Ride Materials.

The Mountain Church 200, first ridden by DC Randonneurs in 2017, is Roger Hillas's reworking of Lynn Kristianson's Coffee Quest permanent. It starts from the Starbucks at 5185 MacArthur Boulevard in the Palisades neighborhood of DC. Plenty of street parking is available nearby, especially between MacArthur and the Potomac River, but check the signage for restrictions (you cannot park on the block directly in front of Starbucks on Saturdays).

The ride begins gently, but the rollers grow quickly after Potomac, Maryland. Back roads take us around Poolesville to Maryland 28 near Dickerson, then on to the control at Stups Market in Adamstown. Instead of continuing west across Marlu Ridge, the route heads south and crosses the Potomac River at Point of Rocks. A gradual climbs takes us to the second control in Lovettsville, Virginia (to the new 7-Eleven), and an equally gradual descent leads to Brunswick, where we cross the Potomac back into Maryland. After climbing out of the Potomac basin, the route wanders through farmland and far suburbs to Burkettsville. This time, instead of making the familiar climb up to Gapland, it skirts the base of South Mountain north to the informational control that gives the ride its name.

From there, moderate rollers take us to the open control in Middletown. The Main Cup will be a great place to stop for a sit-down lunch with your fellow riders, or the Subway nearby for something a bit quicker. Then come the formidable rollers between Middletown and Jefferson. We climb Marlu Ridge the easy way, with its spectacular view west towards Harper’s Ferry and south into Virginia as far as Old Rag, if the day is clear enough. If a tailwind is blowing, we’ll speed home on a route that is more exposed and somewhat hillier than the outbound route. After Potomac, the road levels out, with only the descent back down to the Potomac basin and a flat ride along MacArthur between us and the finish at Wagshal's BBQ.