New Year Group Permanent - Sat, January 4th

The last few years it's become a DRR tradition to ride a perm early in the new year, usually in not entirely sensibly cold conditions. 2014 will be no different. Best to keep away from icy roads in the hills this time of year, so join me (maybe only me..?!) on January 4th for a Flat Yak?

Start: Starbucks, Leslie and Gage, Richland. 8 AM
Route: Flat Yak

See Norm for paperwork.

Le Grimpeur Results

Finishers of Le Grimpeur 200 Km brevet were

Norm Carr
Asta Chastain
Doug Hiebert
Susan Otcenas
Gary Smith

Mid-90s F temperatures and a stiff breeze up in the hills at times made for a challenging ride, especially on the return stages up the hill from Prosser and along County Well Road. Nonetheless, everyone seemed to have an enjoyable day.

Big thanks to Cathy for providing essential water and snacks at the not-very-secret secret control. Many thanks to Paul and family for hosting the post-brevet DRR end-of-season potluck. Marcie gets the cookies award.

2014 DRR Brevet Calendar

Likely dates for DRR brevets in 2014:

Sat 3/1 - Spring Populaire 100
Sat 3/22 - ACP Spring 200
Sat 4/5 - ACP Spring 300 - Organizer: Norm Carr
Sat 4/26 - ACP Spring 400 - Organizer: Paul Whitney
Sat 8/16 - ACP Summer 200 - Organizer: Susan Otcenas

Other RUSA brevets, populaires, group permanent rides or undocumented coffeenneuring experiences can be added as demand, volunteers, or whim allow. 

Anyone is welcome to organize any as yet unclaimed event, or something else of their own devising. All organizers will also always welcome anyone wishing to volunteer on any event.

Wishing all a fulfilling 2014 on the road.

-Norm

DRR 200Km ACP brevet, Le Grimpeur - September 14th 2013

This proved an enjoyable event for the adventurous few who rode it last year. Last year's route description remains current for 2013.

9/7/13 Pre-drive update: No changes, all looking good.

Organizer: Norm Carr

Ride date: Saturday 9/14/2013

Sign in from: 06:30
Start at: 07:00
Finish by: 20:30

Sunrise: 06:34
Sunset: 19:10

Fee: $10 (cash only, at start)

Start/Finish location:
Outside Yoke's Fresh Market, Road 68, Pasco, WA

Route
(use the File menu item to get the download format of your choice)

Map / GPS download

Nearest accommodation:

Sleep Inn
9930 Bedford Street
Pasco, WA 99301
(509) 545-9554

Holiday Inn Express
4525 Convention Place
Pasco, WA 99301
(509) 543-7000

Register to ride here

See who else is riding

Lights and reflective gear required as per RUSA rules.

WARNING:
There’s effectively no services of any significance until after the first half of this ride, at Grandview (115 Km). Please carry plenty of food and drink from the start. Bear in mind that, even in September, Eastern Washington temperatures can sometimes be in the 90s (sunscreen!). Up in the hills there’s little or no cover and if we’re unlucky there may be a firm prevailing wind against us for the first 100 Km or so.










More Horse Heaven Hills pictures

DRR 400 - 2013 Results

We had 6 riders start and six riders finish. This years riders were: Asta Chastain, Doug Hiebert, Ken Bonner, Norm Carr, Ron Shaw and Susan Otcenas. Impressive rides by all on another windy day. Will link out to any pictures or other related postings from the riders as they occur.

Next up for DRR is the Summer 200k on May 18.

DRR 300 - Results

Another great and blustery day for a bike ride. Six riders started and five riders finished. Congrats to all.


The riders for this year's 300k were:
Norm Carr, Doug Hiebert, Steve Kasper, Jeff Loomis, Vince Sikorski, and Gary Smith.


Thanks to Cathy Smith for helping with rider registration and with greeting the riders at rides end with cheeseburgers and a beverage. Thanks as well to Ian Hoffman for setting up a checkpoint/water-stop up in the Horse Heaven hills, and for bringing donuts to the ride start. And, thanks to Norm Carr for updating the route sheet and setting up the rider registration.

Next up: the DRR 400k.

DRR Summer 200km - May 18 2013

We've replaced our 600km this year with an interesting 200km route. The proposed route starts/ends in Pendleton Oregon, and heads out and around Eastern Oregon. Stay tuned for additional details.

Some recommendations for the riders:

• It's a good distance between water stops out there. It's a 3-4 water bottle ride, or 2 water bottles and a camelback or .... 
• While traffic is light for much of the ride, a rear blinky or some sort of additional attention grabbing device is recommended to help draw attention to yourself from the occasional vehicle, even during daylight hours.

We may reversed the course to take in the same scenery while taking better advantage of the terrain. There are a few significant climbs - and the hairpins and the typical winds favor a counterclockwise version of this ride. So we are going counter clockwise.

Some details:
Ride Start/End location: The Safeway in Pendleton, OR. There is an Oxford Suite's hotel adjacent.

Please show up to the start on-time:  The ride start will not be staffed more than 20 minutes after 8:00am, so that the staffed-control in Echo can occur.

Sunset/Sunrise: 5:20am/8:28pm
Ride Start Time: (tentatively) 8:00am -- will give 12+ hours of daylight.
Ride registration cost: $5 or $15 - depending on whether we have a sweep vehicle and a staffed water stop in Echo.
Registration: Register here. See who else is registered here.
Route: See the map below or this link. Corresponding route sheet here.


While the bulk of the allotted time for this ride is during daylight, the opportunity for riding in dusk or dark is present. Accordingly, be sure and have:

• A front and rear light attached to the bike
• A reflective vest/sash
• Reflective ankle bands

Desert River 400km - April 27 2013

The route will be the same as in previous years - the deceptively challenging out and back from Richland to Ellensburg. Stay tuned for an update.

The pre-drive of the course is tomorrow afternoon - any updates tomorrow evening.

Update: We moved (slightly) the start/end location. See below:

Ride: Desert River 400km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog or email.
Ride Date: April 27, 2013
Start Time: 06:00am, Registration - 5:30-5:55. Sunrise/set 5:13/8:37
Start/End Location: Albertson's Parking lot; Leslie&Gage in Richland, WA. 690 Gage Boulevard.
Start/End Location: 226 Piper Street, Richland, WA 99352
Finish by: 9:00am, April 28, 2013
Registration: Pre-register here. To see who else is riding, check here.
Entry Fee: $15 (Insurance, route cards/sheets/snacks/pre-drive-gasoline).
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route Sheet: Updated 4-24-2013: Draft is here.
Maps: Updated 4/24/2013 for out and back are available on Ride with GPS.

Some night riding is almost inevitable for 400k's in the continental US. Accordingly, be sure and have:

• A front and read light attached to the bike
• A reflective vest/sash
• Reflective ankle bands

The above, and other rules for Brevets are available on the RUSA web site.

Desert River 300k - April 6, 2013

Event: Desert River 300km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog or email.
Ride Date: April 6, 2013
Start Time: 6:00am, registration 5:30-5:55. Sunrise/set: 6:27/7:33
Start/End Location: Intersection of Leslie and Gage, in the parking lot between Albertsons and USA Gas, in Richland, WA.
Finish by: 2:00am, April 7, 2013
Registration: Pre-register here. Check here to see who else is registered.
Entry fee: $15 (ride insurance, Brevet cards and Sonic-Burger). Cash preferred; or check made out to Paul Whitney.
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.

The Route: The (draft) route sheet is here. A ride with gps view of the route is here. Some photos from the pre-drive are here.

This ride starts before sunrise, and will likely end for all but the fastest riders after sunset. Accordingly, please remember your lights and reflective gear. See RUSA guidelines here for lights/reflective-materials.

The route looks like this:

This route starts in Richland at Leslie and Gage (a usual location for DRR); heads out to Prosser for a mini-mart control. There is an interestingly steep climb out of Prosser, and then (eventually) down to Umatilla, Hermiston, Echo and then out to Pendleton. Then the route reverses course and winds over to Benton City, and then home via a standard route. This alternative preserves the use of the very nice canyon between Echo and Pendleton. Here's a link to a Ride With GPS version of the ride. The route sheet is based on the out and back variants of that route.

We will greet you at the end of the ride in the inviting Albertsons parking lot w/ a cold beverage (water!) and a Sonic Burger. We also will have a volunteer at the top of the horseheaven hills w/ some water and encouraging words. It should be a great ride.

DRR - Results so far

For the 100k - 3 riders started and 1 rider finished. Each of the three had a good ride. Norm Carr finished this ride.

For the 200k - 2 riders started and 2 finished. Congratulations to Norm Carr and Doug Hiebert on a great ride under windy conditions. 

We are looking forward to the upcoming 300k in three weeks.

Desert River 200km - March 16, 2013

Ride: Desert River 200km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog or email.
Ride Date: Saturday March 17, 2012.
Start time: 7:00am, Registration - 6:30-6:55am. Sunrise/set 7:05/7:06.
Start/End Location: Intersection of Leslie and Gage, in the Parking lot between Albertsons and USA Gas, in Richland, WA.
Finish by: 8:30pm March 17
Registration: Pre-register here. Check here to see who is registered.
Entry fee: $5 (ride insurance, Brevet cards). Checks should be payable to "Paul Whitney". Cash is easier to handle, and preferable.
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route: This route sheet is draft; but, is the final version from last year: pdf and excel versions. Bike-route toaster renditions of the route are separated for out and back. And, in yet another form, here's the ride with gps version.

DRR 100 - March 2, 2013

Ride: Desert River 100km
Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog
Ride Date: Saturday March 2, 2013.
Start time: 9:00am, Registration - 8:30-8:55am.
Start/End Location: Winco's Parking lot; at the intersection of and Columbia Point Drive and George Washington Blvd - in Richland, WA. 101 Columbia Point Drive, Richland, WA.
Finish by: 3:56pm March 2
Registration: Pre-register here. To see who is registered, see here.
Entry fee: $5 (ride insurance, Brevet cards and snacks). Checks should be payable to "Paul Whitney".
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route Sheet: Here.
Route Map: Here.

This is the same pleasant route we rode for last year's season opening Popularie. The route for this short ride stays near the Tri-Cities, and traverses roads with which local cyclists will be familiar. The route heads out of the parking area, and crosses the concrete bridge over into Pasco. The bike path along the Columbia is a primary route to get to the first checkpoint at Sacajawea Park. Reversing direction, the ride then heads to the Cable Bridge, thru Columbia Park, and more bicycle paths, and then Kennedy road to Benton City. The famous Cougar Café is the next checkpoint.

The route heads back towards West Richland via Van Giessen. There is an information checkpoint along this stretch. A left-turn leads to crossing the Yakima, and heading towards 240. A brief ride along the ample shoulder of this road is followed by a left turn into a light industrial area. The route passes by Pacific Northwest National Lab, and then returns to the Columbia River for the final stretch back to the Winco Parking lot.

Ride Finish: The finish will is staffed – the organizer will greet you, take your card, and offer you a beverage. All in the same great location as the ride start.