DC Randonneurs

The cue sheet for the RUSA 10th  Anniversary 200K brevet in Poolesville, MD on August 16, 2008 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20080816 Poolesville 200K Brevet. The GPX route file is posted in a zip file at gdb Route - 20080816 Poolesville 200K Brevet.

Crista Borras and Chuck Wood (applause!!!) have pre-ridden the route, and the cue sheet and GPS file reflect that pre-ride. However, it is always possible that late-breaking road news will occur and the final cue sheet will differ; and possibly the late-breaking news will come too late for GPS updates. So …

Always get a copy of the final cue sheet. That final cue sheet contains the official route, so in case there is a conflict with the GPS file, you should resolve the conflict in favor of the cue sheet. Use the GPS as a handy-dandy adjunct. Keep your wits about you, as the GPS cannot notify you of road hazards — it is up to you to ride safely.

By the way … make sure that your GPS either has maps already downloaded, or select the relevant maps around the routes.

This ride, which will start at 7:00 from Whalen Commons Park in Poolesville, MD, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of RUSA, and all finishers will be eligible to order a special medal (RUSA Tenth Anniversary Medal). It will also salute the father of our brevet series, Dave Berning. Returning to the days of yesteryear, when ALL of Dave’s brevet routes went over Marlu Ridge, many of the roads taken on this brevet were included on Dave’s original brevets. The route is more or less a figure 8, with a gently rolling out and back section between Shepherdstown and Hedgesville, WV. Dave always described his brevets as traveling over “mixed terrain.” Let’s just say that this one includes “scenic” climbs over Marlu Ridge and Reno Monument, a lovely stretch through the Antietam battlefield, a gentle jaunt over to Hedgesville from Shepherdstown, a few truly mellow miles paralleling the C&O Canal, and some gnarly, choppy gut busters on Harpers Ferry Rd followed by a flat stretch along Sandy Hook Road with nice views of Harpers Ferry. The first 15 miles of the ride (before Marlu) and the last several miles on Peach Tree and Cattail Roads are a delightful breeze. Estimated elevation gain is between 10,000 and 11,000 feet.

All finishers will be eligible to order the special medal directly from the RUSA online store after the ride at a cost of $6. Or you can preorder a medal to receive at the finish by adding $6 to your preregistration payment, including a note that you want the medal, and ensuring that the payment is received by August 1. Please note that the medals can only be given to finishers and cannot be returned, so if you preorder a medal and then can’t ride or don’t finish, you will be out the $6 unless we can sell the medal to someone else.

They’re baaack. Yes, the DC Randonneurs returned with a bang on Saturday with the Urbana 200km brevet. Despite weather forecasts that included an 80% probability of rain, 28 of the most hardy randonneurs anywhere turned out for the start at the Urbana Waffle House. And 26 riders successfully finished after pedaling through 5 hours of hard rain, lightning storms, and several hard climbs. Even a jungle of rebar that the highway department erected on the bridge over I-81 near State Line, PA, and that Nick Bull likened to a World War II tank trap, could not stop the group. I followed Keith Krombel down the long descent of MD77 in my car in a torrential downpour, and those mental images will last for a long time. It was also great to hear how new randonneur Chip Peake overcame a bonk using determination and a pile of nutrition products from Jeff Magnuson to get over Mar-Lu ridge and finish with a good time. And to see Jim Romer overcome a late navigation problem to come sprinting into the parking lot to finish with 4 minutes to spare before the cutoff. Seeing these examples, as well as seeing everyone’s postive spirit as they were riding through such rough weather made me really proud to be a part of this very special club.

Results are now posted at http://www.dcrand.org/dcr/results.php?page=display-results&year=2008 thanks to new software that our webmaster, Steve Ashurst, spent many hours writing that allows easy entry of those results.

Special thanks also to Bill Arcieri and Carl and Missy Wakefield for driving to the Waffle House at 6AM to register riders at the start.

Bill Beck

The cue sheet for the Urbana 200K brevet on May 31, 2008 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20080531 Urbana 200K Brevet. GPS files have also been posted in a zip file at GPS Files - 20080531 Urbana 200K Brevet.

The ride starts at the Black Wolf Coffee Shop next to the Howard Johnson Motel in Warrenton, Virginia. Checkin starts at 6am and the brevet starts at 7am. From there we head generally southwest passing through rolling horse farm country with the Blue Ridge Mountains as our backdrop. We parallel the Blue Ridge as far south as Madison where we begin our return to Warrenton after a stop at the friendly, well-stocked Yoder’s Country Market. The route is fairly gentle as we wind our way to Syria in the shadow of Grave’s Mountain. A moderate climb followed by a 3-mile descent puts us up and over the Old Rag Grinder. A series of steep and unrelenting rollers–lovingly known as The Three Kings and The Meanies–will consume us for the next hour or so prompting many to re-fuel at the Laurel Mills store with the sweet, spring water that flows nearby. Country roads bordered by stone fences carry us through Ben Venue and into Flint Hill. A final climb over Piney Mountain br ings us back to the HoJos in Warrenton. Estimated total elevation gain : 8,000 feet.