New Jersey Randonneurs

[Nigel]

A two day event staged over 375 miles with volunteers along the way, food, hotel, encouragement, help and the list goes on! A huge thank you to all of the volunteers for everything from the beautiful route selection (Mordecai - I take back at least half the things I said when climbing some of those hills ) to the great sleep stop, to the helping hands along the way. I can't say enough good things, so I will say thanks to Katie, Bob, Jon, Todd, Leslie, David, Mordecai, Patrick and Steve (if my sleep deprived brain forgot someone I am sorry but double thanks).

Here are some pictures from the ride:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58781331@N ... 043423231/

[ChrisN62]

I agree! Many thanks to all the volunteers who made a very tough ride much more manageable. Thanks to Katie, Patrick, Steve, David, Mordecai, Jon, Leslie, Todd and Bob. And extra thanks to Jon, Mordecai and Patrick for the brutal pre-ride and for supposedly making the route a bit easier (One can only imagine..)
The route was beautiful, the climbs were relentless and the weather was miraculous. I'm planning on an extended recovery..

Here is a link to way too many photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/canewmandv ... ubQpsT6EQ#

[paul_m]

I second that too, Nigel. A BIG thank you to all the volunteers. I am pleased Mordecai was not there as I was trying to escape Greenwwood Lake for the 10th time!! How many loops does RUSA allow you to do on that? This was a tough, tough ride and I am thankful for everyone's words of encouragement at the last stop, Rudi, Sam, Katie (I guess). It would not have been possible without the volunteers. Know that you are a part of my medal for this ride!

[gbrandt]

Thank you to the organizers and volunteers for providing another great event. Thanks to everyone who provided encouragement and companionship during this hard ride. Thanks to Nigel for providing photos of almost everything I wanted pictures of. Hopefully I will become fast enough to take more photos without fearing losing time and not finishing. A special thanks to Katie for telling me to "Keep pedaling!" every time I wanted to quit. You are all part of an adventure I will not forget. Last but not least, I offer my apologies to any of the locals who may have heard the many times I cursed Mordecai aloud.
-George

[GSM]

What a great event ! This was my first 600 and looking forward to more, although this clarifies my hesitancy of doing the 1200 (but time will tell). This club is terrific in so many ways, as exemplified by the many fine volunteers and fellow riders. The organization (as always) was terrific from start to finish, along with the preride details. Most importantly were the words of encougament throughtout the entire ride.
So, thanks again to all. And I mean all. Thanks - Gary M. !

[patch_ny]

Here are some (blurry, badly-lit) photos from the start, and three from the pre-ride:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84651613@N00/sets/72157634051428510/

~Patrick.

[joek]

Wow! What a crew of dedicated volunteers! The support was no less than amazing! From my morning phone message from Katie advising me I missed the 4am start time ( I thought it was 5am). I managed to get going at about 4:45. Still within the legal one hour cushion. Patrick took a my picture as I was starting which I noticed captured the bewildered look of one who couldn't believe he could screw up the start time when it was printed right on the cue sheet. Thankfully, I managed to overcome the deficit and enjoyed seeing Steve, Bob, Mordecai, Todd, Leslie, Jon and David at various controls along the route. Despite the long hours these controls needed to be manned, and the distances some of the crew had to travel to be there everyone was cheerful, supportive and helpful in every way. It made a huge difference. The event could not have been run any better. A huge thank you to everyone for all your efforts.

Joe Kratovil

[Nigel]

And a blogpost. For those who may be interested:
http://eprider.blogspot.com/2013/06/cat ... tains.html

[timconway]

Maybe a little late, but I also would like to thank all of the volunteers for helping & encouraging us on a very scenic & Challenging ride. I have yet to encounter that "perfect" weather brevet, cool temps, no wind, maybe some of you have, or maybe such a thing does not exist, but given the heavy rains of early Saturday morning, we may have come close? The ride was the most scenic brevet that I have ever been on, and the support & encouragement from all of the volunteers was fantastic. Now that I am reasonably close to being coherent again, I guess I am ready to find some humor in Jon sending Bill, Jon & I off from Control #9 saying "go do that hill over there, and the rest of the day will be rollers"........Did anyone else besides me fall for that one? Perhaps it was just the heat getting the better of me mid day Sunday on that "roller" on the way into Bloomingdale, that had me *&%^^$%#^%#%^#

Thank you all again, enjoy your summers. I may rethink my retirement from brevets as the days go by.- Tim

[janice]

Sorry to be so tardy in posting this note of appreciation but thank you very much to everyone who watered, fed, and encouraged us and kept us moving along the course last weekend. It was definitely challenging but also beautiful. Also thanks to fellow riders who have posted photos...somehow I can't seem to ride and take pictures at the same time. Thanks again everyone.

[DavidPhillips]

Catskills is a great place for hiking and camping, events like these show the spirit of catskills. Thanks to Catskills Tourism who helped me explore various aspects of the place.