Mimo DeMarco is the organizer for this weekend's 200k out of the Palisades in DC.
On Saturday morning with the effects of St. Paddy’s Day still in our bloodstream we departed the Starbucks at 7:15 AM. The Both Sides brevet is a wonderful escape from Washington DC on lightly travelled roads. RBA Emily even re-routed the River Road section of the Perm version to Glen Road which is a fantastic change.
However, the downside of a ride in the suburbs is that you can never truly escape people. We’ve traded the danger of high speed cars and pick-up trucks on rural roads for bicyclists and walkers on the return to Washington DC. From Purcellville back to the start, you will need to adjust. Be happy to see all the folks riding their bikes for the first time this season and do not be a Lycra clad jerk!
Food and drink wise, this is a very well supported route. My highlights in mileage order:
45.7 – Stup’s market for a quick water and salty shaved ham on a biscuit.
58.0 – Back Street Brews – One block off route in Lovettsville for an awesomely cute coffee shop. You don’t even need to be a Rapha clad tandem rider to enjoy this stop.
77.4 – Monk’s BBQ – One block down from the W&OD entrance. Incredible meat and beer oriented fare.
94.5 – Carolina BBQ – On the W&OD. Really good and a pint of baked beans is the best return-on-investment in NoVa no matter what your partner says later in the evening about your choice of rocket fuel.
102.0 – Green Lizard bike shop and coffee shop. Great shop, good people, and a quick pick me up if needed.
If you’re feeling super brave, then perhaps you’ll be up for a challenge like Pat, Frank, and I.
77.2 – Catoctin Creek Distillery – Reservations accepted on the hour for a one-hour tour and tasting at this Rye Whiskey focused, massively award-winning distillery. Highlights for us included the “Distillers Edition” Rye Whiskey and the Old Tom style brandy barrel aged Gin. No food is served here, so you’ll need to figure out your own logistics around this worthy stop.
Registration closes Friday at 12 PM for Both Sides.
The route ends outside Cafe Vino and other restaurants for riders who want pizza or finer dining. Continue up MacArthur for Starbucks or Mac's, which makes made-to-order sandwiches (in the same shopping center as the ride start).
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.