Looks like the weather will cooperate for tomorrow and conditions for the Paul's Paradise 200K Brevet, while somewhat frigid for early December, will be dry and sunny! Registration will open at McDonald's in Poolesville at 6:00 a.m., and the ride will begin promptly at 7:00 a.m.
Here's a brief description of the ride:
This is a new brevet based on Crista's permanent route of the same name. Starting relatively close to DC from the McDonalds in Poolesville, MD, we head north into Frederick County to the first major climb over Marlu Ridge. Our efforts are then rewarded by the panoramic view of the beautiful Middletown Valley as we descend into Jefferson. Continuing north through the hilly and very scenic valley, it's not long before we encounter the formidable climb up Harp Hill. Riders will enjoy a break at the first control in Wolfsville before the (easy!) climb on MD17 over South Mountain. Next, a delightful, swoopy descent takes us down into the Cumberland Valley and we head into Pennsylvania on bucolic country roads, eventually arriving at our turn-around control at Paul's Country Market just north of Waynesboro. Paul's has a good deli, a wide choice of foods to round out your lunch, and a hard-to-resist selection of bakery items. When we did the check-out two weeks ago several varieties of apples from local orchards were available, too! The grounds are lovely, with three picnic tables in a shaded grassy area, and a small dining room ("Paul's Lunch Bucket") is available in case it's rainy and/or cold and riders prefer to eat inside. After lunch, we'll climb back over South Mountain on Old 16 and Buena Vista, "working" our way over to a wild ride down Spruce Run Road to the next control at Delauter's store on Wolfsville Road. The return route continues through Middletown and follows familiar roads back to Poolesville. While this ride features several very steep climbs and low gearing is highly recommended, the last 9 miles are some of the easiest riding there is in this general area and you're sure to finish with smiles on your faces! The final control is at Cugini's, where we'll feast on truly fantastic pizza.
For more details and information, please visit the DC Randonneurs website, www.dcrand.org.
A few notes:
Please do NOT park in the McDonald's parking lot. There is ample parking in the adjacent shopping center, where the end control, Cugini's, is located. Park as far from the stores as you can.
Temps are forecasts to dip as low as 17 in Poolesville tomorrow morning, so please dress accordingly. The good news is that it should warm up to around 40 degrees, skies will be clear, and winds will be calm!
This is a beautiful and very challenging ride. Total elevation gain is about the same as for the Woodbine Wallop. More good news -- it ends on a really mellow note :-)
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Chuck and I haven't ridden in two weeks and we're biting at the bit, but Sunday's looking pretty dismal. We're not scheduling a ride for Sunday but, if by some miracle the forecast improves substantially, we MAY decide to do some kind of ride on Sunday. Feel free to call me early on Sunday (any time after 5:30) if conditions look good and you're interested in riding.
Crista - 202-365-3738
