Why? Just, Why???

As I presented my idea to the PFW Board at their February, someone asked me a very legitimate question: Why??? Why, exactly would you want to organize a double century? 100 miles not enough for you? ...and doesn't the Central Jersey Bicycle Club ( http://www.cjbc.org/) offer their "Longest Day" double century at just about the same time of year?

The short answer is that I enjoy long distance riding, and I think (hope!) there might by enough interest in the local cycling community to justify organizing a double century.

The long answer, well...

My wife Barbara and I have come to enjoy some "ultra" distance riding over the past three seasons on our Burley - we're randonneurs (http://www.rusa.org/.) We have completed quite a few brevets (long distance rides) on the tandem, including organized rides of 600 km on three separate occasions (I'll leave it to you to convert that to miles...) We participate in these rides most often with the Eastern PA ( http://users.rcn.com/trosenbauer/) and NJ Randonneurs (http://www.njrando.com/.) We thoroughly enjoy ourselves on these long distance adventures, but there are several reasons regular, sane folks might balk at trying a brevet; most notably, the often severely challenging courses and the prospect of riding at night. Barb and I would like to share our love of long distance riding with other like-minded cyclists, in a less intimidating format. We want to make it as "easy" and enjoyable as possible for aspiring "ultra" riders to take on the challenge of riding 200 miles in one day.

It's true that the CJBC does hold their well established "Longest Day" double century annually in June, but that ride has some inherent logistical obstacles that might prevent some riders from giving it a try. The fact is, you've got to arrange to get yourself and your bike to the start at High Point and arrange to be picked up in Cape May at the end of the day. The point-to-point nature of the course almost requires that you have some sort of support team to help you through the day, and to be available should you run into difficulty along the way. I'm not trying to bad-mouth the CJBC ride or position the Garden State Double as competition for the "Longest Day," just offer a "kinder, gentler" alternative the won't present such a problem getting to and from the start and finish points.

The Garden State Double aims to offer a scenic, not-too-terribly-severe ride that gives riders an opportunity to ride 200 miles in a single day, and finish with smiles on their faces and a "Super-Sized" sense of accomplishment.

Why...?

...for the fun it!!!