With the forecast calling for showers and cooler temperatures on Saturday for the Both Sides 200K, I felt like it was time to just go get in some good PBP prep. It always rains at some point during PBP! With the brevet starting about seven miles from our house in D.C., we were able to ride over instead of driving, which was a plus. Mary agreed and we took our rain jackets and hoped for the best.
The day started out cloudy with some mist and we enjoyed lovely blooming trees as we rode through Potomac and out towards Seneca. Only as we neared Dickerson did we get real rain. We had a cold wet ride to Adamstown but the rain let up by Point of Rocks, with only some fog after that.
Clif, Chip and Kyle motored past us after Lovettsville, and that was the last we'd see of them. We ate a chilly lunch on the porch of the convenience store in Round Hlll and the owner was very nice to us when we went inside to buy snacks. Mark Mullen passed by and we joined up entering Purcellville, where he stopped for lunch.
After a warmup at Goosecup Coffee just off the W&OD trail in Leesburg, Mary and I joined up again with Mark and we three knocked out the final miles into DC with temperatures warming to the comparatively luxurious 50-degree mark. The trail was mostly deserted and we made good time.
Near Key Bridge, the closed, former Key Bridge Marriott loomed, home to years of happy DCR fleche finishes. As you may have heard it was cleared of squatters on Friday and formally condemned by Arlington County as the developer has not acted on plans to reopen it. The hotel is fenced off, awaiting demolition.
The final miles through busy Georgetown were predictably stop and start and Roger caught us on Reservoir, which was partially closed for a police investigation. The end at Vino gave us a few quiet moments to chat, which was nice. We all felt pretty good about knocking out a 200K in less than ideal weather! Thanks to Mimo for organizing and to him, Frank DiCarlantonio, and Patrick O'Connor for the preride.
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.