DC Randonneurs organizes long distance, noncompetitive recreational rides known as brevets which range from 100 kilometers to 1,200 kilometers (60-750 miles). These rides challenge riders to complete a scenic and often challenging course within a specified time limit, emphasizing camaraderie, endurance, self-sufficiency, and personal achievement. Rides start from the greater Washington region and travel as far afield as central Pennsylvania, southern Virginia, eastern West Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and Delaware.
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DCR Members:
Announcements
Winter 2025 Update from The President
DCR Members,
Our Annual meeting is scheduled for this coming January 10, 2026. No 100K ride scheduled beforehand since that seemingly guarantees rain, ice, and/or snow. But you can still ride your bike that day via a RUSA Permanent which no longer has a fee in 2026. Multiple routes go past Glen Echo, so you can use this location as your start / finish!
The meeting will be at the Glen Echo Town Hall per usual (6106 Harvard Ave, Glen Echo, MD 20812) and you should park in the big parking lot a couple of blocks away. Do not wear cleated shoes in the building or bring your bicycle inside.
Meeting will be at 6 PM with doors opening at 5:30 PM. Pizza will be served, but you should BYOB. Adult beverages are definitely allowed! We’ll post / send out a Zoom meeting link the day of the event as well.
Not sure if we’ll be voting in person or sending out ballots electronically for the above positions and approving the budget. My first time running this meeting and this is what happens when the class clown gets elected El Presidente.
Thank you to everyone for making 2025 a successful year. I’ve been proud to wear my DC Randonneurs jersey around town this year and elated to see others doing the same.
See everyone on January 10th! Have a great rest of December and a strong finish to the calendar year. Make sure to start 2026 off right with a bike ride too.
El Presidente
Mimo DeMarco
RUSA #12711
Meeting itinerary.:
- Recap of DCR stuff in 2025 and plans for 2026.
- Big kudos to a slew of DCR riders who did awesome things in 2025.
- If you want to make sure a friend gets a shout out, please email me!
- Bigger kudos to the volunteers that enabled the DCR riders to do awesome things.
- 2026 Budget presentation and discussion.
- 2026 Board election stuff and discussion.
- Jack N is term limited as Treasurer; Theresa F has agreed to run for this position.
- John M is term limited as a Director; Pat O has agreed to run for this position.
- Mike B is not term limited as Secretary and has agreed to run for this position again.
- If you would like to run for one of these positions, it is not too late. Please reach out to me and I will be happy to put you on the ballot. The only requirement is a love of helping other people succeed in meeting their cycling goals.
Who We Are
DC Randonneurs sponsors long distance cycling events in the Mid-Atlantic region ranging from 100 kilometers to 1,200 kilometers (60 – 750 miles) in length. Rides start from the Baltimore-Washington region
The terrain we ride ranges from the flatlands of the Eastern Shore to the rolling hills and valleys of the Piedmont and the sometimes steep flanks of the Appalachian mountain ridges to our west. Our routes, many of which we’ve ridden for years, take quiet back roads through gorgeous and varied scenery, with regular stops for supplies and rest.
Our rides are unsupported. There is no sag wagon. But we ride together, creating bonds of friendship and camaraderie along the way. Our ride organizers and volunteers work hard to make sure that every rider is accounted for, from start to finish.
Our rides are timed, with riders required to reach intermediate control points, as well as the finish, within a set window of time. Our style of riding is know as allure libre, meaning riders ride at their own pace within the limits set by control opening and closing times rather than riding as a group at a steady pace set by its leaders, which is the audax style of randonneuring.
Randonneuring is non-competitive, but we challenge ourselves and each other — to ride farther, to ride faster, to ride longer than we might have though possible. We aspire to relentless forward progress but take time to help each other when in need, whether that need is for emotional support, an energy bar to cure a bonk, or a cleverly improvised fix to broken equipment.
DC Randonneurs is affiliated with Randonneurs USA and operates according to the rules promulgated by that organization by adoption from the Audax Club Parisien.
