That Jerry Seager sure is a charmer. After swearing off the flèche for the rest of my days, Jerry’s keen routing skills and thirst for adventure convinced Felkerino and me to join him yet again for the 2017 edition of the D.C. Randonneurs flèche with Team Once in a Blue Moon. This year our team consisted of Jerry and Eric – two flèche veterans with whom we’ve … Continue reading Once in a Blue Moon: 2017 D.C. Randonneurs Fleche
Thanks Felkerino, MG, Jose, Steve and Kip for the ride. I sure enjoyed all those gravel roads and the 20 percent hills and the hail and snow squalls and the crazy wind situation and all the tree debris littering the roads and trails the whole night and the cold and the moaning and drama and the camaraderie.
–Jerry
Continue reading “D.C. Randonneurs 2016 Flèche: The Only Way Out Is Through”
One of the many motivators behind Felkerino’s and my increased riding miles in the early months of this year was our decision to take part in the D.C. Randonneurs flèche, which kicks off this coming weekend (April 1). The flèche is a rules-laden team event, many of which make no sense to me, but that I follow anyway in the spirit of randonneuring. Continue reading “The Road to the Flèche: Team If We Lived Here…”
Today I was reading through some of my pre-blog randonneuring rides and came upon this story of the Gray Ghost Riders flèche from 2006. It was my second flèche, and one of my favorites. Given that our club, the D.C. Randonneurs, just ran its 2014 flèche over the weekend, I thought this an ideal time to share the Gray Ghosts story. And by the way, … Continue reading The Gray Ghosts Riders – Flèche April 15-16, 2006
So much happens on a group ride like the fleche. Teams cover over 225 miles in an intense 24-hour period. It can be overwhelming in retrospect. For me, it’s often easier to focus on the memories that emerge after the event ends and some time has passed. Recollections of a ride can be so distinct to what you experience during it or even in the immediate aftermath.
Felkerino has a full ride report planned, but in the meantime I wanted to put pen to paper about a bit of my experience.
Continue reading “Team Definite Maybe: a Quick D.C. Randonneurs Fleche Summary”
This week, 13 teams (65 randonneurs) in the D.C. metropolitan area are in the throes of final preparations for the weekend’s flèche. Felkerino and I are participating as part of Team Definite Maybe, a team of three of our riding buddies and us. In our case, that translates to five people on four bikes. As many of you know, the flèche is a 24-hour team … Continue reading Pre-Ride Ruminations on the Flèche: A Social, Yet Serious, Bike Ride
While some people ride brevets throughout the year, Felkerino and I tend to do most of our of brevets during what we call the “Spring Season,” which basically consists of the four-brevet Super Randonneur series and the Fleche.
One of the big kickoffs to spring is the Fleche, as it is usually one of the first events on the D.C. Randonneurs ride calendar and, compared to brevets, seems slightly lower key.
For those unfamiliar with this strange ride with some historic significance, the Fleche (French for arrow) is a 24-hour team cycling event. Audax Club Parisien started the Fleche in 1947 as an homage to French rider Paul de Vivie, Mr. Velocio himself.
Continue reading “In for a Penny, In for a Pound. Of Fleche, That Is.”
