[ORRando] Endless Mountain Ride Report

[Vincent Sikorski]

Sorry if this file is too large. I don't blog anywhere to just allow  
me to send a link.
Vince


Decided to ride the Endless Mountain 1240 when I first heard of it. I  
have family that lives in Elizabethtown, about a 90-minute drive from  
the start in Quakertown, PA. I grew up in E-town, Lancaster County,  
Pennsylvania. Whenever I go back to visit, my nephew tries to kill his  
uncle on the hills. There is no shortage of 17% to 19% hills in the  
“flatter” Lancaster County. I knew what type of roads the “mountains”  
of Pennsylvania offered. Official estimate was 62,412 feet of climbing.

My sister and brother in law drove me to the start Tuesday evening.  
Met a rider from Missouri, Dan Clinkinbeard, who had his truck at the  
motel. (He was actually living out of his truck the previous 3 days.  
Had a nice cot set up in the back.) I bummed a ride to a restaurant  
with him, the “Good and Plenty”.  It was OK, but more than plenty.  
Ordered the meatloaf and was barely able to finish half of it. Stuffed  
down lots of calories, but I will need them in the next few days.

Started with the B group at 4:15 AM Wednesday morning.  The start was  
split into 2 waves, 15 minutes apart, to minimize the size of riders  
on the road. First 15 or so miles were mostly rolling with a few steep  
climbs. Rode with a tandem for most of the way to the first controle.  
My GPS saved me from a wrong turn within the first 10 miles. Also  
learned that the GPS file that I downloaded had some errors. I would  
have missed a secret control later in the day if I had followed the  
GPS. So, I had GPS, cue sheet and road makings to follow. Once they  
all pointed to a different direction.

After the first control, I was on my own. Tried to chase down some of  
the riders in the “A” group, especially Dan, who I ate dinner with the  
night before. One of the Brazilian riders caught up with me and we  
rode together for a while. We crossed the Delaware River. (The  
pedestrian bridge is where all my routes diverged, waited a bit and a  
couple of other riders caught up to me. We took the pedestrian  
bridge.) Next controle was in Blairstown, New Jersey. Only place where  
I felt any drizzle. Roads remained dry and sky overcast. Cool enough  
to keep leg warmers and vest on. Route took us back into PA; past a  
$300,000 outhouse (no plumbing) and into NY. Purchased a gigantic  
turkey sandwich at the controle in Barryville, NY; totally stuffed  
eating half. Put the rest in jersey pocket to be finished later.

Made it to the Carbondale controle just before sunset. Arrived at  
overnight controle at 9:40 PM. Pretty much everything according to  
plan. Looking forward to a 5 hr. sleep break. Overall, I loved the  
route. Very low car traffic, and endless ups and downs. GPS set grade  
at over 20% many times each day. A climb under 10% was a gift. Not a  
route that would cause boredom.

Woke up to a cold rain. Believe someone said it was 39 degrees. After  
about 5 miles, I realized I left my cell phone in the motel room.  
Borrowed another riders phone to call the controle and asked them to  
pick up my phone. They put in into my overnight bag. We rode through  
Binghamton, NY. This is a large city. Seemed like an endless row of  
traffic lights. At least in the early morning darkness, there was  
little traffic. A bunch of us stopped at a McDonalds for hot coffee  
and to warm up. Sun came up and the rain stopped.  At this point we  
were heading pretty much due west. This is the flattest portion of the  
route. We also had a stiff headwind directly out of the west. The  
tandem caught up with us and rode with them again. Expected to make up  
time on this “flat” section. Really gentle rolling hills. Due to the  
head wind, my average speed dropped 1 mph from the first day.

Headed south to Pennsylvania. Controles in Sayre, Dushore and Canton.  
More endless hills. I enjoyed the fast steep descents. The day stayed  
dry. Had a few sun breaks by afternoon. Enjoyed the long, gradual  
descent as the sun was setting after English Center. Turned right on  
route 44 at Waterville. Volunteers had pizza and drinks at a “Secret  
Controle”, really just a support stop. From here another long climb  
and descent. Rode with Jud on the climb, but lost him on the descent.  
He had aerobars, which gave him a free mile or two per hr. advantage  
on the downhills. On hindsight, I wish I had used aerobars also. Left  
fingers are still numb. Carpal tunnel? No problem last year after the  
Rocky Mtn. 1200. Like having an option to take my hands off of the  
bars. Was getting late in the evening and getting very cold. Put all  
of my spare clothes back on. After crossing the Susquehanna River, my  
GPS started getting crazy. Directed me away from road markings, then  
went through several recalculating routines. After riding several  
circles, saw a group of riders. Rode with them to the overnight  
control in Lamar. Arrived at 00:12 Friday morning. A couple hours  
later than expected, but still allowed a 4-hr. sleep break.

Left Lamar at 06:22 the next morning with SIR member, Vincent Mouneke.  
Gentle rollers and long gradual climb to next “Post Card” controle.  
Sky looked like the weather was going to improve. Almost immediately  
after mailing the post card at the Loganton Post Office, it started  
raining again. Morning rain was cold. Dried and warmed up some, with  
an occasional afternoon shower. Made Mifflintown at sunset. Quick food  
and coffee at controle. Just as we started to head out, the sky opened  
up. Went back for a second cup of coffee, hoping the rain would let  
up. After about a 20 minute break, we convinced ourselves that it  
wasn’t raining as hard. Not wanting to get lost in the cold, dark  
rainy night, the two Vincents stuck together. Very grateful for the  
GPS at this point. I had turned mine off during daylight to conserve  
the battery; Vincent M. had an auxiliary battery pack. Needed to stop  
once to replace his GPS batteries.

The heavy rain brought out the earthworms and frogs. The back roads to  
Selinsgrove were carpeted by worms. Don’t think you could find a 6  
inch section of road that did not have a worm on it. The control in  
Selinsgrove was at a Denny’s Restaurant. Arrived around 2 AM. Had  
breakfast and headed out to the overnight control. Vincent M. consumed  
a kola nut. (Is this on the banned substance list?) Not expecting to  
ride late into the night, I did not bring any supplemental caffeine.  
It had stopped raining. A warm front must have passed through. Felt at  
least 10 degrees warmer. We started seeing stars and the moon through  
the clouds. Started to overheat and took my rain jacket off on one of  
the more significant climbs. On the downhill, we felt a few drops.  
Vincent M. noticed an open shed next to the road. We stopped to put  
rain jackets back on. Lucky the shed was there. Rain came down like a  
monsoon. Waited it out for a several minutes. That was pretty much the  
last rain of the ride. Another “secret” support controle before the  
last “overnight” controle at Pine Grove. Heavy fog started to roll in  
toward morning. We arrived in Pine Grove at 6:00-am.

Slept to 8:30--about 2 hours of sleep. (Much less than expected.) Left  
Pine Grove under clear skies and sunshine. Best weather of the 4 days.  
Stripped down to shorts and short sleeve jersey by afternoon; first  
time of the ride. Route took me to within about 15 miles of the town I  
grew up in. Made the last 110 miles before sunset.

Overall, the route was impressive. Very scenic. Traffic was light  
except for the areas around Quakertown. Weather was disappointing. I  
believe it will be held in late August or early September for the next  
edition (4 years from now). That should eliminate the cold rain that  
we experienced, but at the risk of heat and humidity in exchange. I  
finished in 86:27, over 19 hours slower than last year’s Rocky  
Mountain 1200. I slept as much, if not more, on the Canadian ride last  
year. I probably lost an hour or so to route finding and a couple of  
hours to waiting out heavy rain on the EM 1240. I think it would be  
reasonable to add 15 hours to your other 1200 km times to gauge your  
finish for the EM 1240. Only 22 of the 48 starters finished. If  
brevets were categorized, this would be given “Hors Categorie”.

Vincent Sikorski
3989 NW Northcliff
Bend, Oregon 97701
vsikorski at bendbroadband.com



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