RUSA 100km populaire - March 28 - Urbana MD
Interested in long distance bike rides? Like to try randonneuring (unsupported long distance rides) but not quite ready to step up to distances more than 200km (125 mi)? Or maybe your training schedule hasn’t ramped up fast enough? Come join us for the Maryland 100K (63 mile) MarLuLu Populaire, March 28, Urbana.
With half the distance and half the climbing of the Urbana 200K, the MarLuLu Populaire is a somewhat kinder, somewhat-gentler introduction to randonneuring. But it still has some notable and scenic climbs. Heading generally northwest from Urbana, we climb MarLu ridge the hard way, catch our breath, then climb over Gapland (past the War Correspondents Memorial). After a brief ride through the Antietam Battlefield (with an “Information Control”) you control at the Battleview Market, where you can grab a quick bite of lunch. The route continues through Sharpsburg, over Gapland, over MarLu (the easy way) and back up to Urbana. The ride is similar to one posted here.
Standard randonneuring rules apply–see here. In particular, RUSA rules require that all cyclists who are riding with us on the 100K must ride it as a populaire, following these rules. Populaire pins will be available for $2 at the finish to all riders who complete the route within the rules.
The ride starts at 9:30 am, March 28, at the Urbana Park’n'Ride . Cost is zero and you don’t need to be a member of DC Randonneurs or Randonneurs USA. We encourage you to pre-register here so that we can make sure to have a control card and cue sheet for you. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before the start to register and receive your control card.
Since cost is zero–support will also be minimal at the start (and none on the course). But there are plenty of places to grab a snack near the start and on route. The ride ends at a pizza place, so if you’d like pizza, plan to chip in $5 and dig in.