PA1000k (updated 6/30 with Jud's Ride Report)

[Tom Rosenbauer]

There's still time to register for the upcoming PA1000k and take advantage of the early registration discount. Registration and event details at:
http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/PA1000K.html

The PA1000k offers a challenging tour of northeastern PA. Participants are expected to be fully self-sufficient and confident of their ability to complete a challenging course with minimal support.

The course is a loop that starts out from Quakertown, PA.

Day 1 features 3 challenging climbs across the Appalachian Trail as we traverse the Pennsylvanian Highlands Region. Enroute, we travel through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area upon Old Mine Road -- the oldest continuously-used road in the US. As we exit the park, we cross the Delaware River at Dingmans Ferry and head into the Pocono Mountains Region of the Allegheny Plateau. We briefly descend the plateau to ride across the Roebling Aqueduct and along the scenic Lackawaxen River. We then tackle some challenging terrain through the Wyoming Valley and Endless Mountains before resting at the first over-night controle in Hallstead.

Day 2 starts off with some gentler terrain along the NY Southern Tier and Susquehanna Valley where we trace the historic route followed by the Sullivan Expedition into Towanda. From Towanda, we'll take Rt 414 into the scenic Pine Creek Gorge region where a challenging climb out of Waterville awaits us, up along Rt 44. After a long, twisty descent into Lockhaven, we tackle the second major climb of the day as we enter Bald Eagle State Forest. Exiting the forest, we descend back into the Susquehanna River valley into Lewisburg for the second over-night controle stop.

Day 3 continues south along the Susquehanna River into the Hegins Valley Region where we eventually head up across the Appalachian Trail for the fourth and final time. Our descent takes us into the Pennsylvania Dutch Region and eventually back through French Creek State Park and to the finish at Quakertown.

As shown in the route profile, there are several steep, extended climbs. A triple or 39x27 is highly recommended.

Rider Comments
"...The difficulty with these Pennsylvania climbs isn't that they continue for 20 miles; nothing on those roads stays the same for 20 mi. The grades are never constant, and there's usually a lot of up and down before you start going up for good. When you start really going up, it often gets extremely steep. But while they aren't that long, they are relentless, and the space in between big climbs is filled with little rollers, some of which are quite steep little kickers in their own right..."
-Emily O'Brien 2008 PA1000k

"...The scenery was absolutely fantastic - almost enough to take your mind off of the brutal climbs..." -Craig Martek 2007

"...Thanks for your good organization on this ride and the brevet series. I doubt there are many, if any, series in the U.S. that are as well conducted and offer such challenging and scenic terrain..." -Ed Pavelka 2007

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Volunteers and cell phone numbers:
Tom Rosenbauer (610) 417-7161
Jim Logan (412)580-8575
Ron Anderson (609) 731-9894
Barbara Anderson (609) 731-9893
Paul Scearce (570) 590-5921
Bill Olsen (908) 268-9690



Thursday night:
Tom R. at the hostel to set-up and sign in riders. Jim will arrive that evening.

Friday:
Jim and I will handle the start controle, bag pick-up, and hostel clean-up.
Jim will run the secret/revitalement controle, starting around 8AM.
Jim can optionally head to the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area to share a few miles with the riders, if he wants to.

Jim should plan to be at the Colonial Brick Inn (overnight controle in Halstead, NY) before 6PM. First riders will probably be coming through around 8PM. I'll have some lasagna trays and meatballs that can be cooked in the room (there is a stove and oven). Most of the riders should be in between 12AM and 1AM. I'll give Jim the message board which he can set-up at the front desk. All the room keys should be picked up and then rooms are assigned as riders arrive. We need to coordinate with the hotel to see if we can get an early continental breakfast arranged. Riders should clear Halstead to start day 2 by 4:30 AM.

Saturday
Jim should plan to head over to the 2nd sleep controle in Lewisburg some time in the afternoon and meet with Ron and Barbara (transferring the drop bags, message board, and any other food supplies). Ron and Barbara will then run the 2nd sleep controle, just like last year. I suggest we just do pizza for feeding -- cold cuts don't seem to be very popular with the riders and we usally end up with too many left overs. Again, we should try to coordinate an early continental breakfast with the hotel, if possible.

Sunday
Ron and Barbara return to the hostel, with the bags and any other items. Bill should plan to arrive at the hostel around 3PM to sign-in the first riders. I'll have some soup that can be heated up (along with some boboli pizza's we can make).

Other Details
I have a PA Randonneurs debit card, that I'll give to Jim for expenses. He can pass that on to Ron and Barb. Volunteers manning the overnight controles should plan on picking up drinks and ice, along with chips and dessert items. (there is a grocery store next to the Halstead hotel). I'll provide a box of essentials (plates, cups, plastic ware, etc.) that will be passed along to each hotel. I'll also have a first-aid kit. It will be good if the volunteers can bring some basic tools and have some spare parts on hand to help out with any mechanical issues.

Paul Scearce will be sweeping the course on Sunday.

I also plan to run a rider update, just like last year -- the rider updates will be posted at:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=393
... this means I need to get reports on the riders' progress, and the volunteers should use this information to update their timing. Both hotels will have internet access.

Update #2 - 6/25

1) Attached is a sign-in sheet for all the controles. Print out a couple of copies to help keep track of the riders. For the overnight controles, we want to also keep track of when the riders depart. If you are sweeping the course, you can takes notes of where and when you saw a particular rider. Please try to check in with me, with any updates while you are in contact with the riders. I'll be using this information to update the Rider Progress message board -- be sure to check this to make any adjustments to your schedule:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=393

PA1000_SignIn.pdf

Sign In Sheet

(6.79 KiB) Downloaded 8 times

1A) For the intermediate controles, I think it makes sense to send out the sign-in sheets with the first rider that departs an overnight controle, for each day. For the first day, I think Chip Adams is going to be the lead rider.

2) Be sure to check the message board, for any last minutes notes or updates. I've updated the "Volunteer" message post to include all the cell phone #s for the volunteers -- please check this over to make sure this is accurate. I'll be updating this message to reflect any changes as we coordinate our activities.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=387#p1279

3) Remember, that cell phone coverage is very poor at the hostel -- use the hostel phone # to reach anyone there.

4) The postride food will be in the fridge at the hostel (lasagna and soup). Bill Olsen will stop at my house on Friday night to pick up the other supplies and medals for Sunday.

Thanks again, for your help in making this a successful event!

Regards,

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Participant, Patrick O'Donnel sent me the following note:

... Were you aware that this route passes right by (immediately in front of) Floyd Landis' boyhood home in Farmersville? The house is right along the road. His boyhood home is ~a quarter mile on the right before N. Farmersville Rd crosses E. Farmersville Rd. I should get a photo and an address of the place so that our fellow Randonneurs can be aware of this. Floyd's parents still live there. Several years ago in the spring before Floyd took first in the TDF, I was on a White Clay Bicycle Club ride (they're from northern DE) I noticed that the route was going to pass Floyd's childhood home and mentioned it to the ride leader. The ride leader said to let him know when we were close so that he could stop and take a picture. While the dozen or so of us where paused on the other side of the street, Floyd's parents came outside and called us over from across the road and asked if we needed food and water. Reluctant to impose we couldn't ignore thier repeated waving us over into thier driveway. For about the next 20 minutes they shared stories, and many interesting articles / mementos of Floyd's that they had. They even posed in pictures with us. They were very proud of thier son and we've since heard other stories of thier kindness to bicyclists passing by.

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Nick Bull has kindly put together a GPS file. He writes ....

My friend George Winkert is signed up for the PA1000K and he asked if I'd be kind enough to modify Chuck Wood's GPS file from last year.

In case they would be useful to any other riders, I've attached the modified GPS files that agree with the attached cue sheet, ...

When we post GPS files on the website, we include the following text to try to make sure that randonneurs follow the cue sheet and understand that GPS files can sometimes fail to the route correctly. I've included some notes on the "climbing cues" that are in the GPS file.


"Always get a copy of the final cue sheet. That final cue sheet contains the official route, so in case there is a conflict with the GPS file, you should resolve the conflict in favor of the cue sheet. Use the GPS as a handy-dandy adjunct. Keep your wits about you, as the GPS cannot notify you of road hazards — it is up to you to ride safely.

By the way … make sure that your GPS either has maps already downloaded, or select the relevant maps around the routes.

Some notes on the GPS file. It contains "climbing cues" for all of the climbs that are more than 400' (around the point where I start wondering when the climb will end). All the climbs also have the top of the climb shown in the GPS file. The cues take the form:

C2.2m77to217

Which means "Generally you'll be climbing for the next 2.2 miles for a total altitude change of 770 feet to an altitude of 2170 feet"

I also have a cue at the start of the route coming out of the 4th control to note the fact that you're generally ascending for the next 41 miles (to the high point on the brevet, I think): A41.3m81to144"

Nick

[Triplecenturies]

Nick Bull has kindly put together a GPS file. He writes ....

My friend George Winkert is signed up for the PA1000K and he asked if I'd be kind enough to modify Chuck Wood's GPS file from last year. ...

I also have a cue at the start of the route coming out of the 4th control to note the fact that you're generally ascending for the next 41 miles (to the high point on the brevet, I think): A41.3m81to144"

Nick

That very last item appears to be off as the high point is well more than 1440 feet. 2159 feet is the high point mentioned on the cue.

[Triplecenturies]

The childhood home of Floyd Landis is located at 49 N Farmersville Road and is 1.1 miles from the Metzler and N Farmesville Road intersection at mile 546.8 on the cue. House will be on the right side. Floyd's father's name - "Paul K Landis" & "49" are on the mailbox immediately following the driveway to the house. Floyd's mother's name is Arlene.

I should point out as it's not on the cue-sheet that .6 mile following the above mention intersection (and a half mile before arriving at Floyd Landis' childhood home) N Farmersville Road comes to a "T" where you'll go left then immediately across a narrow one lane bridge. Turtle Hill Road goes right. Use caution crossing this bridge as oncoming traffic of all sorts (horse & buggies, farm equipment, motor vehicles, and even bicyclists) have very limited visibility.

Images are in order - in the way we'll be approaching.

Coming into Farmersville on N Farmersville Road. The home is ahead - second home beyond field then trees on right.

2009.06.24-01b.JPG (173.35 KiB) Viewed 355 times

Home is just behind blue tarp on right.

2009.06.24-02b.JPG (233.24 KiB) Viewed 355 times

Home has flowers and a decorator wall between it and the road.

2009.06.24-03b.JPG (227.03 KiB) Viewed 355 times

[Tom Rosenbauer]

....I should point out as it's not on the cue-sheet that .6 mile following the above mention intersection (and a half mile before arriving at Floyd Landis' childhood home) N Farmersville Road comes to a "T" where you'll go left then immediately across a narrow one lane bridge. Turtle Hill Road goes right. Use caution crossing this bridge as oncoming traffic of all sorts (horse & buggies, farm equipment, motor vehicles, and even bicyclists) have very limited visibility.

The overhead image below shows the narrow bridge in question (you'll be approaching from the north) ...

Farmersville Bridge

FarmersvilleBridge.jpg (38.34 KiB) Viewed 350 times

... the bridge is indeed very narrow and should be taken with caution, but you'll be following the main road as you go past Turtle Hill on your right (and not coming to a stop like you would at a 'T' interesection).

Thanks, Patrick, for pointing this out (as well as the Landis POI)!

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

[Tom Rosenbauer]

The cuesheet posted on 6/20/ "Draft 3A" is the most current and is the one that has gone to press for distribution on the day of the event. There is also an Excel version available, if you would like to make your own format -- if you do, take one of the PDF versions along also, just in case something gets lost in the editing.

The current cuesheet has a list of services and points of interest -- last year, this was a separate document but I've combined it for this edition. Please take note of some long stretches with limited services, and plan your stops around that. I've also added some timing guidelines for both overnight controles that list various departure times and the average speed needed to make the next controle on time. Please take special note of the first overnight controle in Halstead -- this stop is only 208 miles into the event, but the unrelenting hills and major climbs will make it seem much more. In order to allow you more time to recover from this and get some more sleep, the next controle is an untimed postcard drop which does not have a closing time that needs to be met. Also, you'll be traveling along the NY Southern Tier, which is significantly less hilly -- so it would not be unreasonable to leave the Halstead overnight controle a bit later than you typically would.

The current weather forecast looks a bit warm and humid for the start in Quakertown, with the prospect of some scattered T-storms. But as you work your way north and into the higher elevations, you'll be headed towards weather that is typically about 5F cooler.

If you have anybody that wants to follow your progress, the following website will be providing updates during the event:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=393

Be sure to check the message board for any last-minute updates:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=387

Regards,

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

[Tom Rosenbauer]

Clarification on the Bag Drop plan:

Just pack 1 drop bag, which will be collected by volunteer Jim Logan at the hostel. You'll pick up your drop bag in the volunteer hotel room in Halstead, and return it there when you are ready to depart. Jim will transport all the drop bags to the 2nd overnight controle in Lewisburg, where you will pick up and then drop off your bag at the volunteer hotel room, staffed by Ron and Barb Anderson. The drop bags will be brought back to the hostel some time on Sunday afternoon.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

[jud]

I loved the ride. I hated it.
I laughed. I cried. (well, I wanted to cry)
I've never felt better. I've never suffered worse.

When we left the Quakertown hostel at 4 a.m. Friday morning, the ghosts of Paris-Brest-Paris 2007 wafted through my mind. My first PBP turned out to be a DNF after about 950 of the 1200k, as I dropped out with a bad case of Shermer neck. It was a bitter disappointment. If I am fortunate enough to get the chance to ride PBP in 2011, I would like to think I learned: 1. Don't go 44 hours before your first sleep. 2. Get enough rest when you do sleep. 3. Take care of that neck. 4. Take care of your hands (it took 7 months to clear the numbness in my fingertips after PBP).

The 1000k this weekend was my chance for some partial redemption. I worked my average cadence up about 10 rpm to save my legs and took my headlamp off my helmet during daylight hours to remove pressure from my head and neck muscles. I vowed to take 5 hours for each sleep stop, 3 of them asleep. Notwithstanding aerodynamics, I vowed to take a more upright riding position, to shift more weight on my rear end and less on my hands. This had the further advantage of requiring less work for my neck muscles to keep my head up. Surely, if I could survive PA RBA Tom Rosenbauer's most dreaded and hilliest ride (at least until the inaugural 1240k even in the fall), I would show myself something.

Day 1 (of hills and hailstones)

For the first 20 miles or so I rode with various other riders through dark but by now familiar roads from the earlier PA events. When I stopped to fix the electrical connection on one of my E6 generator lights, I lost my last riding companions and I never really rode with anyone for any extended period again, unlike my experiences in the 400k and 600k. I wanted to ride my own pace. Tom had warned us about the first day, noting there were at least four large climbs and countless smaller ones packed into its 208 miles to the hotel in Halstead.

I made decent progress up Blue Mountain, then Fox Gap, then headed into NJ for the long climb of Millbrook Road. I arrived at Raymondskill Falls back over the PA line knowing it was steep, though never having climbed it before. The sun was hot and I was almost out of water. Out of nowhere on Route 209 just before the climb appeared volunteer Jim Logan on his bike. He had set up a refreshment control on the climb, where I refilled by Camelbak. Jim was one of several outstanding volunteers on this ride. Seeing them made keeping a positive attitude easier. And there were some things that were hard to be positive about.

For instance, at mile 151, just as I turned onto OwegoTurnpike past Lake Wallenpaupack, I saw and heard what appeared to be a large thunderstorm headed my way. Though it wasn't raining yet, I could stop at a restaurant on the right and wait it out, and risk feeling foolish if the storm avoided me, or keep going and figure I could seek shelter later, if needed. I elected to continue. Within five minutes, the sky opened up and I knew I had to get off the road.

Owego Turnpike was shoulderless and filled with speeding dump trucks. I was passing through an isolated wooded area. Great. Which of these trees is the lightning rod? I leaned my bike on a tree trunk and stood under a canopy of leaves, figuring the stand of trees where I was standing were not the tallest around. Soon the rain turned to sleet and I mean, large gum ball sized chunks. They made a dull thudding sound as they hit my helmet. A car stopped at the edge of the road and a kind woman got out. "Let me give you a ride." she said. "I'm OK," i said, sort of believing it. I felt like a fool, actually. How could I explain randonneuring to her in a way that made sense? Did it make sense? She looked at me dubiously for a moment, then got back in her car.

The hail turned back into rain about 10 minutes later, then the rain eased up. I took off my shoes and poured out a shot glass worth of water from each. I put them on again, clipped into the pedals and proceeded slowly down Owego, grateful that the temperatures were in the 60s instead of the 40s. I probably took an hour or more before I started to feel drier and warmer. Survival Experience No. 1 completed.

On Middle Creek Road shortly after mile 160, as I was beginning to think about the less than 50 miles to the sleep stop, I saw a detour sign. At a bridge, the road was blocked by a truck. Fortunately, there was a two-foot section left to walk over. I continued on toward Carbondale, which last year's riders warned would require nasty climbs both on the way in and the way out. Carbondale is a down on its luck coal town. The Dunkin Donuts where we had the controle was the nicest looking building I saw in the downtown. The roads looked like they all needed a good resurfacing. There was a large abandoned school right in the middle of the business district. It seemed to be surrounded by steep hills. You descended steeply to get there and ascended just as steeply to get out. Because of this, the town felt like it was underground.

The climb up the ridge just before Carbondale, Mt. Salem, was long and steep, but the effort helped dry me out. I also benefited enormously from my 30-34 lowest gear (to call it a granny would be disrespecting grandmothers, it's an uber-granny) and my loss of five pounds this summer. Without the extra gearing and lost weight, I would have been walking up some of those climbs. Finally, I made it to mile 208 and the first sleep stop. Jim Logan was there to check us in. It was 10 p.m. Given the 30-minute rain delay, I was right on my schedule.

Based upon my previous times on PBP and various 600k's, I figured I could do about 12 mph including stops the first day. That mean an arrival at the first of the two sleep stops at 9:30 p.m. After a 5-hour overnight break, I would then average 10 mph including stops on Day 2 and Day 3, when my legs would be sore and my speed, inevitably, would lag. I have learned from my many 600k rides and PBP that I have a hard time riding on the second and third day of tough rides. I need rest to recover and I don't recover that quickly even when rested. I guess many 52-year-olds are like that.

Day 2 (the endless sufferings)

The next day was every bit as tough as Day 1, probably worse. The first 70 miles were relatively flat, as we rode along the southern tier of New York, passing through the city of Binghamton. This was the only time since the first 20 miles that I had a riding companion, as John Fessendon and I shared some miles in the dark. When I stopped to eat breakfast at a McDonalds at mile 250 or so, he went ahead and I never saw him again. I rode alone the rest of the way.

This was likely the hardest day of my bicycling life. My legs were hurting with every pedal stroke. Again and again we encountered hills, large and small. The climb up Route 44 at mile 353 was six miles long, but it was endless rollers with their nearly 20 pecent pitches that really had me cursing Tom. If there was any bright side to all this suffering, it was that my idea of hilly gradually changed. A road with a moderate grade felt flat in comparison. The three hours sleep didn't seem enough, as I began yawning repeatedly. I took a page out of Laurent Chambard's book and got off the bike for a few short power naps. They did help.

The turning point of that day, and perhaps the ride, was a food stop I made at an ice cream and sandwich stop on Route 44 just before the long climb. My stomach was giving me unexpected problems and I finally traced it to some two-day old Accelerade in my Camelbak. When I rinsed it out and put fresh liquid in, the stomach problems vanished and I got new energy. I actually felt stronger as I continued up the climb. Of course, the climbing wasn't over when we reached the top of the Route 44 segment. We simply turned left for more climbing up Route 664. Tom must be smiling, I thought.

Finally I saw the "trucks on cheese" sign that signaled a long descent and what a descent it was. As I glided down into Lock Haven and the Susquehanna River valley, I was struck by the sharp colors of the fields and mountains. The river was in the middle, with the fields fanning out in all directions and then the mountains framing the background. My favorite spot of the entire ride was at mile 391 just after the controle at Lamar, where we turned right onto Heltman Road down a small hill toward the river. I felt like I was the focal point of long aerial pullout shot in a movie.

The view ahead was a line of road in a straight line down, with green farmlands on either side, spanning for miles and the mountains ahead. I had little doubt that one of those mountains had my name on it. And, this being one of Tom's rides, I found that mountain in short order. Up I climbed again as dusk arrived. It got dark just as I finished a long descent. There followed two hours of night riding on a busy road through a state forest. I made it to the Lewisburg sleep stop just before midnight, right on my schedule. After having a friendly chat with volunteers Ron and Barbara Anderson, to whom I bitterly complained about Tom's route and his seeming obsession with hills of every kind, I got my 3 hours of sleep.

Day 3 (danger and redemption)

The final day started very promisingly. I felt less drowsy than on the morning of Day 2, perhaps because it was already daylight at 5 a.m. when I set out. Because I was more alert, I paid more attention to my surroundings. During a long climb out of the valley on Route 147 at about mile 440 I noticed what looked like thousands of worms wriggling along the highway. Though I tried not to run over them, I know I committed worm genocide. It was frankly, a little unnerving to realize that there were so many worms in the ground. A few miles later, I was treated to a barnyard serenade, as two barking dogs were joined first by a crowing rooster and then a mooing cow. I think the rooster and cow were just telling the dogs to shut up.

Another long climb (what else?) appeared on the way to Good Springs at about 480. Shortly after the top, volunteer Paul Searce appeared on his bike and showed me a refreshment controle he had set up. This was perfect, as I was running low on food and liquid again. More water for the Camelbak and a much needed peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

When i reached the controle at the Hess Station in Lickdale at mile 507, I was back on roads familiar from the earlier brevets. I knew there was plenty more climbing, but nothing as bad as the worst of Days 1 and 2. Tom had finally showed some mercy. Some confusion about the cue sheet (mine, not Tom's) at Middle Creek Road at mile 530 cost me about 20 minutes. As it turned dark, I was leaving the last intermediate control at the Wawa in Spring City at mile 588. It began to rain, at first lightly and then more steadily. I followed Tom's excellent cue sheet directions along busy Route 113 and then a climb up to Route 563, a very familiar sight.'

Just 15 miles from the finish, I knew I was physically in better shape than I could have expected, given the terrain of this ride and my experience of PBP. No neck problems at all. Only minor numbness in my right thumb. I knew this part of the route cold. What could go wrong?

The sound of squealing brakes suddenly began behind me. A car heading toward me. Would I be hit? Better sprint and hope he stops in time. The squealing ends. The car, a blue sedan whose driver I never saw, sped off. "You could have killed me!" I shouted. It had not been raining hard. This happened on a moderate climb with a limited shoulder, as I was riding to the right of the road with full reflective gear and a working rear headlight. Later, in speaking with Tom about it, I told him I thought the driver was either drunk or wasn't paying attention. Tom said it could have been a deliberate attempt to scare me.

As I continued more nervously up 563, the drivers of two pickup trucks (and it seems it's always a guy in a large pickup) yelled something I couldn't understand at me. Tom may be correct in his theory that this guy (I'm assuming it's a guy) did this on purpose. The next morning I drove back there and failed to find any serious skid marks, making me think he didn't break as hard as I might have thought. On the bright side, during that later stretch on 563 a man in a sedan did ask if I wanted a ride. I was more than a little tempted to say yes, but I wasn't giving up that easily. Anyway, there is no denying the danger we face on the roads, especially at night or even worse on a rainy night. Survival Experience No. 2.

I made it back to the hostel in Quakertown at 11:29 p.m., with a total time of 67:29, well under the 75-hour limit. The squealing brakes took a little of the joy out of my return. It got me thinking about the risks and rewards of randonneuring. We don't like to talk about safety, but we all think about it, I'm sure.
All in all, this was probably the hardest bicycle ride I've ever done. At 622 miles, it is also the second longest, after my cross country trip in 1977. I'm signed up for the Endless Mountains 1240 in the fall. If all goes well, I may be back at PBP in 2011, with more redemption in mind. But all I'm thinking about now is the medal I got from Tom for finishing, beautifully framed by his daughter. The frame also shows the route map and, of course, the elevation profile. I look at it sometimes and smile. I did that profile, I think to myself.

Thanks Tom and the volunteers Ron, Barbara, Jim, Paul (and a cameo at the end by Bill Olsen) for all your good work. I never knew how beautiful that part of Pennsylvania is. I never knew I could survive that many hills, or that much pain.

Jud Hand

[jsalazar1978]

Hi Tom, fellow randonneurs and volunteers,

I had a blast on this wonderful ride. It was tough, very tough at times. I am happy that all of us made it for a 100% completion. And George, making an intermediate contrôle by 2 min! In the end he too made it to the finish with time to spare. The volunteers were awesome. Jim was the angel in the hills, always at the right spot. When I was in Hallstead he was kind enough to drive to a Burger King upon my request to eat a burger. Jud also benefited from that. Ron and Barbara were a welcoming sight in Lewisburg after a very long day of riding in the sun. In the end there was Bill, always entertaining and full of tales. Thanks Tom for the incredible route and the effort to keep families and friends updated during the event. I didn't see Paul, but I am sure those that did were very happy. Chip, Bill Fischer and I rode together almost the entire brevet, in true Fléche style. We had sit-down meals in between contrôles and enjoyed each others company. I could not have wished for a better season ending.

I have written a ride report and pictures here http://www.cycloblogger.info/2009/06/pa-acp-1000k.html

[Guy]

Congratulations to all the 1000K riders! Sounds almost epic

Jud and Juan, I enjoyed your reports. They certainly brought back memories from the 2008 edition of this ride. The PA1000K is the second most challenging ride that I have ever done but it is perhaps the most enjoyable one.

Jud, you need to commute by bike in suburban NJ to put the PA wildlife in perspective. Maybe a reflective, slanted, number 8 instead of a reflective triangle would be a repellent? Plus, I still haven't had anything thrown at me in PA.