Pennsylvania Randonneurs

Free Bridge
200K Brevet

EVENT CANCELED
Saturday 11 July 2020
06:00 EDT Start Time

RUSA Logo
EventGPS/CuesheetRosterMessage BoardResultsRide Report

Free Bridge 200K Brevet

EVENT CANCELED
Saturday 11 July 2020
06:00 EDT Start Time

There are special proceedures and restrictions on this event because of the COVID-19 safety plan. Riders must

  • Bring two different completed and signed waivers to the start. Both the usual brevet waiver and a second, special COVID-19 Waiver are required at the start. Riders should have these completed  ahead of time.
  • Bring a facemask to the start and wear it for registration and the rider's briefing.
  • Bring your own pencil or pen for completing info controle questions and signing brevet cards.

Please do not forget to bring these items. It would also be good to have food/water/ice in your car as you will be passing your car at the 100K point. Be alert for other announcements and instructions.  The full set of restrictions and procedures are described in the PA Rando Blog. Please check often for updates.

Start Location

Northampton Street "Free" Bridge PA Side

100 Northampton St
Easton, PA 18042

The official PA side start location is over on Larry Holmes Drive next to the Free Bridge. If you parked in NJ behind Jimmy's, please walk your bike across the bridge, turn right, and congregate for the rider's briefing in the narrow strip of Riverside Park immediately North of the bridge.

There will be no food options open immediately at the start when the ride begins, but there is a McDonalds and a Wawa close by on the PA side.

Parking

The bridge may be free, but parking near it isn't.

A formerly free, but now pay parking area ($10/day) is the large public lot behind Jimmys Doggie Stand on the NJ side of the bridge. Don't park next to Jimmy's itself, or adjacent to the bridge.  Go all the way back behind Jimmy's to the big lot by the boat ramp. Remember your spot number and pay at the machine.  There is a Port-A-Potty here that is reasonably maintained at most times.

And you can find free parking in NJ about a mile upstream along the river on the NJ side. You can also park for free at Pohatcong Plaza, as we do for Hope to New Hope. This is about 4 miles away.

If you prefer to park in PA by the bridge, these are all pay-to-park spots that require using the ParkMobile parking app.

Perhaps the simplest  parking option in PA is to use one of the municipal parking garages. There are two: the South Third Street garage, which also requires the ParkMobile app, and the Fourth Street Garage you can pay at a kiosk by the elevator or at the exit gate for long-term (hourly) parking on the upper floors. 

If you are willing to ride futher from your parking spot, most of Easton is unmetered 6th street and beyond. If you're looking for a real place to have dinner after the ride, and perhaps a pint to go with it, I highly recommend Porters Pub at 7th street and Northampton. Parking near there is free.

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

Traveling far? Overnight accommodations are available at several hotels in Easton
Make your own reservations by calling the hotel directly.

Finish

Check the brevet card and listen to the riders briefing for the exact official finish controle location. Usually we finish near the outdoor picnic benches out in front of Jimmy's Doggy Stand. Finishing riders enjoy the ice cream and various sandwiches sold at the walk up window. Riders have also been known to congregate at the Sand Bar outdoor tiki bar across the street from Jimmy's. If you took advantage of the free parking in Easton above 5th street, Porters Pub is a great place for dinner.

Volunteer

This event needs volunteers for the following jobs:

Contact Organizer to Volunteer.

Ride Description

Kars Sterner Arts TrailWe enter the new world of randonneuring with a challenging 200K that visits many familiar places through unfamiliar routes. The overall course design is a figure-8, allowing riders to return to their cars at roughly the 100K mark to resupply.

Northampton Street (Free) BridgeThe start of the northern loop begins on the Pennsylvania side of the Northampton Street "Free" Bridge, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. We will ride North from the bridge, using the Karl Stirner Arts Trail and other trails, remaining mostly on flat, protected bikeways painlessly gaining nearly 800 feet of elevation on the ride up to Wind Gap, where we will not climb over the mountain. Instead, we follow the southern edge of the mountain where we ultimately rumble down the National Park Drive descent (dirt, suitable for most tires) and arive at  the Point of Gap controle with a spectacular view of Delaware Water Gap. We return South from the Gap generally along the familiar riverside roads and eventually to the NJ side of the Northampton St bridge near where your car is parked if you need to resupply or add or drop anything (NB: consider caching food and water in your car). Jimmy's will be open for lunch by then, adding another option, but don't eat too much. The Big Climb is just ahead.

The South loop begins with a direct "short cut" that uses Cyphers and Shire Rd to cross out of Warren Glen directly over the Riegel Ridge. This direct routing will show you why we normally stick to the longer River Rd route in our approach to Milford. The climb is quite tough -- some may need their 24 inch gear -- but there's an exhilarating descent as a payoff. And think of the miles that were saved, whoo hoo!  

By PattiParker - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21712893From Milford we continue South on classic Bucks County cycling roads: Upper Tinicum Church, Headquarters, and Hollow Horn, passing through the Ralph Stover SP. There are a total of three covered bridges we will cross (and considerable rollers) before we reach the controle atop Plumstead Hill. From there, it's more classic rural Bucks County rollers till we find ourselves at an info controle: the now defunct Weisel Hostel, former rando clubhouse.

After crossing our fourth covered bridge (a bumpy one we usually avoid), the trip North from the old Hostel is not the dreaded Lower Saucon climb of doom over the Kohlberg. No. This time we again take a new "short cut", a more direct route through Gallows Hill and Coon Hollow (a dirt road, suitable for most tires) that leads to a climb over the Eastern flank of Hexenkopf Hill, which is believed to be inhabited by witches.

After this spooky final climb there is a steep descent that ends up at the 25th street bridge. From there it's an easy spin up Lehigh Drive and the finish walk across the bridge to Jimmy's Doggie Stand.

There are several steep, extended climbs. Wide range gearing is highly recommended.

Course History

DateFinishers
2020-09-1228
2023-07-0826
Course Record 2023-07-08: Christopher Maglieri (07:59, 25.1 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 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.

Registration

Registration Fee

For PA Rando members: $15
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

Water and other provisions will be available at controles approximately the 50 and 150K to allow riders to complete the distance without needing to enter a merchant controle.

Registration is closed for this event.

Schedule

05:00 Sign-in, Bike Inspection
05:50 Rider meeting
06:00 EDT Riders depart

Conditions

Finish Cutoff: 19:30 EDT 11 July 2020 (13 hours, 30 minutes)

Daylight Hours

Sunrise: 05:40
Sunset: 20:32


Weather

Weather forecast for start location: Easton, 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/2020-07-11/200

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