The Eastern PA
Flèche
EVENT CANCELED
Thursday 25 April 2024
07:00 EDT Earliest Start Time
Thursday 25 April 2024
07:00 EDT Earliest Start Time
New for 2024: The Fleche finish will be Mountain Wheel Club near State College, PA.
This will be a Pan-Pennsylvania Fleche, with riders from Pittsburgh and Philly invited to participate. The finish is also within range of NYC.
All start locations must be significantly outside the city limits of State College. No "loop" courses will be approved. Design your course to ride in from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, Lancaster, Doylestown, Harrisburg, or many other possible locations and, if desired, close the loop with public transit or carpool shuttle. Passenger bus service to major cities is available from State College.
Bike Return Transportation
If enough people are interested, PA Rando will arrange for a van or truck to haul bikes (only bikes) back from State College to Eastern PA and/or Western PA. This will be for a small extra fee. Contact the organizer if you are interested in this service.
Since this is our first use of MWC for the fleche, firm recommendations for establishments meeting the 22-hour distance criteria are not yet available. There are numerous Sheetz 24 hour convenience stores in the State College area. Some of these have indoor seating. Follow the blog for more recommendations.
According to recent advice from RUSA, the online waiver is now the only waiver needed. All fleche team members must register online and complete the online waiver, but no paper waivers are needed.
Located in scenic Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, The Mountain Wheel Club (MWC) is situated on 10 acres of fern-laced woods that border the 1,300-acre Dry Hollow Tract of Rothrock State Forest. It's a great place to ride a bike. Here are some example routes in the area that start/finish at MWC. Use these for inspiration. Despite it's back-country location, MWC is less than 25 km from State College, with many a nearby Sheetz available for your 22 hr control.
There is limited parking on-site for overnight vehicles. Please car-pool or use alternative transport to minimize the number of cars that need to be parked.
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.
Although riders can take "safety naps" on couches at the finish, there is no overnight lodging available. If you need a place to stay in the State College area, please book directly with one of the many hotels in the area.
The finish gathering is in a large, heated warehouse building with plenty of room for bikes and people. There's bathroom and hot shower nearby. Buffet brunch will be served.
This event is a randonneur-style, flèche team event sanctioned by RUSA and ACP and counts toward the R-5000 medal. Allowable start times are from noon Thursday through 10 AM on Saturday. A minimum of 360 km must be covered within 24 hours with no rest stop longer than 2 hours. Teams are composed of 3 to 5 bikes and each team designs their own route, converging to the common finish destination.
All participants are obliged to follow the Rules for the Flèches-USA, as well as local vehicle laws (PA, NJ, NY). Safety is a primary concern. Please read these Safety Instructions.
Please include a list of controles for your proposed route when you submit the route for review. Be sure to provide the complete name and address of the establishment, along with a phone number. Route approval is based upon meeting the minimum distance between controles (safely navigable by bike) as well as meeting the 22-hr controle criteria. You may submit your route in an on-line application, such as RideWithGPS, or it may be a cue sheet with a list of controls. If you use on-line means, please either provide the requested control information in the GPS map itself or in a separate list. Cue sheet submittals should be delivered in a spreadsheet format that is accessible using MS Excel. I encourage Captains/route designers to contact all controls to confirm they remain in business and will be open when you plan to arrive. Though the Fleche rules include steps to take if you arrive at a control only to find it unavailable, you can avoid disruptions by taking this step beforehand.
Once the proposed route is approved by the RBA, the list of controles are to be added into a Flèche control card prepared in Jake Kassen's Card-O-Matic applictation and a copy of the card copied into the RBA's CoM account. After route approval, any changes to the controls you plan to use must be submitted to the RBA to confirm that the minimum controlled distance is maintained.
A minimum of 25 kilometers must be ridden in the final 2 hours of the event. Proof of passage, such as a store receipt or stamp, must be obtained at the end of the 22nd hour at some location. Due to the new destination, recommendations for establishments meeting the 22-hour distance criteria are not available.
Be sure that the minimum distance is covered (360 km). There should be several controls along the route, probably not much further than 100 km apart. If the route is not a straight run at the finish, then any "corners" should be set at controls to show that no shortcuts were taken. Mileage credit will only be given to the shortest distance navigable by bicycles, between controles.
Traditional merchant receipts are permissible. When submitting receipts, only one set of receipts is required for the entire team. These should remain with the Captain's brevet card and identified with the control name or number.
Photographs are permissible provided 1) every member of the team is visible, 2) the location can clearly be identified and matched to a control on the team route, and 3) the Captain sends the photographs electronically to the RBA/Organizer at or before the time the completed brevet cards are turned in. Team Name & Control name or number must be clearly noted in the email and provide a way to identify each attached picture.
Post card controls are permissible provided the team name and control number or name is clearly identifiable. Post cards should be sent to Pennslyvania Randonneurs, 1700 Sullivan Trail, #103, Easton, PA 18040-8333. Every team member should sign the card. Bonus points are awarded to teams who provide catchy rhymes, prose, or remarks documenting their experience on the post cards.
Please note that the 22-hour control requires a means to document the departure time at the location. A text message to the RBA/Organizer is NOT an acceptable proof of passage.
EVERY rider shall note their arrival time at EVERY checkpoint control on their brevet card. Blank brevet cards will not be accepted at the finish.
Loop courses are NOT permitted. The start location must be significatly different from the finish, and a road may only be used once (crossing at a single point is allowable). Please get your start location approved by the RBA before you start to design your course.
Parking is typically available at the destination location so teams may leave one or two cars there to shuttle bikes and riders back to the starting location after the finish.
A shuttle service (like one typically used to get to an airport) is one suggestion to get team members back to a common location.
Registration includes Brunch Banquet at the finish (Sunday 8AM-11AM) and access to facilities at MWE. There are some beds if you need a safety nap before leaving. If you need lodging there are numerous lodging options in State College , please book your arrangements with a hotel directly if you want a room for Saturday or Sunday night.
| Apr 2 | Team Captain registration closes |
| Apr 6 | Route submission deadline |
| Apr 21 | Rider registration closes |
| 25 April | Noon: Earliest start time |
| 27 April | 8-9 AM: Preferred start time |
| 27 April | 10 AM: Latest start |
| 28 April | 10 AM: Latest finish |
| 28 April | 8-11 AM: Brunch Banquet |
This event needs volunteers for the following jobs:
Contact Organizer to Volunteer.
The online URL for this event info page is
https://parando.org/info/event/2024-04-25/360
For all other information about Pennsylvania Randonneurs, visit our web site https://parando.org/