Pennsylvania Randonneurs

Water Gap Revisited
200K Brevet

Saturday 23 April 2022
07:30 EDT Start Time

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Water Gap Revisited 200K Brevet

Saturday 23 April 2022
07:30 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. 

Volunteer

This event needs volunteers for the following jobs:

Contact Organizer to Volunteer.

Ride Description

Water Gap Revisited revives a classic route from the PA Rando catalog and updates it to incorporate a start-finish from Flint Hill Farm. 


Mist Over The Blue Mountain, photo by S. Schoenfelder

Taking advantage of the light traffic in the early morning hours, riders head north directly through Bethlehem towards the first controle stop in Danielsville at the base of the Blue Mountain.  From there riders make a first crossing over the Applachian Trail at Little Gap which is followed by an exhilarating descent past the Blue Mountain Ski resort.  The route heads east following the valley road which offers spectacular views of the mountain ridge off to our right.  Riders can thank their lucky stars that the route avoids the climb over Fox Gap, instead following the valley to the next stop at the "Village Farmer" bakery in Water Gap.  Here, the 200k riders will split off and start their return trip through Portland while the 300k riders will continue north into the PA side of the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area. 

The trip home turns south along the Delaware River.  From there the route continues south and crosses back into NJ at Belvidere and continues to Stewartsville, Bloomsbury, Milford, and finally to the penultimate controle in Frenchtown.  We return to PA and climb out of the Delaware River valley at Erwinna (be thankful, you could have gotten Uhlerstown), pass a conveniently placed Turkey Hill mini-mart at Ottsville and head for the final push to the finish at Flint Hill Farm.   

Steep and/or extended climbs abound in this route featuring a mix of well and not-so-well known roads.  Appropriately low gears are highly recommended.

Course History

DateFinishers
2022-04-2310
Course Record 2022-04-23: Christian Aristizabal (09:26, 21.2 kph)

General Info

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.

Registration

Registration Fee

For PA Rando members: $40
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 port-o-johns, and some places for "safety naps". Tent camping on the Flint Hill grounds is free. NOTE: As of now, all the farmhouse beds are booked. Contact the organizer if you want to be waitlisted for a bed.

Lodging at the Start-Finish

Registration is closed for this event.

Schedule

06:30 Sign-in, Bike Inspection
07:20 Rider meeting
07:30 EDT Riders depart

Conditions

Finish Cutoff: 21:00 EDT 23 April 2022 (13 hours, 30 minutes)

Daylight Hours

Sunrise: 06:08
Sunset: 19:49

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/2022-04-23/200

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