DC Randonneurs

This will be the inaugural ride of Lynn Kristianson’s new “Many Rivers” 600K route, starting at 4AM on June 5 from the Warrenton Hampton Inn. The first 245 miles are based loosely on the 2005 Warrenton 400k, while the last 132 use familiar local roads to and from the fabulous Main Cup in Middletown Maryland. It stays to the east of the Blue Ridge, which does not necessarily preclude some hilly terrain.

Heading south and west, the riders pass through Rixeyville and continue west to Griffinsburg where the route turns south into Madison County. After Madison, there are many miles on VA230, with wonderful Blue Ridge views and moderate terrain, to a control in Wolfsville and then on to US33 in Stanardsville. From there we pick up the very scenic 810 through the foothills in Greene and Albemarle counties. After crossing US250 the route turns southwest to Nellysford on an old painful favorite from past 600k’s, route 635.

In Nellysford the route heads due south on VA6 for several miles and then turns southeast to continue down to the James along the beautiful Rockfish River through Schuyler and Howardsville to Scottsville. Moving east from the mountains, the terrain moderates through Fluvanna and Louisa counties. After a possible dinner stop in Louisa, it’s a straight road due north until we cross the Rapidan and turn east onto the old familiar Algoquin Trail. Bypassing the narrow, dark roads around Kelly’s Ford, instead we head north to Brandy Station and then east to Remington. Crossing US15, 29 and 17 a number of times, we return to Warrenton on Lover’s Lane and Lees Ridge.

The second day leaves Warrenton on Blackwell and Blantyre, heading through The Plains and Middleburg to Snickersville Tnpk and the “hard route” to Purcellville via Lincoln. We continue north on Hillsboro and Mountain roads to Lovettsville and cross the Potomac into Brunswick. Continuing north, we are rewarded with a turnaround at the Main Cup. The return route loops east through Jefferson and crosses the river at Point of Rocks and then passes through Waterford on everyone’s favorite, Loyalty Road. We labor uphill on Hamilton Station and then a brief mile or so on the W&OD brings us back to Purcellville where we reverse the outbound route back to Warrenton.

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 the Frederick Motel 6 (formerly Quality Inn),  at 4AM, riders head south along the base of and then cross Catoctin Ridge and then the Potomac into Virginia at Brunswick. 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 following the Potomac, climbing from and descending to the many creek bottoms to finally cross the Potomac into a control at 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 Newville and Big Spring follows less rigorous terrain through Amish farms. After refueling and relaxing at Kane’s Subs in Newville, 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 to return to Frederick.

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

The cue sheet for the Frederick 300K ACP Brevet  starting at the Frederick Motel 6 at 5:00AM on May 8, 2010 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20100508 Frederick 300K Brevet. Registration and bike inspection will occur from 7:00-8:30PM on Friday evening and 4:00-5:00AM on Saturday morning in the walkway at the end of the motel near West Patrick Street. Park in the upper area of the Motel 6 parking lot, near West Patrick Street. The entrance nearest to this end is closed off, so you’ll need to enter a little further down and then drive back up. Please don’t park along the side of the motel in the area that is reserved for guests.

All riders will be required to show front and rear lights attached to their bicycle and personal reflective gear, as described in Article 10 of the RUSA Rules for Riders. Note that spare “bulbs” are not needed for LED lights. But a second, redundant lighting unit is recommended for both front and rear lights.

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.

GPS files are posted at GPS Files - 20100508 Frederick 300K Brevet.

The cue sheet for the Mother of All 300Ks brevet starting at the Super 8 Motel in Middletown, VA at 5:00AM on April 24, 2010 is now posted at Cue Sheet - 20100424 Mother 300K Brevet. Registration and bike inspection will occur from 7:00-8:30PM on Friday evening and 4:00-5:00AM on Saturday morning near the front of the motel.

Since this is the first brevet of 2010 with mandatory bike inspection, Article 10 from the RUSA Rules for Riders is quoted here. Note that spare “bulbs” are not needed for LED lights. But a second, redundant lighting unit is recommended for both front and rear lights.

Article 10

For night riding, vehicles must be equipped with front and rear lights attached firmly to the vehicle. Lights must be turned on at all times during hours of darkness or other low-light conditions (rain, fog, etc.). At least one of the rear lights must be in a steady (rather than flashing) mode. All riders’ lights must meet the requirements of local laws. A rider is not permitted to cycle at night or in other low-light conditions without working front and rear lights attached to the vehicle; therefore backup lighting systems and/or spare bulbs are strongly recommended in case the primary system fails and cannot be repaired on the roadside. Each rider, whether riding in a group or alone, must fully comply with this requirement. Everyone must use their lights!

During hours of darkness or other low-light conditions, all riders must wear a reflective vest, sash, Sam Browne belt, or some other device that clearly places reflective material on the front and back of the rider. During these times all riders will also wear a reflective ankle band around each ankle. (Due to their unusual seating position, recumbent riders may modify their reflective torso devices to show better from front and rear.) Other reflective devices on clothing, shoes, helmets, and machines are encouraged for increased safety - but they are extra and may not take the place of the minimum items listed above.

Any violation of these night riding rules will result in the immediate disqualification of the rider.

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.

GPS files are posted at GPS Files - 20100424 Mother 300K Brevet.

Last updated: 27 April 2010  

10 teams with 45 riders started the DC Randonneurs 2010 fleche .  35 riders from 9 teams earned an official finish (pending final approval by RUSA and ACP).

One team (Anciens and Poets) started on Friday morning and finished on Saturday morning. They had very warm temperatures (80s) on Friday and mild temperatures at night. But they had to fight the same strong northwest winds that the other teams did on Saturday, plus rain and nighttime thunderstorms as well. As if that wasn’t enough, Randy Mouri’s carbon handlebars broke (he wasn’t injured, thank goodness), and it took time to improvise a splint from a frame pump and duct tape. All of these delays meant that the team had no chance of reaching the Marriott in time. They did the right thing by selecting alternate 22-hour and final controls, and it turned out that their modified route was just long enough - 361 km - to qualify for an official finish.

The other nine teams started in mild (60F) temperatures on Saturday morning. But the temperatures dropped steadily all day and night into the 30s. Any riding into the northwest quadrant was SLOW due to the strong headwinds from that direction. But at least there was no rain. In the end, eight of the nine teams arrived at the Key Bridge Marriott by their designated finish times and the riders enjoyed a tasty and sociable breakfast in the Marriott restaurant. The one exception was the Blue Ridgers who abandoned as a team during the night rather than leave one of their struggling members alone out on the road. (Very classy move by the Blue Ridgers!) Some individual riders also had to abandon due to illness and other causes, but all of their teams still had at least the three riders required for an official team finish.

Here are some facts and statistics:

• The 2010 award for dedicated captain goes to Team Rouge captain Bill Arcieri, who lost his control card at their second control so didn’t qualify as an official finisher, but continued the full ride anyway, guiding his team to an official finish.
• The 2010 award for best save goes to Team Anciens and Poets for their route modification that turned out being just long enough for an official finish! They also win the award for luckiest team since the receipt that they lost was from the control where I met them in Harpers Ferry.
• The longest route was ridden by Team Velo Espresso Gelato at 388 km.
• The youngest team was Team Velo Espresso Gelato (Lane Giardina, Ed Felker, Mary Gersema, and Mike Ross) with an average age of 42.5 years.
• The oldest team was the Blue Ridgers (Tom Reeder, Hank Greenblatt, Fred Robbins, and Alex Sanchez) with an average age of 60.3 years. The oldest finishing team was the Carnivores  (Crista Borras, Bill Beck, Mary Crawley, Chris Mento, Kelly Smith, and Chuck Wood - Grrrrrr!) with an average age of 58.7 years.

Congratulations to all of the riders who participated in this year’s fleche.