PA Dutch 200k Preliminary Results (1/3/09 edition)

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Preliminary results of the PA Dutch 200k have been posted at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA200k ... 090103.pdf
... let me know of any corrections or any other issues. I'll be submitting the results to RUSA in a couple of days which will then become final, pending certification.

Temperatures at the start were a bit higher than expected: 30F. With abundant sunshine throughout the day, temperatures rose to the low 40's. However, the stiff northwest winds all day made it feel much colder. Those winds made the stretch from the Honeybrook controle to the lunch stop much tougher -- in particular, I found that those winds held me back on the descents which made getting up all those rollers much harder. And there was the big climb up Turkey Hill along River Road -- you would think that something called River Road would be relatively flat but actually turned out to be the longest sustained climb of the day. Besides the climb up Turkey Hill, that climb climb up from Penny Packer seemed to just go on forever!

Special thanks to ...
... organizer Rick Carpenter, for putting together the course, getting us on our way at the start, and the post ride gathering at his house. Rick also had to deal with the "Organizer's Jinx", barely making it to the Honeybrook controle in time after going through 2 tubes, 1 tire, and a defective pump on the first leg.
.. and thanks to Curtis Palmer for manning the secret controle. His stop was a welcome oasis in the form of food and drinks, just as my water bottle was running dry.

Once again, a very good turn out: 13 riders clipping in with a 100% completion. First time PA rider Dave Zion came all the way down from Boston to get a start on his R-12 quest -- Welcome! Congratulations to all the finishers who endured those stiff winds and endless rollers.

Curtis has posted some pictures at:
http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e146/ ... 0K%201-09/
If you have any other comments or pictures to share, feel free to post them of the message board or forward to me.

Next up is a 200k on Feb 7 ... route details will be posted shortly.

Regards,

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

[Willie]

Tom and Rick - Thanks for the great ride yesterday. As you mentioned, having the sunshine on one's black tights and gloves made for some pleasant riding conditions...and if one needed to warm up, there were ample climbs to get one's circulation going.

It was nice that Rick was able to arrange for the headwinds to all be on the first half of the course so we could benefit from the strong tailwind all the way back home.

...and also, THANKS Curtis for setting up and manning the secret control. The goodies you had came at just the right time of the ride.

Bill

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Juan Salazar writes:

Again I had a great day in Pennsylvania. I would really like to thank Rick and Lora for inviting me to stay over at their place the night before. We went out for dinner on Friday and I enjoyed many Randonneuring stories. I felt the temperatures were not as harsh as during the PA Dark Moon, but it was a tougher ride for me. I am not sure
if I did not eat enough or the Holiday Season inactivity caught up. I found myself battling my own daemons in order to keep up with Matt and Bill Fischer. Maybe it also had to do with the constant headwind during the first half or so of the ride. I cherished the longer climbs, not so much the rollers. Those annoy me. I also would like to thank Matt for leading the way for most of the second half of the ride. It has been a pleasure riding with him and Bill. I have to say my fondest memory of the event is the post-ride gathering. The food, and most of all, the company, was great. It was probably the first time I was able to talk to Bill Olsen, Tom Rosenbauer and all the other PBP veterans that were present. As a rookie Randonneur, I seized the opportunity to ask my questions and try to find out all the secrets.

I have posted some pictures of the ride and following festivities at
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsalazar197 ... directlink