CAPE MAY DYNO 2023

[Woody / Natalie Felice]

Hello Everyone! 

The people have been clamouring, so consider this both your invitation and reminder! Cape May Dyno is in fact happening this year.

It will take place this year and every year following on the final Friday of September, departing at 7pm from the Liberty Bell. This year it will take place on September 29th! 

Go ahead and mark your calendars for the next few years: Sept 27th 2024, Sept 26th 2025, and Sept 25th 2026. Show up, or don't - it will continue happening until folks don't want to do it anymore. 

A reminder that this is an unorganized, unled, and unsanctioned ride. I am merely copying and pasting the contents from last year's email below, which CJ was lovely enough to do a very thorough job crafting. It includes routes & lots of other good info and I HIGHLY suggest you read it in its entirety. 

At the very least know:

1. You MUST have dynamo lights or equivalently bright lights and enough battery for 12hrs of riding (+ hi-vis/reflective gear!). Please be safe out there - night riding is fun, but safety is no joke! 

2. That you MUST be self sufficient. This is unsupported and there is no organized group/ride leader. Have the route available to you while riding, have a bailout plan, etc.

3. It will be a blast! The company is great, the ride is fun, you'll stop at 10000 Wawas, and at the end, you're at the beach. What more could you want?

If you are new to this thread/group: welcome! I'm sure you'll have a great time and meet some fun new folks! Keep reading to get all the details. If you have questions, reply to this thread. There are plenty of alums with tons of knowledge and tips to share. We'll see y'all in a few weeks.

Cheers,

Woody

PS: if you were in on the plan on the AirBnb from last year, stay tuned for a separate email from me

FROM LAST YEARS EMAIL: 

OVERVIEW:

• Cape May Dyno is an unsanctioned, unsupported, ride-at-your-own-risk overnight bicycle adventure from Philadelphia, to Cape May, NJ. The route is very flat and there are plenty of rest stops. Most riders tend to clump together in a group, but you should ride the pace that suits you. The general idea is that we arrive in Cape May in time to watch the sunrise at 6:54AM on Saturday morning. After arriving in Cape May, riders can choose to stay in Cape May to enjoy the beach or press on to Atlantic City where a train will whisk you back to Philadelphia in 90 minutes.

START: LIBERTY BELL. MEET 6:30PM, DEPART 7PM on Friday, September 29th, 2023.

• For future reference, CAPE MAY DYNO will occur every year on the last Friday in September, rain or shine, departing at 7PM from the Liberty Bell from now until no one shows up.

FINISH: CAPE MAY, NJ (slash, Atlantic City, NJ)

TRAVEL LOGISTICS:

After arriving in Cape May, riders can choose from a variety of options:

• Want to hang? Check out Airbnbs in the area. Many have 2 or 3 night minimum bookings, so you might have to book Saturday evening and Friday evening to be able to check in at any time on Saturday morning, and to depart on Sunday. 
• Train: The Atlantic City Rail Line will get you from AC back to 30th St. Station in 90 minutes. You just need to uh, ride your bike 45 miles to get to Atlantic City. The train costs $10.75. Schedule can be found here.
• Bus: NJ Bus 552 runs between Cape May and AC. Bus 551 runs between AC and PHL. There are also local buses that run from Cape May to Philadelphia, but these generally take MUCH longer. Please research your own options for timing, fares, bike accessibility, etc.
•  Ferry: Don’t want to go home? The Cape May-Lewes Ferry is ready to take you away on a 90 minute ride to the magical state of Delaware, where you can check out Cape Henlopen State Park, splish splash at Rehoboth Beach, and buy anything your heart desires with 0% sales tax.

ROUTES (subject to change, but 95% final):

 Outbound to Cape May (99 mi, 1,600 ft elevation). The route to Cape May features 24 hour Wawas every 20-30 miles (and sometimes even less). Most, if not all, of these Wawas have bathrooms.

Inbound to AC (46 mi, 200 ft elevation). The route to AC also features Wawas, but these are generally in small shore towns and most open at 6AM. Some have bathrooms and some do not.

RIDER EXPECTATIONS:

• This is an UNSANCTIONED and UNSUPPORTED overnight ride.
• DYNAMO LIGHTING (or VERY strong battery lighting, with backups / spare batteries / chargers / etc. that will last 12 hours) is REQUIRED for this ride. Front and rear lights should be operated on STEADY mode, not blinking, at all times. Reflective vests, ankle bands, and any other kind of reflective or high-visibility gear is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.

Every rider is responsible for themselves. This means that:

• Each rider is expected to have the routes downloaded onto their phone via the RWGPS app or a dedicated cycling GPS unit and be able to NAVIGATE the routes on their own.
• Each rider is expected to carry spare tubes, tools, etc. to deal with any MECHANICAL issues they may experience during the ride.
• If a rider is unable to complete the ride to Cape May, it is the sole responsibility of that rider to figure out how to get themselves back to Philadelphia or wherever. It's never a bad idea to have a bail out plan. For example, you could have a friend on call who will have their phone on loud overnight and would be willing to drive to Jersey to pick you up at 3AM.
  

TIPS, TRICKS, HELPFUL HINTS:

If you have not yet tackled longer rides and/or overnight rides, the Randonneurs USA handbook is an excellent resource on a variety of relevant topics, such as training, bike fit, nutrition, and mental fitness. Here are some chapters that may interest you as you prep and pack for CMD: 

• Night riding
• What to pack:  If you are planning on hanging at the beach or staying at an Airbnb, you will want to pack swim stuff, regular clothes and shoes, towel, toiletries, phone charger, etc. You will also want to pack one more layer than you think you need. It is surprising how cold it can be overnight, or when you are laying on the beach at 4AM on October 1st!

Once you get all of your stuff together and your bike packed and set up, go for a shakedown ride! Are your bags strapped on tight? Is your headlight beam pointed at a good angle when it is pitch black outside? Can you access items you might need while riding quickly and easily? Can you do this while riding in the dark? Is your cue sheet readable at night? Will your phone or GPS last 12+ hours?

Hopefully you know how your body will react to an all-nighter. Please come to the ride well-rested. If not, there is plenty of caffeine and camaraderie available to get you through the night. I recommend brushing up on your cheesy jokes and tall tales for entertainment during the wee hours.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

For those who have never joined us for a previous Cape May Dyno, YOU WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME. The company is good, the route is flat, and there are Wawas every few hours to keep you chugging along.

[Josh Armstrong]

Thanks for the reminder and deets Woody! I'm looking forward to this, and I should be there unless the weather scares me away (like last year).

I'm planning on riding up to Atlantic City and taking the train back to Philly if anyone wants to join up for that. I figure I'll stay in Cape May until sunrise before rolling, as long as it's not too cold (i.e. two years ago, but I'll bring more layers). I also plan on riding a bike that won't spin out at ~14mph this time around.

Josh

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[Mr Noitt]

Hey folks!

So sadly i won't be joining the ride but happily ill have already been in cape may for a couple days! id love to know if there is a group of folks rolling to philly/nj transit sunday because i still need to plan a ride back to lancaster. so my thought was why not have a portion be with a group of awesome people! sooooo in short im just trying to get what everyones plans are and if i can hop in somewhere to enjoy before rolling back to amish land!

let me know

Nick Christenson

[CJ Arayata]

Hey Nick, I don't know what time the check out is at the Airbnb that Woody booked, but you're welcome to join us for the ride back to Atlantic City!

[CJ Arayata]

Hi all,

Copy/pasting my 'cue sheet email' from 2021 and attaching it for folks who love paper cue sheets and big ol' rando bags!

Note that Nick and I are working to reroute away from the Millville Wawa controle at mile 55.9. This one is a small Wawa with no bathroom. We will most likely reroute to this Super Wawa nearby, which is a fairly easy detour: 1711 E Main St, Millville, NJ 08332.

I've prepared print-friendly cue sheets for you. Please note that I do NOT guarantee the accuracy of said cue sheets (which are based off the RWGPS routes), and thus I take no responsibility if you get lost using them, etc etc. But anyways. They'll get you there, hopefully.

They should already be set up in Landscape page layout. You can go to File -> Print -> Print on Both Sides (Flip on SHORT Edge). Then, cut them out. You should end up with pieces of paper that are approximately 5" in height and 9" wide. I sized them to fit comfortably in a Swift Medium handlebar bag mapcase, but will probably fit most other bags too. If you have a weird size map case, then measure it and tweak the fonts, widths, etc. until you land on a cue sheet that works for you.

Pro tip: If it is humid/raining/etc, your cue sheet may saturate and potentially disintegrate, even in a map case. Moisture can get in through unsealed seams and such. In order to avoid this, you can put your cue sheet inside a gallon bag and then into your map case. While this does make it annoying to flip and keep updated, this will better guarantee its integrity. While on the topic, plastic bags are never a bad idea to have to keep other things dry, such as your feet, your phone, clothes....

Best,

CJ

[CJ Arayata]

Shoutout to Nick for the Millville reroute! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44593810

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[Nicholas Manta]

Just a heads up the start of the cue sheet has not been updated to account for the south walk way on the BFB being closed. The RWGPS route has a new approach to the north walk way. 

Unfortunately, we will have to do a little hike a bike down the bridge stair case.

I am happy to lead the group to the north walkway.

-Nick

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[Mr Noitt]

Y’all have a safe and good ride! Hopefully the rain stays away! Can’t wait to see y’all tomorrow or Sunday!

Nick christenson 

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2023, at 10:33 AM, Nicholas Manta <nichol...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[David Harries]

Thought I would be able to join for the first time, but two little kids at home mean no dice this year. Maybe my 3 y/o and I will bike down to see people off from the Liberty Bell. I know. Excited for everyone and more than a little jealous!

[Norman Smeal]

Have a great ride.  

Get Outlook for iOS

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From: phill...@googlegroups.com <phill...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David Harries <M...@dharries.com>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2023 2:24:19 PM
To: Philadelphia Dynamo Headlight Society <phill...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [philly-dyno] Re: CAPE MAY DYNO 2023

 

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[CJ Arayata]

Thanks all for coming out!

Counted somewhere around 26-28 folks this year. No hurricanes, only some mist, an improved Millville controle experience, and no issues with NJ Transit reported by either the 'classic' riders or the Airbnb crew!

Some notes to self: The route up to AC doesn't have a lot of bathrooms, but Stone Harbor has really nice bathrooms right underneath the water tower. Gotta remember that the OC Wawa has no bathroom.

If people took photos, please feel free to create some sort of Google Album or Dropbox and send the link around for others to drop photos!

I sent along extra spoke cards to the fine folks at KBC. Will need to make more membership cards, an eternal to-do item.....

Quick plug: If anyone's 'rando bug' has been activated or needs more scratching, Society member Ello is the organizer for the PA Rando 200k out of Manayunk on Saturday November 11th: https://parando.org/info/event/394. Friendly reminder that anyone is welcome to call a ride at any time for any occasion.

Catch you all soon.

-CJ

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