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.

2013 DRR Rides: Outline

It's that time of year when we start planning for next year. We'll have a full series again next year: 100/200/300/400/600. This will be followed up by a 100 and 200 in late summer and fall, respectively. Any suggestions, volunteers etc, please comment and/or email. Details to follow...

Registration and information available for The Grimpeur

Right here: http://drrando.blogspot.com/2012/03/drr-200-september-15-2012-grimpeur.html. See you there!

March 17 200km - 11 riders start; 11 riders finish

Windy day, and reports of tough slog out to Toppenish and then a quick return to Richland. Finishing times are below. Will have more pictures, and links to the same, as they arrive. Thanks to Cathy Smith for registering riders, meeting them in Toppenish and doing the close-out paperwork at the ride end. Outstanding rides by all. Thanks for joining in.

Rider	Time
Norm Carr	11:23
Ron Shaw	8:27
Jess Troyer	10:54
Jared Carr	10:00
Ian Hoffman	11:04
John Kramer	9:04
Greg Olson	9:45
Nat Beagley	11:23
Shun Yamamoto	9:14
Gary Smith	10:00
Seth Solbrach	8:26

 Here's the view from Emerald Road: