Pennsylvania Randonneurs

Philly Pagoda Pocono
600K Brevet

Saturday 4 June 2022
04:00 EDT Start Time

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Philly Pagoda Pocono 600K Brevet

Saturday 4 June 2022
04:00 EDT Start Time

Start Location

Flint Hill Farms

1922 Flint Hill Road
Coopersburg, PA 18036
(610) 838-2928

Flint Hill Farm

Flint Hill Farm Educational Center is a working farm located on the summit of Flint Hill in Coopersburg, PA.  Events hosted at the Flint Hill will start in their large arena building, where breakfast is served at the start and a meal is served after the finish. Lodging can be reserved in the farmhouse for a small extra fee, first come, first served, with priority to riders riding longer events. Book a farmhouse bed as part of your brevet registration. Tent camping on site is free. 

Parking

Park along the fence around the corral to the right just past the antennas as you enter.

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.

Lodging

Riders are advised to make sleeping arrangements at or near the start/finish. Please don't try to drive a long distance before or after a tough brevet.  Multiple options are available.

Finish

Join us in the buffet in the arena building 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 port-o-johns. 

Ride Description

Rocky StatueA tour-de-force 600 kilometer ride that will inspire you to fly high and reach your goals.

Leaving from the breakfast buffet at Flint Hill, we head southward, toward Philly. The first fifty miles are a relatively easy spin on rail trails and through the suburban sprawl of Bucks and Montgomery counties, still asleep in the early morning. The route uses the Saucon Trail and the 202 bypass 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 -- as if that's possible while wearing a mask. 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 mostly along the Schuylkill River Trail all the way to Reading. A section of the SRT past Pottstown is crushed stone and gravel, suitable for most tires.

At the city of Reading we leave the river start to head North. 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 Turkey HIll 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 the highest elevation of the ride (about 1800 ft higher than the Rocky Statue). Continuing North beyond Hawley you might encounter a few unpaved roads, but fear not, you'll soon arrive at the overnight controle, Pine Grove Cottages at Beach Lake, PA, where you'll find a volunteer who will feed you and put you to bed.

After a well deserved rest, your journey now turns to the East as the route returns to more familiar PA Rando roads. After a long and amazing descent on the barely paved and fascinating Masthope Plank road, 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" (Freshly paved? First time since before Washington? Thank you Trump?)  and recently paved climb-of-doom Millbrook Rd into the penultimate controle in Blairstown. After the grind to Harmony, it's downhill to the Delaware as the route passes through Easton over the Free Bridge.  Two more "little grunts" remain. First Lower Saucon Rd, and then the final climb up to Flint Hill Farm.     

Course History

DateFinishers
2022-06-0414
Course Record 2022-06-04: Amy Lippe (36:26, 16.5 kph)

General Info

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 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.  There is no sag wagon. Complete several ordinary century cycling events before starting a 200K brevet;  complete several 200Ks before starting a longer brevet.

Registration

Registration Fee

For PA Rando members: $100
There is an extra $10 charge for registration if you are not a member of Pennsylvania Randonneurs.
Pre-payment only. Day-of-event payment is not available for this event.

Includes

Subject to possible pandemic restrictions, several items are included in your registration. At the start/finish a complimentary breakfast buffet will be provided before the ride, and a dinner buffet will be available after the ride. Also at the start/finish there will be shared access to a shower, and some places for "safety naps". Tent camping on the Flint Hill grounds is free. If you want better accomodations, a limited number of indoor shared rooms with beds and shower/bath access are available at Flint Hill Farm for a small extra fee. Please book these with registration, first come first served.

At the overnight control, a place to sleep and a meal are included.

Each rider is permitted one small drop bag of ~2 cubic feet (the  RUSA duffle bag is a good example).  Bags should securely contain the contents (e.g. zippered openings) and any liquid contents seal to prevent leakage.  The rider's name is to be clearly indicated on the outside.  Drop bags will be deposited with organizers during ride check-in and added to a list of bags so we can keep track of the bags.  They will be delivered to the overnight control on Saturday afternoon and returned to Flint Hill on Sunday early afternoon.  

Lodging at the Start-Finish

Registration is closed for this event.

Schedule

03:00 Sign-in, Bike Inspection
03:50 Rider meeting
04:00 EDT Riders depart

Conditions

Finish Cutoff: 20:00 EDT 5 June 2022 (40 hours)

Daylight Hours

Sunrise: 05:30
Sunset: 20:28

The hours for this event extend beyond daytime. Riding at night without appropriate reflective gear and lights will result in an immediate disqualification. See the rules Article 10 for requirements. See the reflectivity guide for best practices.

Weather

Weather forecast for start location: Coopersburg, PA.

This event runs rain or shine. Rides are sometimes postponed or canceled if there is a significant chance of extreme conditions that threaten safety (e.g. ice, snow, high winds). Check the message board for last minute announcements.

Questions About This Event?

Please click here to ask the organizer a question about this event.

The online URL for this event info page is

https://parando.org/info/event/2022-06-04/600

For all other information about Pennsylvania Randonneurs, visit our web site https://parando.org/