A gentle introduction to Randonneuring. Mostly on bike paths and low-traffic rural roads. The first three miles are on traffic-controlled city streets through historic areas. The mostly flat route (two short but sharp hills) travels past three creeks and two rivers as it returns to scenic, shaded bike paths back to the start.
Much of this route will be familiar to those who rode the prior 200k events this year. The route is flat to rolling. Like the 200, the route parallels the scenic upper Great Miami River where eagles and herons have been seen. At the Troy turnaround riders can lunch at the very good Bakehouse Bakery and Cookies shop. Weather this time of year will range from perfect to cold and wet.
Note: We will be starting before sunrise and likely finishing after sunset! Please be familiar with RUSA's rules on reflectivity (https://rusa.org/reflectivity) and make sure to have a solid front and rear light to comply with the law. If you're caught riding in low light conditions without lights and reflective gear, you will be DNQ!
The Flèche is a very special type of ride. Teams form (minium of 3 bicycles and maximum of 5 bicycles, tandems count as 1 bicycle) and choose their own route to the destination, planning to arrive exactly 24 hours after the start and covering at least 360km.
More details on the rules here.
On registration, please enter your team name / team leader in the 'comments or other relevant info' field. If you do not have a team; reach out before signing up to see if we can coordinate a team!
Team Captains: When you register on the OR site, also send an email to Dave Buzzee for details and additional paperwork! D_buzzee@yahoo.com
A step up in distance from the 100, still a flat route based on farm-to-market roads and some interesting low-traffic city streets. Highlights include the London Vallery Farmhouse Bakery, the Columbus historic Bryden corridor, a scenic entrance to Dublin, then the Olentangy River bike path to downtown Columbus back to the start.
A lollipop-style 400k route taking us from NE Ohio to a rolling ~100mile loop around western PA. While the loop is not flat, it's not gratuitous
Out-and-back route with one significant hill. The first and last ten miles are on the Alum Creek bike path. The intervening miles are flat and rural, the most direct route to Laurelville. The turnaround is the gateway to scenic Hocking Hills State Park. You will see a new type of control at Martha Hitler Frisbee park.
Day 1: A lollypop-style 400k route taking us from NE Ohio to a rolling ~100mile loop around western PA. While the loop is not flat, it's not gratuitous.
Day 2 will take us through rural farmland to Salem, Ohio, and back for a pleasant 200k after the prior day's hilly loop.
TBD
This is a pleasant roll through the countryside near Kent. There a plenty of quite roads with limited climbing. One control offers great ice cream and BBQ. This is a perfect route to become familiar with RUSA randonneuring events and meet other riders who may also be new to rando and to meet with hard core endurance riders and learn about their experiences.
Scenic loop with lots of miles on the Portage trail and the Ohio and Erie Canal trail. Nice rolling section through the Bedford Reservation.