DC Randonneurs

The cue sheet for the Urbana 200km ACP Brevet, starting at the Urbana Waffle House at 7:00AM on March 31, 2012 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20120331 Urbana 200K Brevet. (PDF format at Cue Sheet PDF - 20120331 Urbana 200K Brevet)

Registration opens inside the Waffle House at 6:00am. Come early enough to have some waffles! Please park at the Park & Ride lot indicated on the map. Do not park in the Waffle House lot or in any of the surrounding businesses.

Everybody should bring lights and reflective gear to this ride. It was foggy and dark at the start of the checkout ride, and some riders will likely finish after dark.

The link to the GPS files is posted below. But please read this information before downloading them. 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.

We strongly recommend that you set your GPS to the settings below. We cannot guarantee that these will keep you on the official route, but if you have your GPS set some other way, it is entirely possible that it will take you off route, possibly onto unsafe roads. Go to the Setup->Routing page and set as follows:

Guidance Method: Follow Road
Follow Road Method: Shortest Distance
Next Turn Pop-Up: On
Follow Road Options:
Off Route Recalculation: Prompted
Calculation Method: Best Route
Calculate Routes for: Car/Motorcycle
Avoid: (set to none – the route itself should control this)

By the way … make sure that your GPS either has maps already downloaded, or select the relevant maps around the routes. The GPS files are posted at GPS Files - 20120331 Urbana 200K Brevet.

(Note that the start location of this brevet was changed on April 20, 2012.)

The Maryland 400K provides plenty of training opportunities (read: hills). Traveling through four states, it forms a clockwise semi-circle to the southwest, west and northwest of Frederick.

Starting at 4AM from the IHOP in Frederick, Maryland, riders head south along the base of and then cross Catoctin Ridge and then the Potomac into Virginia from Brunswick, Maryland. Climbing up to Lovettesville, they continue south to Airmont and then tackle the climb over the Blue Ridge at Snickers Gap. Just east of Berryville, the route turns north and enters West Virginia, traversing mostly level terrain - and many railroad tracks - to Shepherdstown, where several excellent brunch possibilities exist. Riders then head northwest, remaining in West Virginia and following the Potomac, climbing and descending to and from the many creek bottoms before crossing the Potomac back into Maryland and a control in Hancock.

A tough climb up to Tollgate Ridge and series of rollers in the orchards north of town bring the riders into Pennsylvania and the beautiful Little Cove Creek valley. Heading north, they traverse an endless march of rolling hills to a final slow climb halfway up Tuscorora Mountain.

There is a fast descent to Cove Gap and then a few more rollers before a short breather north of Mercersburg. The hills return in earnest through the orchards and farmland around Edenville. After the Cumberland Valley Business Park, the trip to an open control in Shippensburg follows less rigorous terrain through Amish farms.

After Shippensburg, riders will encounter the final climbs through the Michaux State Forest and the truly popular descent into Gettysburg. Just south of Gettysburg, riders pick up the last 40 miles of the 300K route to return to Frederick.

Controls: Frederick, Airmont, Shepherdstown, Hancock, Shippensburg, Gettysburg, Frederick

(Note that the start location of this ride was changed on April 20, 2012.)

Starting from the Frederick IHOP, we follow almost the same route as last year. The ride heads north, skirting South Mountain as far as Thurmont and then turns west to climb the ridge on MD77 through Catoctin Mountain State Park. Just short of the summit, it heads roughly north-north-east into Pennsylvania and through the rolling apple and peach orchards of Adams County. From Arendtsville, it turns northwest and begins a long, stair-step climb with many steep sections, ascending the false summit before Big Flat (altitude 1650 feet) before a rapid descent to a stop sign, followed by the real climb to the summit of Big Flat (altitude 2040 feet). Nine miles of mostly downhill brings riders to a much needed rest stop and control in Shippensburg. The terrain moderates in the Cumberland valley to the northeast to Plainfield, heads east and south through Mount Holly Springs, then recrosses South Mountain (by a noticeably easier route) and takes several miles of easy rollers to East Berlin. The final miles remain mellow, heading southwest to Thurmont ending with a few rollers paralleling US15. After crossing US15, we’ll take a new route into town on Opposumtown Pike.

Note: This year’s route has the following sections with major changes from last year, so you will need to turn off your “auto-pilot” in those sections and follow the cues.

• The first and last five miles through Frederick.
• The control location in Shippensburg.
• The part from Newville to the next control in Plainfield, along Creek Rd (skips Blouserville).
• The part after Mt Holly Springs (after climbing over South Mountain the last time) to East Berlin.

There are many stop-lights going through Frederick. Please respect these as the cross traffic is sometimes fast and hard to see. Going out through downtown Frederick in the morning is especially nice. Watch for traffic when you return to Frederick as it will likely be heavier that going out.

Lights and reflective gear are required as described in Article 10 of the RUSA rules for riders, and there will be a lighting inspection at registration from 4AM to 5AM on the morning of the ride. (No Friday evening registration or inspection.)

Controls: Frederick, Shippensburg, Plainfield, East Berlin, Frederick.

2012 Frederick 300K Map

Starting at the Warrenton Hampton Inn, the route incorporates many sections of earlier 600km routes, a reverse section of the VA200km, and portions of the 2005 400km. The first 120 miles are hilly to rolling,  and the route becomes rolling to flat for the last 70-80 miles.

After a brief stretch on VA17, we take the “back” way out of Warrenton on Blantyre Road and then riders will head west to Marshall and ride the many ups, downs, and stunning early morning vistas on Crest Hill Road all the way into Flint Hill. More hills and more terrific scenery await the riders on the way to Washington VA. Turning west toward the foot of the Blue Ridge, the scenery just keeps getting better on a long rolling stretch on VA231 which brings the riders to a detour toward Old Rag and a control at the Syria Mercantile. Continuing south, the riders skirt Madison, crossing US29, and pick up the 2005 400km route to Elly, Aroda and Old Somerset. Returning to route 231, riders head into Gordonsville and then continue farther south. The route then turns east through the more mellow terrain of Louisa county on VA22. After heading north for a control in Orange (don’t miss the great milkshakes!), riders return to Warrenton through Batna, Lignum, Kelly’s Ford and Remington.

Controls: Warrenton, Marshall, Syria, Aroda, Lindsay, Orange, Warrenton

A GPS track of the 2009 brevet

Note: Park at the Urbana Park’n'Ride.

The brevet begins at the Urbana Waffle House (8906 Fingerboard Rd, Frederick, MD 21704). Checkin starts at 6am and the brevet starts at 7am. Get there early and have a hearty breakfast to carry you through the day! The ride heads north through rolling hills in eastern Frederick County arriving at the Union Bridge 7-11. Turning roughly west, the ride is a little flatter, but that’s just so you can catch your breath before the SCENIC climb from Thurmont (altitude 500′) winding up MD77 through Catoctin Mountain State Park, topping out at about 1700′. A 3-mile descent ends at Smithsburg followed by some big rollers and finally a very gradual uphill into State Line, PA where riders can re-fuel with a quick convenience store stop or a leisurely sit down lunch. From here the terrain is flat to moderately rolling as the route heads south to Williamsport, through farmland and then along the lovely Conococheague Creek. After a little side trip to the control at the KOA (watch for gravel, cars, and children), there is more mildly rolling farmland into the Antietam National Battlefield and Sharpsburg, where riders can take a brief break at the Battleview Market control, before returning to the hills. These come in rapid succession with the next 20 miles containing many rollers as well as a 600′ climb over South Mountain at Gapland, big rollers and a 500′climb up Catoctin Ridge via Mountville Road. After a gradual descent, and ultimately a short climb away from the Monacacy River on Fingerboard Road, you’ve only got about 5 miles to ride, and you’ve ridden five miles before, haven’t you? Celebrate with other riders at the finish at Ledo Pizza. Estimated elevation gain: 8,200 feet.

Lights are not absolutely required, and there will not be a mandatory lighting inspection, but lights and reflective gear are required to ride in dark conditions. So we recommended that you bring lights in case you need to ride after it gets dark. Sunrise is at 6:56AM, so lights might also be needed at the start if it’s cloudy.

The cue sheet for the Wilderness Campaign 200km ACP Brevet, starting at the Caribou Coffee in Bristow, VA at 7:00AM on March 17, 2012 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20120317 Wilderness Campaign 200K Brevet.

The ride starts from the Caribou Coffee at 7:00am. Registration will also be inside the Caribou Coffee starting at 6:00am.  Why not come early enough to get a hearty breakfast before the ride?

Everybody should bring lights and reflective gear to this ride. Now that we have switched to daylight savings time, it is quite dark at 7AM, so anyone without lights and reflective gear will need to delay their start until it is light.

The link to the GPS files is posted below. But please read this information before downloading them. 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.

We strongly recommend that you set your GPS to the settings below. We cannot guarantee that these will keep you on the official route, but if you have your GPS set some other way, it is entirely possible that it will take you off route, possibly onto unsafe roads. Go to the Setup->Routing page and set as follows:

Guidance Method: Follow Road
Follow Road Method: Shortest Distance
Next Turn Pop-Up: On
Follow Road Options:
Off Route Recalculation: Prompted
Calculation Method: Best Route
Calculate Routes for: Car/Motorcycle
Avoid: (set to none – the route itself should control this)

By the way … make sure that your GPS either has maps already downloaded, or select the relevant maps around the routes. The GPS files are posted at GPS Files - 20120317 Wilderness Campaign 200K Brevet.

The Wilderness Campaign is a new brevet route that explores some of the Civil War history in our region. It is named after Grant’s “Wilderness Campaign” of 1864, which was an attempt to drive a wedge between Lee’s forces and the Confederate capital in Richmond.  Our route traverses the first and second battlefields in the campaign, the Battle of the Wilderness, and the Battle of Spotlsylvania Courthouse.  We also traverse two earlier battlefields, both from 1863: the Battle of Kelly’s Ford, and the Battle of Chancellorsville.  Overall, the route is fairly moderate with about 5800 feet of climbing and no climbs of more than 400 feet.  The first (and last) fifteen miles are fairly flat, through rolling farmland with herds of (among other things) longhorn cattle.  But it becomes more hilly as it skirts and eventually turns deeper into the Wilderness and the woods.  Most of the route follows pleasant, country roads, but there are a few places with higher-than-desirable traffic.

Click for larger version

The brevet starts at 7AM (registration starts at 6AM) at the Caribou Coffee in Bristow, just west of Manassas, and heads generally south-south-west to the first control at Locust Grove.   Pay sharp attention during a two-mile leg along VA-3 shortly before the control.  Although traffic is fairly light in our experience, the area can be somewhat congested and parts of the road do not have a shoulder.  From Locust Grove, the route turns generally southeast toward Spotsylvania Courthouse.  Right after Locust Grove, there is a three-mile section along Constitution Hwy that has a narrow-ish shoulder and moderate traffic.  The route becomes more pleasant after the turn into the Wilderness Battlefield and then follows a long section along Brock Rd.  When the route detours through the Spotsylvania Battlefield, look for the easily-visible trenchlines that were dug during the battle.  Spotsylvania has an open control in Spotsylvania itself–there is a 7-11 to the left as you go into town, an old-fashioned general store that’s fun to visit but has fewer choices, and several small restaurants near the turn back onto Brock Rd.  From here, the route heads generally north-west to Kelly’s Ford.  There are essentially no services for the next 37 miles so make sure you have enough food and water. Leaving Spotsylvania, there can be a bit more traffic, up until the turn onto Piney Branch Rd.  After an info control at Chancellorsville Battlefield you enter a long stretch on Eley’s Ford Rd before rejoining the out-and-back portion of the route near Kelly’s Ford.  The terrain continues to be a bit rugged for a while, but flattens out around Bristerburg before the final miles back into Bristow.