Tri-City Area 300km

Ride: Desert River 300km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog
Ride Date: Saturday May 2, 2009.
Start time: 6:00am, Registration - 5:30-5:55am.
Start/End Location: Intersection of Leslie and Gage, in the Parking lot between Albertsons and Albertsons Express, in Richland, WA. Here.
Finish by: 2:00am May 3
Registration: Pre-register here. Check here to see who all has registered.
Entry fee: $5 (+ $5 for non-RUSA members). Checks should be payable to "Oregon Randonneurs", also, Oregon Randonneurs membership is required for this event. You can download a membership form and bring it with you.
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route Sheet: The draft route sheet is here.

Ride Finish: The finish will be un-staffed. The Albertsons is open 24 hours - and so can certify your card. The Albertsons express is open fairly late as well. Be sure and complete your card (sign it, address, answer the question for the information control). Then, put the card into the car with the bike-picture on the window. I'll have the car in the lot at the start of the ride as well - so you can see where it is parked and what it looks like. Bring a pencil or pen - for completing you card and for the information control.

This route heads toward the Blue Mountains - getting close (Waitsburg) but not quite. We then head south, and get a chance to admire the excellent Pioneer Park in Walla Walla. Further south is Pendleton, and then we head through the Umatilla river canyon from Reith to Echo. From there, it's a nearly straight North ride back to the start - heading through Hermiston, Umatilla, Plymouth, over the ridge and back down to the city lights of Richland. The pre-drive note provides more details. It looks like it will be a great route.

The ride is unsupported, except for some drinks and snacks at the beginning. There are plenty of services, great scenery and some lightly trafficked roads. The approximate elevation gain (and loss) for this route is ~2500meters.

It's likely that the ride will finish in the dark - bring lights and reflective gear accordingly. Headlight, taillight, reflective vest or sash and reflective ankle bands are Randonnear USA requirements, not to mention extremely useful, for night riding.

The approximate route is shown in the map below:

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Tri-City Area 200km

Ride: Desert River 200km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog post. Register here: http://www.orrandonneurs.org/brevets/brevet_reg.html.
Ride Date: Saturday April 18, 2009.
Start time: 7:00am, Registration - 6:00-6:45am
Start/End Location: Intersection of Leslie and Gage, in the Parking lot between Albertsons and Albertsons Express, in Richland, WA. See below for a detailed view of the start/finish.
Finish by: 8:30pm April 18, 2009
Entry fee: $5 (+ 5$ for non-RUSA members). Checks should be payable to "Oregon Randonneurs", also, Oregon Randonneurs membership is required for this event. You can download a membership form and bring it with you.
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route Sheet: The draft route sheet is here

Description: This ride explores the Yakima Valley region. It heads out from Richland directly to Benton City, Prosser, Mabton, Toppenish, Zillah and then back on the other side of the Yakima River via Sunnyside, Grandview, and Prosser. From Prosser, the ride backtracks via Benton City to Richland. A preview of the ride is available below, both out and back.

Out:

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Back:

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If you're coming in from out of town - The Richland Days Inn is a nice inexpensive hotel within a short drive (and about a 25 minute ride) from the start. This map shows the results from a search of hotels near the ride start:


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The start/finish location is shown here:


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Brevets in the Tri-Cities

Hello! There are two Brevet's that start in the Tri-Cities this Spring. The dates and distances are:
200km - April 18
300km - May 2

For more information on Brevet's in the US see the RUSA web-site: www.rusa.org

Thanks to the Oregon Randonneurs for helping get these started in this region.