Smoketown is the nickname for Brunswick, MD from the days when it had a 7-mile long B&O railyard in the era of steam locomotives and no pollution controls. This route takes you from a recovering Rust Belt town to the toniest real estate in Central Virginia, with great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and then on the historic C&O Canal Towpath for a few finishing miles. Gravel makes up 13 miles of the trip. Services are in Round Hill, Marshall, Middleburg, Purcellville, with a finish at Smoketown Brewing Station and King's Pizza. Parking is available at the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal - Brunswick Parking Lot, a short distance from the start control, Beans in the Belfry, which does not open until 08:00.
NEW LOCATION. We will finish in Halethorpe at Heavy Seas Beer. The brewery is within easy biking distance to the Halethorpe MARC station with trains to Baltimore and DC.
This is the registration for the Dart. However, to finish your registration you need to complete the following steps:
The Dart populaire has rules that are somewhat different, and perhaps even more arcane, than those for a standard brevet. Rules for the Dart populaire are here. Some of them are summarized as follows:
Each team must have a captain who is responsible for designing the route and submitting it for approval. Captains should carefully read the rules first. The schedule will be:
TO BE EDITED, BUT USE THESE TO PREP UNTIL THAT HAPPENS:
October 1: Applications from captains due to the organizer (Bill Beck) including 1) 2024 Dart team captain regform, 2) 2024 Dart route application. These files can be found here. The route information can be submitted electronically to william.a.beck@gmail.com in PDF, MS Word, or MS
Excel format. Route files from RWGPS will also be appreciated, but not required.
October 13: Final rosters with 2024 Tracking Form due to Bill Beck. Deadline for final route approval.
October 13: Control cards submitted to Bill Beck for approval. (He can help generate these, if desired.)
October 26: Dart
Team captains are responsible for making sure that their team members have registered.
Please contact Bill Beck (william.a.beck@gmail.com) with any questions. We also have many experienced fleche and dart captains in the club who would be excellent sources of advice. If you are thinking of forming a team or looking for a team to join, the dcrand listserve is one good way to connect with other riders.
Flatbread is a DCRand November classic. Out flattest and fastest route, Flatbread makes for a festive day in the saddle.
NOTE: Start location will change as the previous start location is now permanently closed.
This is DCRand's classic December brevet, with moderate climbing, mostly near the turnaround in Dillsburg, and at the end. Dillsburg provides good lunch options, and the early December date provides the chance to enjoy Christmas lights for those riders who don't speed through to a daylight finish.