It Was a Nice Weekend Until…

Warning: This post has very little tandem or randonneuring content! Sometimes, though, life trumps cycling. Such was the case this weekend.

It was supposed to be a nice relaxing weekend for Barbara and me. No brevets on our schedule. Catch up on some yard work (at least enough to keep the township health inspectors away for a few more weeks,) relax a bit and let the body and mind recharge a bit before heading up to Quakertown for the PA 400k next weekend. I went out early Saturday to go chase a little white dimpled ball around some local parkland while Barb went out for a spin on her C’dale over our standard 50 mile loop. Later, in the afternoon, I did battle with the lawn while Barbara took her son Dale out to shop for some new summer clothes. Steak on the grill for dinner, a Stoudt's Kolsch or two and all was good in suburbia…

Sunday started early for us. We crawled out of bed at 5:45am and hopped in the car to drive 40 minutes to Peddlers’ Village in Lahaska, PA for breakfast. But, believe me my friends, it wasn’t just the thought of fresh Pennsylvania scrapple that lured us out of bed so early on a Sunday; we had a plan in mind. We were off to meet former fleche teammates Paul Shapiro, Todd Kerekes, and Jud Hand who, along with newcomers Shane Beake and Roy Yates were en route at the PA Fleche with their 2010 fleche squad the “Cyclepaths.” We’d planned to meet them for breakfast at their 22 hour controle at Sweet Lorraine’s restaurant in Lahaska around 7am just for fun, and to perhaps give their morale a bit of a lift for the final push to the finish in Quakertown. Our mission took on a slightly more tangible purpose when Paul called me from his cell phone at 6am to ask me to please bring along a spare front wheel – he’d hit a nasty hole hidden in a puddle early that morning and dented his rim badly. Paul wasn’t at all sure the wheel would carry him safely to the finish. So, I ran to the garage, grabbed a spare wheel and Barb and I made it to Lahaska right on time, where we ordered coffee and sat in wait of our pals.

We didn’t have to wait long before our mates rolled up to the restaurant looking a bit tired and cold, and absolutely soaking wet. It had been a rather rough night on the road: The had together suffered 8(!) flat tires over the course of the ride and endured a steady cold rain through much of the night. They were all definitely ready for some hot coffee and a bite to eat before tackling the 20 miles remaining to the finish. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast together (the scrapple was tasty!) The guys warmed up and dried out a bit while color and life gradually returned to their weary faces before they had to hit the road again. Barb and I bid them farewell and safe passage to the hostel then jumped in the car to drive back home again feeling happy to have helped out a little. (Thanks for picking up our tab at breakfast guys! I’m not sure why you felt the need to do that, but thanks.) We pointed the car south toward Trenton and decided that while we were out we’d go do our weekly grocery shopping – take advantage of our early start and beat the crowd at Shop-Rite.

This is where things take a sudden, drastic turn for the worse. We made it safely all the way back to Hamilton where we waited at the traffic light to cross route 130 into the Marketplace Shopping Center talking about all we’d be able to accomplish before noon. The light turned green, we pulled away and…



Next thing we know a loud crash, the car is spinning around and we come to rest with a thud against a low grassy median.

I never saw it coming.

Barbara, sitting on the passenger side, did see the little silver car speeding toward us just in time to lean in toward me a bit. She didn’t have time to get a word out of her mouth. In the last instant a could see her flinch from the corner of my eye.

A young guy driving a Dodge Neon north on Route 130 had tried to beat the traffic light. He didn’t make it. Not even remotely close. He tried too late to hit the brakes, but on the wet roads it was useless and he T-boned us directly on the center of the passenger side of the Altima at about 55mph. We both spun and he hit at least one other car crossing the highway before coming to rest.

I was completely stunned, but remarkably unhurt. Barbara had taken the brunt of the impact and was clearly in shock and hurting. We were both terrified. I knew she had taken a vicious hit and suspected she must have suffered serious injuries – perhaps to her arm or shoulder, her ribs or hip. Or maybe all the above. She never lost consciousness, though and there seemed to be no blood or obvious physical deformity. Barb complained of chest and knee pain; she was trembling with fear and adrenaline as the horn of the Dodge blared and people began to gather around. I have enough medical knowledge to realize that her chest pain could mean a punctured lung or worse. I didn’t like the pale color of her fingers. All we could do was comfort each other and wait for EMS to arrive.

The ambulance did arrive pretty quickly. Assessed Barb and got a cervical collar on her. Jaws of Life to pry open the crushed door. Backboard and a short ride to Hamilton Hospital.


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Fast forward three hours or so and Barb and I were walking out of the emergency room together. Barb with a souvenir plastic bracelet and a couple prescriptions for pain. X-rays and a CT scan of the neck had come back normal and although she was sore, Barbara was all in one piece. The worst injury she appeared to have was a very small abrasion on her right collarbone caused by the seatbelt. Not so much as a bruise anywhere. I’m still not sure how it’s possible – we had really dodged a bullet (no pun intended.) By the Grace of God, good luck, and a well-constructed car we had both managed to survive a very nasty accident with barely a scratch. If we'd been hit at that speed by a bigger, heavier vehicle this story could have had a very different ending.

The moral of this story? Be careful out there folks, both on the bicycle and in your car. The roads can be a dangerous place and the consequences of an accident can be dire, even life changing. I've been employed by UPS as a professional driver for nearly 22 years now, and I've always considered myself to be a pretty safe, conservative driver but I believe I'm going to use even more care out there on the streets from this point forward.

And take the time to enjoy life. Go ride your bike if that's what you like to do - the lawn can always wait. Apologies if I'm beginning to sound a little mushy, but I think this weekend I just grew a little more appreciative of everything I have - especially my lovely and talented stoker.

Today (Monday) Barbara is still a little stiff and sore, but she’s already talking about riding the PA 400k on Saturday…

A Modest Proposal

'10 PA 200k



Before I get started on the day’s post I have to give a nod to the RUSA Blogs page for giving me the little kick in the chamois I needed to give my poor neglected Tandem Rando Society some attention. In case you haven’t checked it out, RUSA maintains a neat little site RUSA Blogs with links to dozens of rando themed pages from across the country with a list of recently updated blogs – a great source of rando-centric information and entertainment. My DSSTRS was sadly languishing way down near the bottom of the list – just a little embarrassing. So, time to correct that situation…

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The Eastern PA 200k was on tap for last Saturday 3/27. The PA Randonneurs had already run several “R-12”events in 2010, but this was the first big ride of the spring ACP series. Turnout was good with 35 riders taking the start at the Eastern PA home base – the cozy Weisel Youth Hostel in Quakertown, PA. Energy was high among the assembled riders – a good mix of Eastern PA “regulars” along with a few faces new to the series - and three tandems. After the usual ceremony and safety speech by RBA Tom Rosenbauer the riders departed into the clear, if somewhat chilly early spring morning.

The PA Spring 200k course is an old standby of the Eastern PA series now having been run over more-or-less the same course since at least 2006. It includes generous amounts of climbing – over 11k feet according to the PA website – with a half dozen major climbs and lots of “static” in between – a decidedly “un-tandem-friendly” course. However, I think most riders would agree that along with being perhaps the toughest 200k in the region it’s also a very beautiful, very scenic route.

Over the first few miles Barb and I enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with Philadelphia-area couple Patrick Gaffney and Cecilie Adams who were out this day on their beautiful custom Bilenky rando tandem. We spent quite a few miles riding with Patrick and Cecilie over the roads of South Jersey during the spring of 2007 – our first year of randonneuring. Barb and I have fond memories of that year – riding the NJ series as complete newbies with a real cast of characters, many of whom were busy qualifying for PBP. Pat and Cecilie rode a “Rent-A-Wreck” of a loaner tandem from Bilenky that spring while their custom two-seater was being finished up in the Philadelphia shop – it really was quite a sight! We chatted about their beautiful Bilenky, picked their brains about their experience in France that summer and generally caught up on things.

At last year’s edition of this ride Barbara and I suffered the only DNF of our rando career. We only made it about 3 miles before we were forced to turn around with mechanical trouble. This year we were out to redeem ourselves, and fortunately the Burley was in a more cooperative mood this time around - the bike performed flawlessly all day. As a result of last season’s DNF, it had been quite some time since we’d ridden the first 30 miles of the course and I couldn’t picture the first big climb of Lower Saucon Rd. in my mind - perhaps that was a good thing… But, with the help of our friend “Granny” we made it over the top, then up the more familiar Mud Run and on to the first controle at the Petrol Mart in Wind Gap as the sun climbed higher and slowly tried to warm the day. After a quick break we remounted, and pedaled off to face the mighty Fox Gap.

Topping out at just over 1400 feet elev., the two and a half mile climb of Fox Gap is the feature climb of many of the Eastern PA series rides. Today was no exception – coming at around mile 54 the top of Fox Gap was the pinnacle of today’s brevet, but for a completely different reason than usual. It was there that Patrick proposed to his long time girlfriend and stoker Cecilie – and she accepted! They were engaged! (It could have made for a pretty awkward remaining 73 miles had she said no!!!) Unfortunately Barb and I missed the moment – we were a bit late arriving. We could see a bit of a gathering at the information controle at the top but by the time we arrived everyone had gone. Little did we suspect what had transpired… It wasn’t until after the descent down Fox Gap and the run around Lake Minsi where, at the Portland Diner controle, a beaming Cecilie told us what had happened and showed off her new ring! She was only a little upset that her fingers were too swollen at the moment to get the ring on… (Can you imagine Patrick packing his stuff for the ride…? Cycling shoes – check, water bottles – check, engagement ring –check!)


Congratulations, Patrick and Cecilie!!! Barbara and I both think it’s pretty darn cool that the two of you got engaged at that particular moment on this ride… Cycling plays a pretty important role in our lives, as it does for many folks involved in this sport, but the two of you have really taken it to a whole ‘nother level! We wish nothing but smooth roads for you in cycling and in life. Now about the wedding… I think it’s only fitting that you get married at the overnight stop at the hostel on the upcoming PA600k. I think there’s a little known rule that gives RBA’s the authority to perform weddings – much like the mayor of a town, or the captain of a ship – during the hours of an official ACP brevet. (Don’t quote me on this…) We could decorate the common room of the hostel… A wedding gown with integrated chamois and reflective accents… Tin cans and a “Just Married” sign on the back of the Bilenky… You should think about it!

Well, after that moment, what can I say - the rest of the ride is almost anticlimactic…

Barbara and I enjoyed a nice sit-down brunch at the Portland Family Restaurant controle at the halfway point of the brevet. We shared a table and chatted with old bike racing pal and randonneuring neophyte Bob Ellis from Ewing, NJ. (The story of how Bob came to be involved in randonneuring and our common pal Joe Platzner calls for another post all on it’s own…) This was Bob’s second brevet ever – he had ridden a PA event last season with pal Joe Platz. Bob seemed to be faring well and enjoying the day, despite not really having adequate gearing for the terrain on that gorgeous 50th anniversary Ugo DeRosa of his.

The rest of the afternoon continued along the same theme – beautiful scenery, good company, difficult terrain. One-by-one Barbara and I tackled the remaining climbs (with plenty of assistance from “Granny”) – Lommason’s Glen, Jug Town Mountain, Red Cliff Rd., Cafferty Rd. and Tohickon Hill Rd. The afternoon remained clear and pleasant, though I’m not sure the thermometer ever hit 50F, and we enjoyed chatting with Bob E. and Mark Kauffman from Lancaster along the way. Frankly, Barbara and I suffered a bit over the second half of the ride, and we weren’t setting any speed records. But, given the challenging nature of the course, our early season form and the tough winter we’ve just endured here on the east coast, we really didn’t do too badly.

I need to send personal thanks out to DC randonneur Kelly Smith – I have memories of a photo of him taken at the Homestead General Store controle in Upper Black Eddy, PA during the ’08 edition of this ride. Love the fiendish sort of grin on Kelly’s face! I took his cue and “turned to the hard stuff” myself – no doubt it helped us power the Burley over the remaining hills and back to the finish. In the end, Barbara and I made it back to the hostel just after sunset at about 7:40pm. Tom was there to greet us with hot burgers fresh off the grill and an assortment of other goodies. I was pretty spent, and sat down staring into space for about ten minutes before I could muster up the strength to partake in the food. Barb was a little more coherent.

All in all it was a good day on the bike and the memory of our ’09 DNF can be put to bed. Congratulations to everyone who clipped in the ’10 edition of the PA200k – impressively 35 out of 35 riders finished within the time limit (I know Tom is very proud of those 100% completion rates!) And a special tip of the cycling cap to the third tandem team on the ride Victor and Kate who powered over the course in a very impressive 9h39m. Hope to see you guys out on the tandem again this season (even if the only time we see you all day is at the start!)

Also, as a post script to the ride, NJ/PA regular (and Rando legend in the making) Bill Olsen presented me with his shiny XL sized bell straight off his Rivendell back at the hostel after the ride. You see, I commented to Bill at the Wind Gap controle earlier that day that I had a bad case of "bell envy!" You'd have to see it for yourself to understand - this bell is a chrome monster, every bit of four inches across - and with a lovely, very loud chime, too. He was leaving me with feelings of "bell inadequacy" - me with my little inch and a half brass bell... Little did I expect Bill to unbolt his bell straight off his bike and present it to me as a gift after the brevet! How could I say no? I hope you won't be too insulted, Bill, if the shiny chrome monster doesn't go on the Burley - I don't think the clamp will fit our handlebars or Aheadset style stem (and it must weigh about three pounds!) It will, however, go very nicely on my '85 Schwinn Voyageur and see plenty of use there. Thanks, Bill...

Next ride up - the NJ Princeton 200k in two weeks. Who knows what adventures await...