Kelly, Mimo, and I rode the checkout ride for the Cacapon 200 this Saturday. We discovered that Middletown, VA has a new Sheetz, just down the road from the Econolodge. The ride will now start from the Sheetz, which has plenty of parking. Be sure to bring lights and reflective gear as daylight is getting limited and this is a very hilly route!
It’s a short ride from the Econolodge, so if you stay overnight there’s no need to move your car.
Leaving Middletown, the route rides through the orchards (lots of little climbs). The first control is at Crossroads Grocery and is currently closed, so it is not available for any resupply. The second control is the Siler Store, which is also closed.
New for this year we have taken the route to Shawnee Springs Market at mile 40. This market has made to order food, a great selection of drinks (including South Mountain lemonade!), and nice, indoor bathrooms. There are also tables and benches. Leaving Shawnee Springs you just backtrack through the rear of the parking lot to return to the route. Mimo found an alternative to riding on Route 50 (which was not fun and has a rumble strip to ruin the otherwise minimally acceptable shoulder), which has mostly hard-packed gravel. He says it was far more pleasant than the stretch of 50 Kelly and I rode.
After Shawnee Springs, there are plenty of opportunities for resupply.
In Capon Bridge we stopped at the River’s Edge Cafe (on the left), but there is also the Farmer’s Daughter, Dollar General, and others. If you do stop at the River’s Edge Cafe, you can take your bike over the bridge on the wide sidewalk and not have to bother with the left turn back on the main road, followed by another left after the bridge.
The next resupply is in Wardensville at mile 80, where we stopped at the Garden Market which has plenty of outdoor seating and portapotties (plus baked goods and drinks). For those who just want a fast fountain drink, there is a 7/11 up ahead (no bathroom).
Leaving Wardensville you climb Wolf Gap the easy way…which is a five mile climb. There are “nice” park bathrooms just to the left when you get to the top of the climb. We did not confirm the portapotty at the Larkins Store, but Emily has had some unpleasant experiences there and the park bathrooms are a lot more reliable. Larkins Store now has samosas and other Indian options, but the checkout riders simply got drinks and rolled along to the end.
Leaving Larkins Store you will climb a short hill, but at least it’s not the same wall that you would climb on the parallel road. You then get to enjoy 20 miles of Back Road before climbing back up to Middletown.
We will finish at the Italian Touch in Middletown, where Kelly will be waiting with pizza. Riders can then just proceed down Reliance Road back to the Sheetz (or Econolodge).
P.S. Somewhere after 100 miles there may be a guard pig out in the yard with its canine friends! It took us by surprise and couldn’t get a picture.
March 9 - IWD, 100, Frederick, MD
March 16, Mountain Church, 200, Washington, DC
March 30, Lady and the Barons, 200, Severna Park, MD
April 6, Warrenton 300, Warrenton, VA
April 20, Fleche, Arlington, VA
May 4, Michaux Meander, 300, Frederick, MD
May 18, Kinder Gentler 400, Warrenton, VA
June 1, Frederick 600, Frederick, MD
June 29, Lovettsville 200, Lovettsville, VA
September 7, Mountain Church 200, Washington, DC
October 5, Cacapon 200, Middletown, VA
October 26, Dart, Gettysburg, PA
November 2, Flatbread 200, Centreville, MD
December 7, Woodbine-Dillsburg via Gettysburg 200, Woodbine, MD
More rides will be added to the calendar, including gravel routes and populaires.
DC Randonneurs sponsors long-distance cycling events in the Mid-Atlantic region ranging from 100 kilometers to 1,200 kilometers (60 - 750 miles) in length. Rides start from the Baltimore-Washington region but travel as far afield as State College PA, Buchanan VA, and Warm Springs WV.
The terrain we ride ranges from the flatlands of the Eastern Shore to the rolling hills and valleys of the Piedmont and the sometimes steep flanks of the Appalachian mountain ridges to our west. Our routes, many of which we've ridden for years, take quiet back roads through gorgeous and varied scenery, with regular stops for supplies and rest.
Our rides are unsupported. There is no sag wagon, and help of any sort can be miles away on some of the more remote stretches of road we ride. But we ride together, creating bonds of friendship and camaraderie along the way. Our ride organizers and volunteers work hard to make sure that every rider is accounted for, from start to finish.
Our rides are timed, with riders required to reach intermediate control points, as well as the finish, within a set window of time. But our results are listed alphabetically. Our style of riding is know as allure libre, meaning riders ride at their own pace within the limits set by control opening and closing times rather than riding as a group at a steady pace set by its leaders, which is the audax style of randonneuring.
Randonneuring is non-competitive, but we challenge ourselves and each other -- to ride farther, to ride faster, to ride longer than we might have though possible. We aspire to relentless forward progress but take time to help each other when in need, whether that need is for emotional support, an energy bar to cure a bonk, or a cleverly improvised fix to broken equipment.
DC Randonneurs is affiliated with Randonneurs USA and operates according to the rules promulgated by that organization by adoption from the Audax Club Parisien.