.
Registration includes sleep accomodations and food at the overnight sleep controle, Pine Grove Cottages. Drop bag service for one small bag is provided. There will be shared access to a shower at the start/finish, allowing you to clean up after the ride. A limited number of bunks will be available for "safety naps". If you need full overnight accomodations at the start/finish, please book a room for yourself.
No lodging at the start/finish is included, but PA Randonneurs has reserved a limited block of rooms at the Holiday Inn that riders may book. Contact the hotel directly. Use group code RB3. Click here to make reservations.
The online URL for this event info page is
https://parando.org/info/event/2019-05-18/600
For all other information about Pennsylvania Randonneurs, visit our web site https://parando.org/