Thanks, Scott. I saw that in the paper this week too; in fact, WGAL had a piece on the local news about it tonight.

At this point, the only stretch that would need to be affected is the section between Mine Rd. and Mt. Wilson. We're checking into the time frames of the repaving project. I'll keep you posted!

Beth

is there a website I could go and register for this event ?

<<bump>>

It’s not too late!

The 4th annual PSP Memorial Metric Century is coming up quickly. We’ve scouted the routes, made a few nice changes, and are busy preparing for the ride. Hopefully you’ve marked your ride calendar for April 26and are planning to join us!

Registering by this Friday, April 4th will guarantee availability of a commemorative T-shirt, as well as a $5.00 discount on your registration.

We will happily accept your registration up to and including the day of the ride . . . but why not save yourself $5.00, avoid spending time waiting in a registration line, AND score an event t-shirt? Bonus!

http://www.pspmetriccentury.com

See you on the 26th!

Beth

would this be ok for my first real ride thing?!

Absolutely!

The ride has several options. . . a full-metric, a half-metric, and a 15-mile course. All begin and end at the same location. If you should decide to sign up for one of the half-metric courses, you can always decide to add the second course onto the ride, getting the full metric. And vice versa, of course.

The routes are not flat; there are no lengthy climbing sections, but the terrain is rolling. It's a nice course.

Beth

Hmm can Grasschopper get in shape in 2 weeks?

Yes.

Think positively :)

Beth

*Bump*

Coming up next Saturday, the 26th - registration is open the day of the ride - and the long-range forecast looks good so far!

Beth

I'm all set. I got out several times this past week getting in some miles, I even included a spin through Mt. Gretna. (I did notice by the newly painted arrows that the route has changed a bit.)
Now the only question mark is the weather. I would prefer sunny and in the low 70's, which means it will probably be rainy and in the low 50's. Time will tell.

I'm already crossing my fingers for good weather. . .

Sure would be fantastic to have a day like we had Saturday!

Beth

Ok so I am back on the bike...no chance in hell I will be ready for this ride. Sorry Beth but I will have to catch you later in the year.

Beth - two questions from reading prior posts - one is are you sure on the 1800 feet of climbing in 69 miles? That sounds low to me for what I remember and secondly - are any of the roads torn up in Mt. Gretna? Thanks for your input.

I was up in Mt Gretna last week on my bike and it looks like the PSP route avoids the torn up roads. Most of the road work that I saw was from Jiggers east, but the rides route comes in from the east on 117 and turns off onto old mine road before the construction so you should be okay, unless you miss the turnoff :)

Ugh... I'm not going to be able to make it now 'cause of work. *sigh* :(

PSPSarge: You're right. I messed up. The total ft of climbing is likely double my estimate of 1800 ft. I will blame it on menopausal brain fog (or a messed up spreadsheet). A couple of nice climbs on the Gretna loop, and nothin' but rollers on the Gap loop. As for the torn-up roads, we've made an attempt to bypass the mess by bringing the route down Old Mine, rather than all the way out 117. The only stretch I'm not sure of (depends on what Penndot does on Friday) is the one from Old Mine up to Mt Pleasant. Old Mine is, in my opinion, a much nicer route.
As for the Gap loop, I'll be riding it tomorrow night for a final check.

PAPedaler, thanks for the scouting report! The route was checked last weekend, and looks good.

Aww, Grahny - too bad. Work on a Saturday instead of a ride is just not right. I hope they're making it worth your time. If you feel like heading up this direction for a ride some weekend, just let me know - I have several groups with whom I do long rides most weekends.

And Grasschopper?? WTH. I mean really. No excuses. ;)

Beth

I'm thinking about making it out. I asked a few friends to come along.

Beth - we will have to compare footage of climb on the 69 miles after Saturday - I got a Garmin 305 over the winter - my friend is using a Garmin 705 that is either experimental or just out, not sure which - I saw it and it has a color monitor. It is amazing though, that even with all this tech, there are some fairly major variations in what these things measure. Hope you have a great and safe ride.

We rode the Indiantown Gap loop tonight . . . (with a few differences getting out of Hershey) . . . 34 miles, 1900 ft of climbing. Nothing big, all rollers.

Now I'm crossing my fingers for a little sunshine Saturday (or a least a complete absence of rain) :)

Beth

So what did you come up with, PSPSarge? I'm not very trusting of my wireless computer . . . but it's giving me a little over 3800. After Thursday night's little hammerfest, and the testosterone levels in my group today, my quads are shot.

It was a great ride, though - no mishaps, no rain (Yea!). We did the Mt Gretna loop first, then finished up with the Gap loop. A couple of those wind gusts on the way back in tried to knock me over sideways, but it all feels great nonetheless.

PAPedaler, were you there? Not sure if I saw you or not . . .

Beth

Beth,
I made it out there. I started around 7:15 with the Mt Gretna loop and managed to miss a turn at around the 28 mile marker. Luckily there was another rider following me named Ron who was from Hershey, he knew the area so I let him lead us back to town. (It saved us from having to turn around and see where we went wrong.) We ended up doing an additional 4 miles, but on the plus side we didn't have to share the roads with any other riders:)
I started the Fort Indiantown Gap ride around 10 and was back a little before 12:30.
Now I'm trying to avoid taking a nap, or else I'll never be able to get to sleep at my normal time.
My compliments to the organizers. Everything was running perfectly.

Scott

Beth- I came up with almost 3900 feet which means if your 1800 was accurate on Indiantown, Mt. Gretna was about 2100. I thought the changes on the Mt. Gretna side might have made it a little easier but it was good I thought. You wished us good weather and were pretty successful I would say. Averaged 15.4 which is good for this old guy.

3800 sounds about right; guess my wireless computer is reasonably on target.

Actually, I don't think the change in the route lessened the climbing. . . if anything, it was a little steeper (going up to the intersection at Butler Rd), with a longer, more gradual descent. Much nicer road, don't you think?

We really did get lucky on the weather, didn't we? Finishing with the sun still shining through the clouds was a nice feeling. Our little group challenged my legs a bit yesterday, especially considering the cross winds we hit in our Gap loop. We finished with a 17 avg, stopping just once in each loop plus a short break in between. It was well worth the effort.

Scott, how did that nap-avoidance thing work for you? ;) No nap for me - a little extra coffee after the ride helped keep me going.

Thanks so much for your kind comments! This is quite an undertaking to put one of these events together; our bike club president was an incredible source of energy and creativity in doing this. And it couldn't have been done without the tremendous support from the PA State Police. We had over 30 of the cadets helping to set up Friday evening and Saturday morning, as well as running sags and rest stops.

Mark your calendars for next year!

Beth

Edit: Some of the photos have been posted on www.digiproofs.com - password "police08" - if you find yourself, let me know. I found a couple of our group and me . . . I'm on page 4, image #186. Our group continues on #217, 218, 220