Mountain Church (200K Brevet)

Jack’s Preride Report:

Mountain Church – for me the best part is getting to the foot of, then turning away from, the big nasty climb to Gathland. There’s lots of rolly terrain on this ride – great practice if you have dreams of riding Paris-Brest-Paris 2027 (where you’re going either up or down most time). But that’s balanced out by a frequent tailwind for the second half and lots of mercifully flat terrain in the final 30 miles. Two crossings of the Potomac River for a short trip into Virginia. A fun bit of gravel on the C&O Canal and a ride across the Monocacy Aqueduct. Lots of small towns and quiet country roads, very few “trafficky” situations, and lots of shade.

For your logistical planning (miles):

Dickerson Market (35) – Convenience store with a grill. Porta-potty

Stups Market (44) – Small convenience store. Facilities in the park behind it

Lovettsville (56) – Big 7-Eleven with facilities. But if you are in the mood for a grocery-deli, try the Lovettsville Cooperative Market. Really good, with tables out front.

Just past Brunswick (61) – Sheetz, McD, BK, etc.

Middletown (74) – LDS – convenience with grille. Mimo-recommended. Also Main Cup, Subway.

Stups (again) (85)

Dickerson Mkt (again) (94)

Poolesville (100) – Subway (has a fountain drink dispenser), McD (doesn’t)

Potomac Oaks Mart (113) – Convenience

Ride Description:

The Mountain Church 200, first ridden by DC Randonneurs in 2017, is Roger Hillas’s reworking of Lynn Kristianson’s Coffee Quest permanent. It starts from the Starbucks at 5185 MacArthur Boulevard in the Palisades neighborhood of DC. Plenty of street parking is available nearby, especially between MacArthur and the Potomac River, but check the signage for restrictions (you cannot park on the block directly in front of Starbucks on Saturdays). You may also want to park by the finish in the street parking outside Wagshal’s Grand Bodega (6124 Macarthur Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20616).

The ride begins gently, but the rollers grow quickly after Potomac, Maryland. Back roads take us around Poolesville to Maryland 28 near Dickerson, then on to the control at Stups Market in Adamstown. Instead of continuing west across Marlu Ridge, the route heads south and crosses the Potomac River at Point of Rocks. A gradual climbs takes us to the second control in Lovettsville, Virginia (to the new 7-Eleven), and an equally gradual descent leads to Brunswick, where we cross the Potomac back into Maryland. After climbing out of the Potomac basin, the route wanders through farmland and far suburbs to Burkettsville. This time, instead of making the familiar climb up to Gapland, it skirts the base of South Mountain north to the informational control that gives the ride its name.

From there, moderate rollers take us to the open control in Middletown. The Main Cup will be a great place to stop for a sit-down lunch with your fellow riders, or the Subway nearby for something a bit quicker. Then come the formidable rollers between Middletown and Jefferson. We climb Marlu Ridge the easy way, with its spectacular view west towards Harper’s Ferry and south into Virginia as far as Old Rag, if the day is clear enough. If a tailwind is blowing, we’ll speed home on a route that is more exposed and somewhat hillier than the outbound route. After Potomac, the road levels out, with only the descent back down to the Potomac basin and a flat ride along MacArthur between us and the finish at Wagshal’s Grand Bodega (6124 Macarthur Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20816).